CHIANG MAI, Thailand, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- Top legislator Wu Bangguo on Friday proposed closer regional cooperation between China and Thailand.
Wu, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) of China, the country's top legislature, made the call in a meeting with Chiang Mai's Governor Panadda Disakul Friday noon.
Wu said he was glad to conclude his three-nation Southeast Asia visit at Chiang Mai, the capital of Chiang Mai Province and the second largest city in Thailand.
As a political, economic and cultural center in northern Thailand, Chiang Mai played an important part in China-Thailand relations, Wu said, hailing the city's active interaction with Chinese cities and fruitful cooperation in trade, economy, culture and education.
Panadda Disakul extended a warm welcome to Wu, congratulating him on a successful Southeast Asia visit.
The governor said people in Chiang Mai had profound and amicable feelings for the Chinese people and looked forward to deepening cooperation with China.
Labeling regional cooperation as an important part of state-to- state relations, Wu said his visit here was aimed at boosting the mutually-beneficial cooperation between Chiang Mai and Chinese cities.
Wu called on both sides to increase trade in agricultural products and strengthen cooperation in infrastructure construction.
The top Chinese legislator also called for the two countries to exchange more teachers and students, conduct more joint researches, seek deeper tourism cooperation and promote exchange of visits.
Panadda Disakul said his province would like to seek substantive cooperation with China in trade, economy, tourism, education and people-to-people exchanges, in a bid to promote Chiang Mai's development and add new momentum to Thailand-China relations.
Wu and his entourage flew to Chiang Mai Friday morning after his visit to Bangkok, where Wu met with Thai government and parliament leaders The 11-day visit had already taken Wu to Cambodia and Indonesia.