Thaksin thanked Zhu for his official visit to Thailand at his invitation. The Thai prime minister said Thailand and China are linked through kinship and have special and very close ties. China and Thailand have set an example for countries with different social systems to establish friendly relations, he said.

The Thailand-China friendship is not only beneficial to the peoples of the two countries, but also contributes to peace and stability in Asia, the Thai premier said.

He said he believes that in the new century, Thailand-China ties will get more and more closer, and will pass on from generation to generation.

Zhu told Thaksin that he is happy to revisit Thailand after five years and the Chinese government is satisfied with the fact that the Sino-Thai relations are developing smoothly.

Describing the friendly bilateral relations in such a phrase as "the Thais and the Chinese are brothers," Zhu said there are no outstanding issues between the two countries.

The Chinese premier said a major feature of China-Thailand relations is the frequent exchanges of visits between leaders of the two countries. He said recent years have witnessed the visits of Chinese President Jiang Zemin, Chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress Li Peng, Chinese Vice President Hu Jintao to Thailand, and Queen of Thailand Sirikit's visit to China last year as the representative of King of Thailand Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Early this month, Chinese President Jiang Zemin met with Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra at the annual Global Fortune Forum in Hong Kong, he said.

Zhu said all these activities enhanced mutual understanding, trust and cooperation, and he hoped the two countries will keep this good tradition.

Zhu invited Thaksin to pay an official visit to China at his convenience.

Premier Zhu said the two countries have engaged in good cooperation in international and multinational affairs over the recent years. China thanked Thailand for its understanding of and support to China's stance on important issues concerning China's sovereignty and national interests, such as the problems of Taiwan, Tibet, and human rights.

All these have fully demonstrated the unbreakable and very close relations between China and Thailand, Zhu said, noting that he is confident that the two sides will conduct more effective cooperation in regional and international affairs.

The two leaders also extensively exchanged views on strengthening and expanding economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.

Zhu said economic and trade cooperation has become a driving force in the development of China-Thailand relations, citing that the two-way trade volume reached US$6.6 billion last year.

Great potentials in economic and trade cooperation between China and Thailand are to be explored, Zhu said, expressing his belief that as long as the two sides work together, bilateral economic and trade ties will continue to improve.

He said the Chinese government is ready to make positive efforts in expanding the fields for cooperation.

Zhu and Thaksin also agreed that the two countries should further strengthen exchanges and cooperation in the fields of culture and education.

Thaksin thanked Zhu for inviting him to visit China, saying that he will attend the informal leaders' meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in October in Shanghai.

He said he is looking forward to paying an official visit to China.

Thaksin also expressed support for China's bid for hosting the Olympic Games in 2008 in Beijing.

(Xinhua 05/20/2001)