Thai premier to visit China

Mon, 27 Aug 2001, 00:00 WIB | Source: AP

BANGKOK (AP): Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra begins a
three-day visit to China Monday, with topics ranging from
satellites to drug trafficking on the agenda.

Accompanied by several ministers and business executives,
Thaksin will meet with Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji, who visited
Thailand in May. The two countries enjoy close ties.

The Nation newspaper said Sunday that Thaksin, who made his
fortune in telecommunications, will seek a compromise on the
positioning of Thailand's iPSTAR communications satellite and
China's AsiaSat 4 satellite.

The Thai satellite, which will go into commercial service in
2003, is a project of Shin Satellite, in which Thaksin's son is
the major shareholder.

The Nation said the Chinese side will be asked to back down to
resolve the issue of orbits. AsiaSat has been awarded what iPSTAR
regards as the optimal slot for its satellite.

Thaksin will pay courtesy calls on President Jiang Zemin and
Li Peng, chairman of the National People's Congress during his
visit.

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