(Gyeongju, 2nd) Thai Prime Minister Anutin, during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, pledged that Thailand would not pursue legalized gambling as an engine for economic growth.
The Bangkok-based Nation newspaper reported that Anutin and Xi held a constructive bilateral meeting on Friday (October 31st) while attending the APEC summit in Gyeongju, South Korea.
After the meeting, Anutin told reporters that he assured Xi the Thai government would not use casinos to drive economic growth and confirmed that the legislative process for casino legalization had been halted. “With the abilities of the Thai people, Thai products, and Thai technology, we have many options to revitalize the economy.”
Xi Jinping praised Thailand’s policy and reiterated that China would not interfere in any country’s domestic decisions, but would take internal measures to discourage Chinese citizens from traveling abroad for gambling, as it has a seriously negative impact on daily life.
The previous prime minister’s Pheu Thai Party government, led by Paetongtarn, had pushed for casino legalization hoping to attract tourists, but the move faced strong opposition from the public. China is also against Thailand attracting Chinese tourists by opening casinos. In July, Anutin said that when Paetongtarn met with Xi in Beijing in February this year, Xi had urged Thailand to abandon the casino legalization bill three times.
Anutin also called on Chinese tourists to visit Thailand, emphasizing that tourist safety would be ensured.
Thailand faces threats from scam rings in neighboring countries kidnapping tourists, along with unstable border conditions, leading to a 7.5% year-on-year decrease in the number of foreign tourists in the first three quarters of this year, including a sharp 35% drop from Chinese visitors, one of the country's major tourist sources.
Anutin also urged China to buy Thai rice. In an official Facebook video released by Thailand, after his meeting with Xi, Anutin smiled and said during their handshake farewell: “Don’t forget to buy rice.”
China consumes nearly 150 million metric tons of rice annually. Thailand is seeking a 500,000-ton rice order from China to boost national income.
The Bangkok Post reported that Xi expressed China’s willingness to strengthen cooperation with Thailand in various areas, including trade, investment, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges. Anutin suggested that both countries could expand cooperation in innovation, science and technology, the digital economy, clean energy, and agriculture.
According to Thai PBS, Anutin met with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung on Friday, urging Korea to increase quotas for legal Thai workers in South Korea and to address the growing issue of Thai visitors being denied entry.
As of May this year, there were a total of 181,842 Thais working in South Korea, of whom nearly 50,000 were legal workers and about 130,000 undocumented. It is understood that the number of undocumented Thai workers continues to decline.
In the first four months of this year, Thai tourist arrivals in South Korea fell by 21% compared to the same period last year. It is reported that many Thai tourists, even after applying for Korea’s electronic travel authorization online, were denied entry upon arrival at Seoul airport without being given reasons, causing dissatisfaction among Thai visitors.
Anutin said that denied Thai travelers were inconvenienced and suffered economic losses, and he called on the Korean side to take action to prevent such situations from continuing.
Anutin also suggested that Thailand and South Korea set a $30 billion (about 125.9 billion ringgit) bilateral trade target and pledged full support for Korean businesses and institutions investing in Thailand, including Hyundai Motor, cosmetics company COSMAX, internet bank KakaoBank, and Korea Land & Housing Corporation.
The Bangkok-based Nation newspaper reported that Anutin and Xi held a constructive bilateral meeting on Friday (October 31st) while attending the APEC summit in Gyeongju, South Korea.
After the meeting, Anutin told reporters that he assured Xi the Thai government would not use casinos to drive economic growth and confirmed that the legislative process for casino legalization had been halted. “With the abilities of the Thai people, Thai products, and Thai technology, we have many options to revitalize the economy.”
The previous prime minister’s Pheu Thai Party government, led by Paetongtarn, had pushed for casino legalization hoping to attract tourists, but the move faced strong opposition from the public. China is also against Thailand attracting Chinese tourists by opening casinos. In July, Anutin said that when Paetongtarn met with Xi in Beijing in February this year, Xi had urged Thailand to abandon the casino legalization bill three times.
Anutin also called on Chinese tourists to visit Thailand, emphasizing that tourist safety would be ensured.
Thailand faces threats from scam rings in neighboring countries kidnapping tourists, along with unstable border conditions, leading to a 7.5% year-on-year decrease in the number of foreign tourists in the first three quarters of this year, including a sharp 35% drop from Chinese visitors, one of the country's major tourist sources.
Anutin also urged China to buy Thai rice. In an official Facebook video released by Thailand, after his meeting with Xi, Anutin smiled and said during their handshake farewell: “Don’t forget to buy rice.”
China consumes nearly 150 million metric tons of rice annually. Thailand is seeking a 500,000-ton rice order from China to boost national income.
The Bangkok Post reported that Xi expressed China’s willingness to strengthen cooperation with Thailand in various areas, including trade, investment, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges. Anutin suggested that both countries could expand cooperation in innovation, science and technology, the digital economy, clean energy, and agriculture.
According to Thai PBS, Anutin met with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung on Friday, urging Korea to increase quotas for legal Thai workers in South Korea and to address the growing issue of Thai visitors being denied entry.
As of May this year, there were a total of 181,842 Thais working in South Korea, of whom nearly 50,000 were legal workers and about 130,000 undocumented. It is understood that the number of undocumented Thai workers continues to decline.
In the first four months of this year, Thai tourist arrivals in South Korea fell by 21% compared to the same period last year. It is reported that many Thai tourists, even after applying for Korea’s electronic travel authorization online, were denied entry upon arrival at Seoul airport without being given reasons, causing dissatisfaction among Thai visitors.
Anutin said that denied Thai travelers were inconvenienced and suffered economic losses, and he called on the Korean side to take action to prevent such situations from continuing.
Anutin also suggested that Thailand and South Korea set a $30 billion (about 125.9 billion ringgit) bilateral trade target and pledged full support for Korean businesses and institutions investing in Thailand, including Hyundai Motor, cosmetics company COSMAX, internet bank KakaoBank, and Korea Land & Housing Corporation.