A 32-member delegation headed by Pornpetch Wichitcholchai, President of Thailand’s National Legislative Assembly, visited Zhangzhou and Xiamen from December 15 to 18 at the invitation of China’s top legislator Li Zhanshu.

Mr. Tan Yunkun, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of Fujian Provincial People’s Congress and Secretary of CPC Zhangzhou Municipal Committee met the delegation in Zhangzhou. Tan said in recent years, Zhangzhou has organized a series of promotion activities in Thailand, such as Fujian (China) Week, and many Thai people of Zhangzhou origin often come back to seek ancestral roots and develop cooperation. All these activities facilitate exchange and cooperation between Fujian and Thailand. Tan also appreciated Thailand’s interest in and support for the city’s development, and hoped that the two sides could strengthen communication and cooperation through the visit.

Mr. Pornpetch set out that Thailand and Fujian, especially Zhangzhou, have frequent economic and trade interactions recently, with the China-Thailand (Nanjing) Blossom Tulou Cultural Exchange Center Program as an example. Pornpetch and Tan reached understanding on enhancing cooperation in economy, culture, tourism and education.

To learn more about Fujian’s history and culture as well as the friendly relations and cooperation between Thailand and Fujian, in Zhangzhou, the delegation went to Nanjing Tulou, Nanjing Nankeng Coffee Garden and China-Thailand (Nanjing) Blossom Tulou Cultural Exchange Center, where they planted China-Thailand friendship trees. In Xiamen, the delegation had discussions with Mr. Chen Jiadong, Chairman of the Standing Committee of Xiamen Municipal People’s Congress on implementing the consensus reached by President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha in last year’s BRICS Summit, jointly participating in “the Belt and Road Initiative” and deepening communication and cooperation in various fields. They also visited Gulangyu Island and Huaqiao University.

The trip enabled the delegation to gain a first-hand experience of the large space for bilateral economic, trade, cultural, education and tourism cooperation as well as the close kinship between Thailand and China. As legislators, they will continue to support the friendly exchanges between the two countries, introduce Fujian to more Thai people and encourage them to visit and cooperate with Fujian.