The Thai-Chinese Rayong Industrial Park is one of China's first batch of overseas economic and trade cooperation zones. Currently, nearly 250 Chinese enterprises have settled in the park, employing about 50,000 Thai workers. The photo shows a view of the Thai-Chinese Rayong Industrial Park.

General Rubber (Thailand) Co., Ltd. produces a total of 7.3 million tires of various types annually. The photo shows Thai employees working on an automobile tire production line.

"I grew up as a child in the mountains of northern Thailand, and working for a Chinese company has transformed my life." 35-year-old Nongnu told the reporter. Nongnu and her husband both work at the Thai-Chinese Rayong Industrial Park, located more than 100 kilometers southeast of Bangkok, the Thai capital. They were among the first batch of Thai employees hired by General Rubber (Thailand) Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of General Shares, an enterprise in the park.

Founded in 2006, the Thai-Chinese Rayong Industrial Park is one of China's first batch of overseas economic and trade cooperation zones. Over the more than 10 years since the Belt and Road Initiative was proposed, the industrial park has entered a period of rapid development. It has now attracted nearly 250 Chinese enterprises, with more than 50,000 Thai employees working there. In the process of China and Thailand jointly building high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, these employees have gained a real sense of fulfillment and happiness.

　　"Vigorously driving employment and foreign exchange earnings from exports"

Walking into the Thai-Chinese Rayong Industrial Park, transport vehicles shuttle back and forth, and office buildings, factory buildings and warehouses stand in rows. The nearly 250 Chinese enterprises settled here cover fields such as auto and motorcycle parts, new energy, new materials, smart home, and machinery and electronics, with cumulative total industrial output value exceeding 30 billion US dollars.

In recent months, Zhao Bin, president of the Thai-Chinese Rayong Industrial Park, has been extremely busy, receiving as many as 10 enterprises coming for inspections in a single day at the busiest times. "More than 700 enterprises came for inspections in 2023, and about 30 Chinese enterprises have now completed registration and project approval in Zone 2 of the park," Zhao Bin said.

The Thai-Chinese Rayong Industrial Park has a total planned area of 20 square kilometers, of which Zone 1 covers 12 square kilometers and is basically saturated with settled enterprises. Zone 2 is planned to be developed over 8 square kilometers, with the first phase of 4 square kilometers under development, construction and investment promotion. The park has become an important platform and carrier for China-Thailand production capacity cooperation, and also the largest industrial cluster center and manufacturing export base for Chinese enterprises in ASEAN. Zhao Bin introduced that manufacturing is the park's key target for investment promotion. The park has now accelerated the development progress of Zone 2 and is actively improving supporting infrastructure construction.

The Thai-Chinese Rayong Industrial Park sprouted and grew in the fertile soil of China-ASEAN cooperative development. After the Belt and Road Initiative was proposed, the park's development shifted into "fast lane." Up to now, enterprises settled in the park have driven China's investment in Thailand to exceed 4.8 billion US dollars, accounting for more than 40 percent of China's investment in Thailand's manufacturing industry, becoming a model of China-Thailand production capacity cooperation. Zhao Bin said the park has attracted some industry-leading Chinese enterprises to invest in Thailand, "directly driving related upstream and downstream enterprises to invest in Thailand and promoting Thailand's construction of a relatively complete industrial chain. The supply chain restructuring brought about by Chinese enterprises' overseas investment has also enhanced regional industrial cooperation."

In the view of Qiu Weigong, president of Amata Group, the Thai investor in the Thai-Chinese Rayong Industrial Park, "the industrial park has vigorously driven employment and foreign exchange earnings from exports, injecting strong momentum into the economic and social development of Rayong Province and even Thailand."

　　"Working here fills me with confidence in the future"

Runergy Photovoltaic Technology (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Runergy Photovoltaic") is a photovoltaic enterprise that settled in the Thai-Chinese Rayong Industrial Park in 2020, focusing on the research and development and production of high-efficiency solar cells, with products mainly targeting overseas markets. "China's photovoltaic technology leads the world, and the company's order volume is gradually climbing." Li Haibo, deputy operations director of the manufacturing department of Runergy Photovoltaic, told the reporter that the company currently has about 2,000 employees and is one of the larger photovoltaic enterprises in Thailand.

