Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanavisit said his country hopes to expand agricultural exports to China and is willing to strengthen communication and coordination in collaboration in trade, investment and infrastructure construction as well as in regional economic and trade cooperation.

Jurin made the remarks on Monday during his meeting with Chinese Ambassador to Thailand Han Zhiqiang, who assumed his office in August. The two sides exchanged views on a range of economic and trade issues during the meeting.

In the meeting, Jurin also spoke highly of the achievements the Chinese government has made in combatting COVID-19 as well as the support provided for Thailand in anti-epidemic supplies.

Han, in the meeting, said China and Thailand have maintained their strong economic and trade ties amid COVID-19, contributing to the fight against the pandemic and recovery in both countries and bringing tangible benefits to the two peoples.

China is willing to work with Thailand to continue to enhance the alignment of their development strategies, pushing for cooperation in emerging sectors such as green economy and digital economy while boosting their collaboration in traditional areas.

In the first nine months of this year, the bilateral trade volume between China and Thailand totaled 97.4 billion U.S. dollars, up 36 percent year on year, showed China's customs data.

Imports to China from Thailand rose 33.2 percent during the cited period, and the import of Thailand's agricultural products surged 56.31 percent year on year.