Xia Yuanjie

szrbgracexia@126.com

AN inauguration ceremony of  the Shenzhen Products Thailand Display and Exchange Center was simultaneously held in Shenzhen and Bangkok on Thursday.

The Shenzhen ceremony was held at Wuzhou Guest House in Futian District and gathered over 30 participants, including city government officials, representatives from the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Shenzhen Municipal Committee (CCPIT Shenzhen), officials from the Thai Consulate-General in Guangzhou, various business associations and Shenzhen enterprises.

Xie Chongtong, the chief representative of CCPIT Shenzhen liaison office in Thailand, which was also launched Thursday, delivered a speech at the venue in Bangkok, which was livestreamed in Shenzhen.

Xie said the center aims to further facilitate economic and trade exchanges between the two sides and help Shenzhen enterprises tap the Thai market.

“The center’s offline and online exhibition halls feature Shenzhen’s city image, ICT [information and communications technology] products and supporting services. Over 30 Shenzhen-based companies such as Huawei, MKD, TCL and TP-Link have settled in,” he said.

The center is exhibiting over 200 high-quality products until March next year.

“By 2022, when the Thailand Shenzhen Commerce Chamber Mansion opens, the center will be moved to the building’s fifth floor,” Xie said.

During the Shenzhen ceremony, Huang Min, executive vice mayor of Shenzhen, emphasized in his speech the close economic and trade ties between the city and Thailand. “From January to October this year, the trade volume between Shenzhen and Thailand reached US$10.6 billion, an increase of 11.6 percent. The mutually beneficial cooperation between the two sides has stood the test of the pandemic,” he noted.

Jurin Laksanawisit, deputy prime minister of Thailand who attended the ceremony in Bangkok, echoed Huang’s words, saying via video that Shenzhen and Thailand have great cooperation potential in e-vehicles, solar energy, innovative industry, as well as electronics and telecommunications.

Nipatsorn Kampa, acting consul general of Thailand in Guangzhou, who attended the Shenzhen event, held high hopes for future cooperation between CCPIT Shenzhen and Thailand.

“Setting up the center and the liaison office is a very good opportunity for both sides to promote even greater trade and investment. This will be a continuation of strong economic cooperation,” she told Shenzhen Daily.

Before its official launch Thursday, the CCPIT Shenzhen liaison office in Thailand has actively participated in solving challenges Shenzhen enterprises face when entering the Thai market.

Zheng Mingqiang, chairman of MKD Group, a 20-year-old Shenzhen company engaged in various sectors in Southeast Asia such as home appliances, hotels, logistics and tourism, said: “China’s Belt and Road Initiative is creating new business opportunities for us in ASEAN countries, particularly in Thailand. The center has provided Shenzhen companies with an international stage to showcase and trade our products.”