As an important platform for the joint construction of the Belt and Road capacity cooperation, the Sino-Thai Rayong Industrial Park has attracted 167 Chinese-funded enterprises to settle in, with a cumulative industrial value exceeding US$16 billion.

China Industrial Export Base

In recent years, the Thai government has vigorously promoted the construction of the "Eastern Economic Corridor", namely, the establishment of special economic zones in Rayong, Chonburi and Chachoengsao on the eastern coast. It has strengthened infrastructure construction and implemented a series of preferential investment policies to attract high added value. Industry settled down. The number of Chinese-funded enterprises that have settled in Rayong Industrial Park has grown from more than 30 at the beginning of the park to 167 today. With 40,000 Thai employees, it has become an industrial cluster center and manufacturing export base for traditional Chinese industries in Thailand.

"The factory is now in normal production, with a daily output of 2,000 sets of air conditioners." Workers are intensively and orderly assembling and testing in the Oaks Air Conditioning factory in Thailand, which will be completed and put into production in 2020. Zhang Xiaobo, deputy manufacturing manager of the factory, said that since the factory was put into production, it has carried out key upgrades in five aspects including intelligent equipment and automated production. The goal is to create a new benchmark for intelligent air conditioning production.

The Chinese automobile tire mold manufacturer Halma Group is the world's leading automobile tire mold design, manufacturing, use and management company, occupying more than 30% of the international market share. Since the establishment of Halma (Thailand) Co., Ltd. in 2014, the annual production and sales volume has increased by approximately 60%. In the workshop, the engraving machine smoothly engraved the tire side panels. After a while, the pattern on the tire side of the mold was revealed. Most of these equipment are independently developed by the company, with a high level of automation, and one worker can operate 4 machines at the same time.

"While implementing strict epidemic prevention measures, the factory has maintained efficient operation. The two shifts of workers work in turn to meet customer needs." Qiu Jinliang, general manager of Halma (Thailand) Co., Ltd., said that the company's orders reached 200 million yuan in 2020, 80% The products are exported to Europe and the United States, and 20% are supplied to local car tire manufacturers in Thailand.

"Hundreds of companies in the park are basically in normal production conditions, and some companies' orders have increased instead of falling." Xu Genluo, senior consultant of Rayong Industrial Park, believes that the repeated global epidemic has caused many manufacturing companies to pay more attention to supply chain safety and production base layout. And intelligent manufacturing and other issues, in the future, the pace of enterprise transformation and upgrading and globalization and regional cooperation will be further accelerated.

Economic and Trade Development

In recent years, more and more Chinese new technology and new material companies have settled in the park. Dingheng New Materials Co., Ltd., which was put into operation in September 2019, has installed many international leading production equipment. In an operating room full of computer screens, technicians are operating a rolling mill that cuts aluminum foil. "The factory produces about 80,000 tons of aluminum foil annually, which is not only in short supply in the Thai market, but also exported to Europe and the United States," said Hu Wenqian, general manager of the company.

In 2015, Talesun Solar settled in Rayong Industrial Park, bringing Thailand the first photovoltaic panel project invested by a foreign company. In the past few years, Talesun’s third-party testing efficiency of PERC batteries has reached 23.56%, and is actively developing next-generation PERX battery technology with an efficiency expected to exceed 24%. The project also drove local component sales and power station development business, and its products radiated to Southeast Asia and surrounding areas, as well as European and American markets.

During the epidemic prevention and control period, the Rayong Industrial Park used digital technology to explore a new set of "cloud investment" and "cloud service" new models. In 2020, 20 new companies will enter the park. As of 2021, it has welcomed 7 companies to enter the park. "The industrial park covers a total area of 12 square kilometers. The first and second phases of investment promotion have ended, and the third phase of development is coming to an end." said Zhao Bin, president of the Thai-Chinese Rayong Industrial Park Development Co., Ltd.

Facing the test of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, China and Thailand have overcome difficulties and continued to promote pragmatic cooperation, and bilateral trade has grown against the trend. "The'Eastern Economic Corridor' development strategy is deeply connected with the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative. Investment, trade and technology from China are vital to promoting Thailand's economic development." said Kani, Secretary-General of Thailand's Eastern Economic Corridor Office. Chinese investors have shown their willingness to invest. It is estimated that the total investment in the "Eastern Economic Corridor" project in 2021 is expected to reach 400 billion baht (1 U.S. dollar is about 33 baht).

"To a large extent, Thailand's economic recovery in 2021 is closely related to cooperation with China." Said Cai Weicai, senior vice president of Thailand's Kasikorn Bank. In the case of weak European and American markets, the Chinese market is even more important. In 2020, the bilateral trade volume between Thailand and China increased by 7.5% year-on-year, and the bilateral trade volume in the first four months of 2021 increased by 37% year-on-year, demonstrating the tremendous resilience and potential of the economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.

Cai Weicai said: "Chinese investors regard Thailand as an important production base for ASEAN and even the global market. In addition to e-commerce and manufacturing, Thailand's infrastructure and new energy construction are also attractive to Chinese companies." According to Thailand Investment Promotion According to the Commission's statistics, in 2019, China surpassed Japan as Thailand's largest source of overseas investment for the first time in 2019, and the prospects for investment cooperation between the two parties are broad.

Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce Zhu Lin stated that with the smooth progress of the One Belt One Road project, Thailand-China cooperation in various fields, especially economic and trade cooperation, has become increasingly close. In the future, under the cooperation framework of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP), “the cooperation between the two countries will usher in greater room for development and add impetus to Thailand’s economic recovery”. Editor/Tian Zengpeng