Recently, the reporter followed a foreign media delegation organized by the People's Liaison Office of the Prime Minister's Office of Thailand into the eastern economic corridor of Thailand to experience the implementation of this blueprint for economic planning made by the Thai government.
It takes an hour and a half to drive from Bangkok to the Eastern Economic Corridor. The Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) is located in Beiliu, Chunwu and Luo Yong provinces along the eastern coast of Thailand, with a total area of 13285 square kilometers and a population of nearly 3 million. It is the only national special economic zone in Thailand, aiming at attracting emerging industries by vigorously developing infrastructure and implementing a series of preferential policies, and building the eastern part of Thailand into a world-class economic center, trade and investment center and transportation and logistics center.
The picture shows Pattaya, an important tourist city in the eastern economic corridor. Photo by Fu Zhigang/Bright Picture
The eastern economic corridor has obvious location advantages. It is located between the Greater Mekong Economic Corridor and the "2 1 Century Maritime Silk Road", connected with Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam on land, and at the midpoint of the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific Ocean. It is the gateway to Asia, and the total GDP of the connecting areas accounts for 1/3 of the world GDP. The existing infrastructure of the eastern economic corridor is good. After further building or upgrading the infrastructure of land, sea and air, the industrial supply chain of the eastern economic corridor will be effectively integrated by various modes of transportation, connecting with key cities in Thailand through expressway and high-speed rail, and connecting with neighboring countries and the world through ports, airports, railways and highways.
Open up development opportunities
What the Thai government is advocating is the "Thai Economy 4.0" economic development model. The fundamental purpose of this model is to change Thailand's current industrial structure, make Thailand a leading digital business center in ASEAN region, realize the transformation of economic model based on value creation, and emphasize the development of technology and innovative enterprises. The Eastern Economic Corridor is a solid step towards this goal. The eastern economic corridor project adheres to three principles, namely connectivity, inclusiveness and sustainable development. Under the guidance of "Thailand's Economic 4.0 Policy", the Eastern Economic Corridor will become a leader in upgrading Thailand's commercial, industrial and agricultural development model, and then drive the country's development, with innovation, creation, scientific research and development as the driving force.
According to the plan, the Eastern Economic Corridor will focus on ten target industries. Among them, the first wave of S-curve industry is an industry with certain strength in Thailand, including modern automobile industry, intelligent electronics industry, high-end tourism and health tourism, agriculture and biotechnology, food processing industry, etc. The new wave of S-curve industry is an industry facing the future development of Thailand, covering robotics, aviation and logistics, biofuels and biochemistry, digital industry and all-round medical industry.
At the same time, the Thai government has invested heavily in the eastern economic corridor and will focus on developing a number of large-scale infrastructure projects. In terms of air transportation, Pattaya Utapao International Airport will be upgraded to an international airport with a long-term planned capacity of 30 million passengers per year, and will also become a logistics center and a high-end aviation maintenance center. In terms of water transport, Thailand will vigorously build three terminals in the corridor: Ranchobang Deep Sea Port is a distribution center for cargo containers and tourist vehicles, which will accommodate180,000 cargo containers and 3 million vehicles every year; Luo Yong Madapu deep-sea port will be used to transport oil and natural gas and support the national petrochemical industry; Seautois Wharf near Pattaya will become a high-end cruise port, and there will be ferries connecting the major tourist attractions in the Gulf of Thailand. After put into use, the travel time in the east and west of the Gulf of Thailand will be shortened by 2 hours. In terms of land transportation, Thailand will build a new airport high-speed rail to seamlessly connect Bangkok's Don Mueang, Suvarnabhumi Airport and Pattaya Utapao Airport to realize the interconnection of the three international airports.
