"More than 20 years ago, I went to Shanghai for the first time.
Only one skyscraper was there then ...But when I was on the highway
from airport to downtown Shanghai during a visit in 2000, I could
not believe my eyes since the whole city was surrounded by
modernism," Thailand's newly elected Prime Minister Samak
Sundaravej recalled his previous visits to China on Thursday at his
residence in Bangkok.
It is the second day that the People Power Party (PPP) leader
officially took over the premiership from former premier Surayud
Chulanont who was appointed by military after a coup in 2006.
Samak, leading PPP, won the general election late last year and
then was elected as the 25th Prime Minister early this week.
On Thursday, Zhang Jiuhuan, China's ambassador to Thailand,
delivered a congratulatory letter of China's premier Wen Jiabao to
Samak, congratulating to his Thai counterpart.
Samak, a 72-year-old veteran politician who has a political
career of more than 40 years, thanked premier Wen and reaffirmed
that the new government will enhance the Thai-Sino relationship in
every fields.
He said the Thai-Sino relations are deeply rooted and are as
inseparable as relatives or brothers. He said that the Thai
government paid great attention to the development of the
relationship between Thailand and China.
"I am an old friend of China", said the premier. He recalled his
visits to China during the past decades, saying he was always
"shocked" by the quick development of various Chinese cities.
"I have been to Beijing, Shanghai, Dali, Hangzhou ... too much
for me to remember. But I was always impressed by the changes of
all the cities every time I went there," said Samak.
He said as the governor of Bangkok in 2000, he paid more
attention to the construction of China, from city layout, to
expressway construction, and also railway paving. He highly praised
the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the highest railroad in the world which
was completed in 2006.
Samak said he expects the early accomplishment of the road
connecting China's Kunming to Laos' Vientiane which passes northern
Thailand. He predicted that the "driving-tourism" would be enhanced
after the project is finished.
"For myself, I also wish to drive to China. It must be fun",
said the premier.
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(Xinhua News Agency February 1, 2008)
