The 1st Meeting of China-Thailand Ministerial Dialogue on Digital Economy Cooperation took place in Kunming, Yunnan province on March 20. The meeting was jointly held by the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and the Thai Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES).

The meeting was co-chaired by the Chinese MIIT vice-minister Chen Zhaoxiong and the Thai MDES minister Pichet Durongkaveroj, and was attended by Yunnan governor Ruan Chengfa, who also delivered a speech at the dialogue.

“In recent years, Yunnan expanded opening up to serve the Belt and Road construction,” said Ruan Chengfa, citing the increased connectivity, exchanges and cooperation with neighboring countries. 

Faced with technological revolution, Yunnan has developed the “Travel in Yunnan” app for smart tourism and set up online platforms for e-government service. By embracing the digital economy, Yunnan cultivates eight major industries, aiming to be a provider of clean energy, green food and healthy lifestyle.

In building the China-Laos-Thailand economic corridor, Yunnan has increasingly connected to the Thai market via closer cooperation and exchanges, said Ruan, adding that Yunnan should serve as a pilot and model area for Sino-Thai digital economic cooperation.

Briefing digital economy in China, Chen Zhaoxiong said China and Thailand have seen frequent high-level exchanges in recent years, with series of important consensuses reached on a comprehensive and strategic partnership.

Under the China-Thailand ministerial dialogue mechanism, China will deepen cooperation with Thailand, injecting new impetus into the China-Thailand relations and making digital economy benefit peoples in both countries.

Introducing digital economy in Thailand, Pichet Durongkaveroj said in recent years Thailand and China have carried out multiple cooperations in digital economy and achieved fruitful results.

The Thai minister hoped that this meeting will advance bilateral cooperation in smart-city building, artificial intelligence, communication networks, big data, cloud computing and others.