China to buy more Thai rice, rubber

THAILAND - The Thai prime minister's office said yesterday that talks with the visiting Chinese premier had sweetened terms of trade deals for rice and rubber.

The Thai government website announced that Premier Li Keqiang committed China to buying one million tons of rice and 200,000 tons of rubber a year from Thailand for an indefinite period, AP reported. The sales would be on a government-to-government basis.

Mr Li had announced on Friday that a deal had been struck to purchase one million tons of rice and 200,000 tons of rubber from Thailand over a five-year period.

In a speech to Thai lawmakers, Mr Li said that Thailand and China would boost their trade to US$100 billion (S$125 billion) by the end of 2015.

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