On December 23, 2011, visiting Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping met with the former political leaders, friendly personnel and people from different circles of Thailand.

Xi said that they are all old friends familiar to and respected by the Chinese people as well as important participants, promoters and witnesses of the development of China-Thailand relations. They have the enthusiasm and sincere desire to develop the bilateral relations. China and Thailand have a thousand years of history of friendly exchanges. Since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1975, the bilateral relations have maintained sound development, the mutually beneficial cooperation has achieved fruitful results and the traditional friendship has been strengthened. Entering the new century, China and Thailand established the strategic cooperative relations. The bilateral ties enjoy a solid political and social foundation and the bilateral cooperation boasts promising prospects and huge potential.

Xi noted that the key to state-to-state relations is the friendship between the people while the key to the friendship between the people is communication with each other. Although transport and the Internet develop rapidly in the world today, they cannot replace the people-to-people contacts and communications among countries. China and Thailand are friendly neighbors. People of the two countries should visit each other frequently just as relatives, promote the friendly exchanges and mutually beneficial cooperation in all fields, work to raise the strategic cooperation to a new level and bring more tangible benefits to the two peoples. Youth of the two countries should step up exchanges, increase mutual understanding and friendship and carry on the friendship between China and Thailand from generation to generation.

The former Thai political leaders said in their enthusiastic speeches that the visit of Xi is paid not long after the new government of Thailand was formed and on the occasion that the bilateral relations stand at an important stage of development. It is therefore of great significance and far-reaching influence. During the visit, Xi held productive meetings and talks with people of the Thai royal family, government, National Assembly and Privy Council and a number of cooperation documents were signed. The visit has achieved full success, about which the Thai people feel sincerely glad. They noted that Thailand-China relations enjoy a solid foundation and the bilateral friendship is deeply rooted. It is very impressive that the Chinese people always extend generous help in a timely manner whenever Thailand encounters difficulties. China enjoys political stability, economic prosperity and social development at present. They wish and believe that China will achieve greater development in the future and the bilateral friendship will be raised a new level.