On April 23, 2012, Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), met respectively with President of the Thai National Assembly and Speaker of the House of Representatives Somsak Kitasuranont and Vice President of the National Assembly and Speaker of the Senate Thiradet Miphian in Bangkok.

Jia first conveyed greetings from Chairman Wu Bangguo of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress (NPC) to Somsak and Thiradet. China and Thailand, with their close blood ties, similar customs, strong cultural bonds and integrated economy, are good neighbors, good partners, good friends and good relatives, he said.

Since the establishment of diplomatic ties 37 years ago, Sino-Thai relations have withstood the test of the changes in the international situation and their own domestic circumstances, with growing political trust, fruitful cooperation in the fields of economy and trade, science and technology, humanities, defense and law enforcement and good coordination on major international and regional issues. Sino-Thai relations have set a good example for countries with different social systems in the region. The Thai government firmly adheres to the one-China policy, understands and supports China's positions on the issues concerning its major national interests, which China highly appreciates.

Jia made a four-point proposal to further promote China-Thailand ties. First, Jia said the two sides should strengthen high-level exchanges and keep strategic communication. Regular contacts between state leaders are a good tradition of the two countries, which also played an irreplaceable role in promoting bilateral ties, he added. Second, Jia called on the two countries to deepen pragmatic cooperation and promote common development. He said China and Thailand, with strong complementary economies and broad cooperation prospect, should fully implement the five-year plan for bilateral trade and economic cooperation, further enlarge trade and two-way investment and strive to fulfill the new trade target ahead of schedule. Third, he said the two countries should expand cultural and people-to-people exchanges so as to consolidate the foundation of their friendship. He said they should make full use of the Confucius Institute and the Chinese culture center in Bangkok to further enhance cooperation in areas including culture, education, tourism and youth exchanges. Fourth, Jia also urged the two countries to strengthen communication and coordination in international and regional affairs. Thailand will be the coordinator country for relations between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in this July. China is ready to deepen the political mutual trust and reciprocal cooperation with ASEAN, promote their relationship and east Asian cooperation and jointly safeguard Asia's stability and development, Jia said.

Jia briefed the guests on the role of CPPCC, saying it is an important task of the CPPCC to strengthen exchanges, understanding and friendship with people of other countries. He said the CPPCC would increase exchanges with the Thai Senate and House of Representatives, learn from each other's experience in political participation and country governance and contribute to the two countries' economic and social development and the China-Thailand relations.

Somsak and Thiradet thanked for Wu's greetings, saying Jia's visit is of great importance to strengthening exchanges and cooperation between the CPPCC and Thai National Assembly. Thailand was ready to work with China to deepen their friendship, strengthen cooperation and maintain Asia's peace, stability and development, they said. Somsak said the time-honored Sino-Thai friendship is deeply rooted and China-Thailand relations are as inseparable as relatives. Based on this special relationship, the two countries should further strengthen cooperation in areas including trade, economy, investment, infrastructure construction and culture. Thiradet said he fully agreed with Jia's proposals on bilateral ties. He said the Thai-Chinese friendship and exchanges between both peoples have a long history. The influence of Chinese culture can be seen everywhere in Thailand. The Thai people have always had deep respect for the Chinese people and have the willingness to develop relations with China.

Before the meetings, Jia laid a wreath at the Statue of King Rama VII in the front of the parliament building.

Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of the CPPCC National Committee Qian Yunlu and Chinese Ambassador to Thailand Guan Mu attended the meetings.