Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said in Qingdao Monday that Sino-Thai relations have been greatly enhanced with frequent high-level exchanges and expanding of cooperation in the areas including trade, culture and education between the two countries.

Wen made the remarks during his meeting with Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was in Qingdao to attend the third foreign ministers' meeting of Asian Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) due to open Tuesday.

On issues related to the important interests of the two countries, Wen said, the two countries consistently showed sympathy to each other, support each other, showing the candid feeling of "sharing the same boat in difficult time", as a Chinese saying goes.

Wen expressed his gratitude to the Thai government for its support and understanding on Taiwan, Tibet, human rights and other issues.

It is an unswerving guideline for the Chinese government to deepen Sino-Thai friendly cooperation as Thailand is China's close neighbor, he said.

During Chinese President Hu Jintao's Thailand visit last October, top leaders of the two countries reached important consensus to push forward the bilateral strategic cooperation, he said.

China is willing to make concerted efforts with Thailand to implement this consensus, he said.

Referring to Asian regional cooperation, Wen said that the thriving regional cooperation meets the requirements of all Asian nations, as well as the demand of Asia for self-development with united efforts.

China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have agreed to form a strategic partnership towards peace and prosperity, he said. China will consistently support the ASEAN integration process and support the leading role of ASEAN in the regional cooperation process, he added.

Wen said that Asian nations enjoy diversified features with sharp difference in different regions. He urged to proceed from reality with gradual paces in area of pan-Asia cooperation.

There are a number of regional cooperative mechanism in Asia and these mechanisms should coordinated with each other in an efficient and pragmatic way, he said.

Thaksin also highly spoke of the good-neighborhood between Thailand and China. He announced in the meeting that Thailand recognizes China's status as a full market economy.

China has huge economic potentials to tap and Thailand called on other nations to recognize China's market economy status as soon as possible, he said.

There are still a number of problems to be addressed, such as power shortage and poverty, he said, adding that poverty has become an important element that leads to the instability in the world. The Thai side is willing to work with the Chinese side in these areas and expects China to play a greater role in regional cooperation.

Wen expressed his appreciation of Thai's decision to recognize China's market economy status.

(Xinhua News Agency June 22, 2004)