Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo met hereTuesday with Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on the sidelines of the FourthGreater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Summit.

Dai said since diplomatic relations were established 36 years ago, relations betweenthe China and Thailand have been developing steadily and healthily, bringing tangiblebenefits to the two peoples.

China has attached great importance to developing relations with Thailand, and iswilling to make joint efforts with Thailand to promote the strategic partnership betweenthe two countries, he said.

Dai said he hoped the two sides will maintain good momentum in high-level exchanges,intensify strategic talks, map out the direction and priorities for future cooperation, anddeepen cooperation in economy and trade, finance, irrigation projects and lawenforcement, especially in protecting the security of the Mekong River channel.

He also said he hoped the two countries will continue to coordinate on international andregional issues, promoting the GMS cooperation, China-ASEAN relations andcooperation among the East Asian countries to achieve greater development.

For her part, Yingluck said that Thailand and China enjoy a profound traditionalfriendship, having always helped and supported each other.

She thanked China for its aid after Thailand was hit by floods. Moreover, Yingluck saidher country has attached great importance to developing relations with China, andwants to maintain close bilateral cooperation.

Thailand also wishes to intensify high-level exchanges between the two countries andexpand mutually beneficial cooperation in all fields to bring their strategic cooperationto a new level.