China's Belt and Road Initiative is creative and will help further boost regional economic connectivity, and Thailand is set to gain from the initiative, experts have said.
The Belt and Road Initiative, proposed by China in 2013, is a trade and infrastructure network that includes the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road to connect Asia, Europe and Africa.
Thai government has voiced support for the initiative on various occasions, stressed that Thailand is willing to actively participate in relevant projects.
Currently, Thailand and China are in a process of negotiating on the joint building of a medium-speed railway line, which will connect northeast Thailand's Nong Khai province, capital Bangkok and eastern Rayong province.
The Joint Committee on Railway Cooperation between Thailand and China has recently concluded its fifth meeting, with a wide range of consensus and achievements reached on the feasibility study, financing framework and personnel training.
The next meeting is scheduled for early August and hopefully, an intergovernmental framework agreement on railway cooperation will be inked in mid-September, and the first-phase construction of the 867-kilometer dual-track line is expected to start in October.
The railway project, once completed, could serve as a model of the Belt and Road Initiative and demonstrate to the world how projects of its kind can promote local economy, said Huang Bin from Kasikorn Research Center, a Thai think tank.
It could bring along more projects as the initiative unfolds, Huang added.
The railway line, which will use 1.435-metre standard gauge and trains operated at top speeds of 160-180 kph, is expected to join the planned China-Laos railway.
"Thailand's railways will lead all the way to Europe via China' s railway network, making the country the real ASEAN transport hub, " Huang commented.
Thailand stands to gain from its railway cooperation with China, as it promises funding and transfer of China's "cost-effective" technologies, said Sumet Ongkittikul, research director for transportation and logistics policy under the Thailand Development Research Institute.
Moreover, an improved linkage with China will result in reduced transportation costs and increased bilateral trade, Sumet said.
Infrastructure development is of great importance to Thailand, Tang Zhimin, director of China ASEAN Studies under Bangkok-based Panyapiwat Institute of Management.
"As a result, China's Belt and Road Initiative and Sino-Thai railway cooperation will not only help stimulate the Thai economy in the short term, but also help Thailand grow into a logistics hub in ASEAN," he said.
