Thai friendship in our hearts

With no end in sight to Thailand's political turmoil, it is natural for some people to worry that China's traditionally sound ties with the country may suffer. However, such concern is groundless, says a Xinhua News Agency commentary.

Hoping to see a peaceful and prosperous Thailand once again back on its feet, China has been consistently urging all parties in Thailand to exercise restraint and start dialogue and consultations so as to restore national order at the earliest date.

Friendly ties between the two countries will surely weather this crisis as they have already endured the nearly 20 military coups in Thailand since it established the constitutional monarchy in 1932.

The two neighbors have good reasons to maintain good ties. Friendly exchanges between China and Thailand, closely linked by geographic, cultural and ethnic ties, can be traced back to ancient times and have transformed into a long-standing bond between the two peoples.

Nowadays, many of the 67 million Thais have Chinese ancestral roots and a lot of them play crucial roles in the country's political, economic and social affairs.

Successive governments of the kingdom have consistently adopted friendly and favorable policies toward China, and, in recent years, the two sides have been increasingly engaged in practical cooperation in a wide range of areas, including trade, investment, education and culture.

China has become the largest source of foreign visitors to Thailand, as well as its second-largest source of foreign investment.

In April 2012, China and Thailand succeeded in upgrading their relationship to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.

Just as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said when addressing the Thai parliament during his visit last October, the two countries share "familial affection" and their friendship has been "ingrained in the hearts of the two peoples".

As a consensus of the Thai society, the country's friendly ties and mutually beneficial cooperation with China will surely transcend the political mayhem.

It is fairly safe to say that no matter which side of Thailand's political tug-of-war gains the upper hand, neither will want to jeopardize the country's relationship with China. The stake is just too high.