Bangkok and Shanghai are discussing the establishment of a joint task force to improve bilateral relations and the development of both cities across several dimensions.

Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt on Monday welcomed Gong Zheng, mayor and Deputy Communist Party Secretary of Shanghai Municipality and his delegation on their official visit to Bangkok at the City Hall in Phra Nakhon district.

The mayor’s group arrived in Bangkok last month to attend several activities scheduled from April 29 to May 2 aimed at promoting the relationship between Bangkok and Shanghai.
The two cities established an official relationship on May 10, 2016 to allow them to collaborate on tourism, economic administration, urban development, and exchange visits among officials and high-ranking executives.

During the meeting on Monday, Chadchart and Gong Zheng exchanged information on city administration, and discussed the problems that both cities are facing, such as PM2.5 air pollution.

Chadchart remarked that Bangkok needs to establish a city economic unit like Shanghai in order to develop the city’s economy so it can compete at the international level. He added that he had tasked his advisor Asst. Prof. Kessara Thanyalakpark with overall responsibility for setting up the city’s economic unit.

The Shanghai mayor cited statistics showing that China’s biggest and wealthiest city is a global hub in economics, trading, finance, transport, innovation and technology thanks to efficient administration of resource allocation, promotion of high-end industry, innovative technology and scientific development, and openness to global connection.

Gong Zheng also pointed out that the unique character of Shanghai is its flexibility and openness to continued reform and innovation development, making it one of the most advanced cities in the world in terms of economic value and investment in innovations.

The mayor added that in the modern era, Shanghai is working towards achieving low carbon emissions and low energy usage, while still promoting ease of business to attract foreign direct investment that boosts employment of local people.

In 2022 Shanghai recorded a population of 24.75 million, and has created over 10 million jobs to boost its residents’ economic stability while controlling product prices to help low-income earners.

Under Shanghai’s green initiative, the city aims to reach the target of having 1,000 public parks by 2025 and 2,000 parks by 2035, with over 600 parks having been built so far. With increasing green space, the city’s average PM2.5 level was recorded at only 2.5 microgram per cubic metre (versus Bangkok’s average in 2022 of 59.6 μg/m3).

The mayor also highlighted Shanghai’s traffic management using a unified digital platform to efficiently move over 7 million cars on the streets and 12 million commuters per day along the 832 km. long subway network. Shanghai has also established a big data centre to combine all the city’s data on one platform under 24-hour surveillance to ensure a quick response to any problems.

Chadchart expressed admiration for the vision of the mayor and for Shanghai’s fast and steady growth, which has served as a model for other cities in the Asian region.

“Shanghai not only focuses on business and economic development, it also prioritises people’s livelihoods, health, and overall wellbeing of the city,” he said. “Bangkok and Shanghai share a lot of similar policies, such as increasing green spaces, reducing PM2.5, and improving garbage and wastewater management. Sharing of knowledge and experience between two cities will therefore be beneficial to residents.”

Chadchart then proposed the two cities establish a joint task force responsible for knowledge sharing in a bid to improve bilateral relations and promote development across several aspects, such as the environment, city services, and tourism exchange programmes.

On Bangkok’s side, the governor tasked Torsak Chotimongkol, chief of governor advisors, to head the task force, and appointed the BMA’s International Affairs Office as a central agency.

At the end of the meeting, Gong Zheng thanked Chadchart for his hospitality and invited the governor to visit Shanghai for the next round of discussions.