When the reporter walked into the production workshop of Runergy Photovoltaic, it happened to be the employees' lunch break. Thailand has a lot of rain, and to make it convenient for employees to eat, the company moved the canteen near the work area so that employees can turn a corner and enjoy tasty meals. 29-year-old Thai young man Chaiyaphon returned to Thailand after graduating from Peking University in 2022 and came to work at Runergy Photovoltaic. He very much likes the company's united and friendly atmosphere. "When I first arrived, I was not very familiar with the business, and many veteran employees proactively helped me. The company has also given me ample room to grow." Chaiyaphon said proudly that his proposal to "build a production repair reporting system" based on actual work needs was adopted by the company, and the system development is now 80 percent complete.

In January 2020, General Rubber (Thailand), a subsidiary of General Shares, officially opened in the Thai-Chinese Rayong Industrial Park. After several years of development, the enterprise has developed a stable sales network and can produce 7.3 million automobile tires annually, maintaining good momentum of both production and sales. Li Kai, deputy general manager of the company, introduced that the company's products are mainly exported to Europe and the United States, and there are also many orders in many Southeast Asian countries.

"At present, the company has more than 1,500 Thai employees. Newly hired employees have different skill foundations, so we carry out systematic, tiered training to help them quickly adapt to the working environment," Li Kai said. Nongnu, who is mainly responsible for the company's administrative and logistics affairs, said: "At present, my husband and I can each earn 70,000 Thai baht per month (1 yuan is about 4.95 Thai baht), plus other subsidies. Working here fills me with confidence in the future." Now, Nongnu and her husband have each bought a piece of land in Bangkok and Rayong through bank loans, and the family car has also been upgraded.

"At present, there are more than 50,000 employees in the park, 90 percent of whom are local employees. After the development of Phase II of the park project is completed, the entire park is expected to accommodate 500 enterprises and drive employment for more than 100,000 people," Zhao Bin said.

　"Injecting new vitality into Thailand's economy"

The Thai-Chinese Rayong Industrial Park is located in the core area of Thailand's Eastern Economic Corridor. In recent years, the Thai government has vigorously promoted the construction of the Eastern Economic Corridor, namely establishing special economic zones in the three eastern coastal provinces of Chachoengsao, Chonburi and Rayong, attracting high value-added industries to settle there by vigorously developing infrastructure and implementing a series of investment preferential policies, developing high-tech industries, and promoting Thailand's economic transformation and upgrading. As a vanguard of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, China and Thailand are currently accelerating the construction of the China-Thailand Railway and expanding cooperation in fields such as the digital economy, green development and new energy.

China has been Thailand's largest trading partner for 10 consecutive years. In 2022, China-Thailand trade volume reached 135 billion US dollars, up 3 percent year on year. In 2022, China once again became Thailand's largest source of foreign investment. "China-Thailand cooperation in jointly building the Belt and Road continues to deepen, attracting more Chinese enterprises to participate in the construction of the Eastern Economic Corridor and also bringing huge development opportunities to the Thai-Chinese Rayong Industrial Park," said Tharadol Wongsethiranakul, deputy director of the Thai-Chinese Strategic Research Center of the National Research Council of Thailand.

"The friendly relations between Thailand and China have a long history, and the peoples of the two countries support each other like relatives and friends." Thai Prime Minister Srettha said that Thailand has a good business environment and hopes to cooperate with more Chinese enterprises in jointly building Belt and Road projects, strengthen trade exchanges between the two countries and promote the continuous development of bilateral relations.

Associate Professor Asongsi of the Faculty of Economics at Thammasat University of Thailand believes that the Eastern Economic Corridor strategy is highly aligned with the Belt and Road Initiative, and that investment, trade and technology from China are crucial to promoting Thailand's economic development and will inject new vitality into Thailand's economy. Wang Liping, Minister-Counselor of the Economic and Commercial Office of the Chinese Embassy in Thailand, said that more and more outstanding Chinese enterprises are taking advantage of the east wind of Belt and Road cooperation to take root in Thailand, and China-Thailand economic and trade cooperation has ushered in a new period of opportunity.