Bangkok, Thailand. Thailand aims to complete by 2030 a 250-kilometre section of a high-speed railway intended to connect the country with China, the government said as Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul concluded a five-day visit to China.
Rail network plans
Thailand’s planned rail projects are part of Beijing’s vision for a 3,900-kilometre network linking Kunming in southwestern China with Singapore.
The first high-speed line, connecting Bangkok and Nakhon Ratchasima, is scheduled for completion by 2030. Thailand is also preparing to begin construction on a second high-speed route between Nakhon Ratchasima and Nong Khai, the government said.
The Thai high-speed rail project would connect with neighbouring Laos, which already has a high-speed railway to Kunming in southern China.
Thailand is separately progressing with another project linked to a conventional railway that will connect with Laos to the north and Malaysia to the south, according to the government statement.
Trade and security cooperation
Thailand asked China, its second-largest export market, to increase imports of Thai fruit and processed food, the statement said.
During Anutin’s visit, Thailand and China agreed to establish a foreign affairs and defence mechanism, expand defence industry cooperation and develop personnel.
The two countries will also share intelligence and transaction data to help address online scams and financial fraud.
Regional crackdown
Thailand is part of a regional effort to dismantle scam centres that have expanded across Southeast Asia, including in Myanmar and Cambodia. The illegal online operations defraud victims worldwide in an industry worth billions of dollars.
