Hundreds of officials, scholars and entrepreneurs from China and Thailand attended a recent seminar hosted by the Bangkok Bank with the theme of "Changing China: Implications for the World Economy and Opportunities for Investment."

Chartsiri Sophonpanich, president of the bank, said China's economy, which has become a barometer of the world economy, has exerted a major influence on member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). As China continues to open up its economy and promote investment liberalization, the RMB yuan is becoming an important foreign currency in Thailand and other Asian countries. Given the rapid development of trade and investment between China and Thailand, Thai companies are eager to gain a better understanding of China, Sophonpanich said.

Guan Mu, China's Ambassador to Thailand, pointed out that a slower growth rate in China and the country's efforts to change its economic development pattern, increase domestic demand, promote industrial upgrading and narrow gaps between urban and rural areas and between different regions are conducive to stable and further economic growth. As a result, China's economic development will be more comprehensive, balanced and sustainable.

China's economic ties with other countries will become even closer in the future, Guan said. In the next five years, the Chinese will import $10 trillion in goods, invest $500 billion overseas and take more than 400 million outbound tours, presenting tremendous opportunities for the development of the world.

China will complete the building of a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way by 2020, said Xing Houyuan, Vice President of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation. To realize this goal, the country is stepping up efforts to change its economic development pattern and create an upgraded version of the Chinese economy. It will shift from the previous strategy of driving economic growth by developing a huge production capacity through investment and expanding exports to a new approach that counts on domestic demand, modern services and emerging industries of strategic importance.

She highlighted the role of two-way investment in China's economic development: On one hand, foreign investment has promoted China's economic growth, boosted its foreign trade, created a large number of jobs and given impetus to the country's reforms. On the other hand, Chinese companies' growing investment abroad and steady progress in infrastructure collaboration have contributed to the economic development, industrial restructuring and fiscal revenue growth of other countries.

China's development has created opportunities for Asian countries. China has been Thailand's largest export market and second largest importer for years, whereas Thailand is China's second largest trade partner in ASEAN. Many in Thailand are impressed with the soaring number of Chinese tourists. In 2012, 2.7 million Chinese tourists visited Thailand, making China the largest source of tourists to Thailand. The number of Chinese tourists to Thailand totaled more than 1.5 million from January to April and is expected to exceed 3.5 million or even reach 4 million this year.

As comprehensive strategic partners, China and Thailand share clear consensus on cooperation in the fields of high-speed rail, water resources, clean energy and education. They have also signed a currency swap agreement and devised a five-year plan on economic and trade cooperation. As their economic ties deepen, how to invest in China more effectively has become an issue of concern to the Thai business community.

Thailand's CP Group was one of the first foreign companies to establish a presence in China after the country adopted its reform and opening-up policy in the late 1970s. Thanakorn Seriburi, Vice Chairman of the group and a China hand who has worked with Chinese companies for more than 30 years, advised Thai entrepreneurs to take into account conditions in China's different provinces. As China balances economic development across the country, Central China holds great potential. The region, which not only is endowed with abundant cultural resources but also enjoys good infrastructure, deserves attention from Thai investors, he said.