On June 20, 2003, Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Li Zhaoxing held talks with Thai Minister of Foreign Affairs Surakiat Sathirathai in Chiang Mai, a northern city of Thailand.

Li spoke highly of China-Thailand relations, and expressed satisfaction with expanding bilateral exchanges and cooperation in political, economic, cultural and education fields. He said that China would promote full-scale cooperation of good-neighborliness and mutual trust with Thailand by adhering to the spirit of treating neighbors in a friendly way and as partners.

The two sides exchanged views on ways to strengthen the Sino-Thai friendly relations. Li Zhaoxing suggested the following: further exchanging high-level official visits between the two countries and consolidating the political bases of Sino-Thai relations; expanding bilateral trade, seizing the new opportunity of China-Thailand tariff-free agreements on vegetables and fruits, speeding up the negotiation process for establishing a free trade zone and tapping the potentials of the bilateral trade; promoting various forms of non-governmental exchanges; promoting the continuous development of the relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) via the comprehensive development of Sino-Thai relations; and jointly advancing regional cooperation and improving the overall strength and status of Asia in international affairs by taking Asian Cooperation Dialogue and other mechanisms as platforms. China will actively cooperate with Thailand and other ASEAN countries in implementing the various results of the Special China-ASEAN Leaders Meeting on SARS and jointly fight against SARS and other diseases.

Surakiat fully agreed with the above ideas and suggestions. He said the Sino-Thai relations are ties of special friendship. The Thai government pays great attention to its relations with China, and one significant part of the Thai diplomacy is to develop strategic cooperative relations with China.