The government is making every effort to promote
The eastern economic corridor is the most important investment plan put forward by the Thai government in the past 30 years, and it is also an important part of Thailand's 20-year national strategic plan. In order to ensure the sustainability and continuity of the plan, the Thai government specially formulated the Eastern Special Economic Zone Law, which came into effect last May. In order to attract foreign investment to nest in the eastern economic corridor, the Thai government has introduced a series of preferential policies, such as exempting enterprise income tax for up to 15 years, allowing government-supported projects to own land and providing one-stop office services.
When the reporter visited the eastern economic corridor, he saw a scene of full swing everywhere. At Seautois Wharf, the excavation of the harbor has been completed, the passenger hall is under intense construction, and the Thai Navy, the owner of the port, is beginning to attract investment and find suitable ferry partners. At Utapao Airport, the terminal building is being rebuilt in use, and the land acquisition for the planned second and third runways has been completed.
On the morning of 17, the reporter attended the unveiling ceremony of the human resources administrative center of the Eastern Economic Corridor. In a two-story building, ability assessment, employment registration, work permit and visa application can be completed together, and the promise of one-stop office has been put into practice. What makes the reporter shine is the employment training center here. This is not an armchair strategist, but real on-site training. In a spacious and bright factory building, several workers are assembling a solar closed-circuit television monitor. Not far away, a car was divided into several parts and placed on a platform for students to study its structure. In the high-tech factory building, the staff demonstrated the assembly line operation of the robot. In another room, several large-scale cutting-edge instruments imported from Germany are designed in a closed space according to established procedures to automatically polish metal industrial castings. Small and exquisite castings exude the unique luster of metal, which makes people sigh the beauty of science and technology. From the opening speed of the administrative center, we can fully feel Thailand's determination to develop the eastern economic corridor; Judging from the content setting of the training center, the direction of developing the eastern economic corridor in Thailand is clearly visible.
China actively participated.
Thailand has high expectations for China's participation in corridor construction. 2065438+On June 22, 2008, Thai Deputy Prime Minister Song Qi emphasized in the briefing of "Thailand's Grand Strategic Trend" that Thailand should connect the Belt and Road, especially the East Economic Corridor Railway and the Sino-Thai Railway Cooperation Project, so as to make the East Economic Corridor a logistics center in the region.
When it comes to China's participation in the construction of the Oriental Economic Corridor, we have to mention the Luo Yong Industrial Park in Thailand, which is known as the "Industrial Chinatown". As one of the earliest overseas economic and trade cooperation zones established by China enterprises, Luo Yong Industrial Park has become an important platform for capacity cooperation between China and ASEAN. In 20 18, the industrial park ushered in the best year in history, and the number of enterprises entering the park reached a record high. By the end of 20 18, China had invested more than US$ 3.5 billion in Thailand, and there were 1 18 enterprises in the park, with a total industrial value exceeding US$ 0.2 billion, with over 32,000 employees in Thailand and 3,000 employees in China. The scale effect and driving effect of the park are further highlighted, which has played a greater role in local employment creation, industrial upgrading and economic development.
Coincidentally, on June 65438+1October 65438+June 6, the Confucius Institute at Panacon University on the Royal Maritime Silk Road signed a cooperation agreement with Tenghui Technology (Thailand) Co., Ltd., and held the opening ceremony of the Chinese class. Director Wang Huichang, the representative office of Hanban China in the Kingdom of Thailand, believes that with the docking and continuous promotion of the Belt and Road Initiative and the "Thailand 4.0 Strategy", there is an increasing demand for "Chinese+professionals" in Thailand. The Confucius Institute at Royal University of Panakon on the Maritime Silk Road "bases itself on local conditions and radiates around", focusing on the specialization and characteristic development of Confucius Institute, and carrying out substantive cooperation with Luo Yong Industrial Park in Thailand to promote the integration of Chinese into Thailand's "Industry 4.0 Strategy" and "Oriental Economic Corridor", which will help to further promote the construction of park projects, promote Sino-Thai cooperation and enhance Sino-Thai friendship.
(Guangming Daily Bangkok 65438+1October 23rd)
Guangming daily (20 19 065438+24 10/2 edition)