Thailand and China are looking to boost long-term cooperation in the financial sector and foreign direct investment besides bolstering trade, as strategies to expand economic growth together, Deputy Prime Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said.

Kittiratt said China had expressed high confidence that Thailand would recover quickly from the unprecedented floods that have hit large parts of the country. China has promised to support Thailand in all sectors to strengthen the country's growth.

To foster closer cooperation, China will import more agricultural goods from Thailand, mainly rice. It will also continue to invest in Thailand in many sectors such as infrastructure development, especially railways.

Also, Wen asked for quick action by the Thai central bank on currency swaps or promoting the use of the yuan to facilitate trade between the two countries.

China also wants to promote strong cooperation under the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement and would like ASEAN to treat China as a priority country for closer economic ties.

Kittiratt said he had also asked China to import ethanol from Thailand in the near future amid expectations of higher production.

"China has a policy on green energy. Besides domestic supply, Thailand will soon have the capacity to produce more ethanol from sugar cane and cassava. Export of ethanol to China will increase value-addition for Thai commodities exports," Kittiratt said.

Bilateral trade was expected to increase to US$100 billion (Bt3 trillion) from about $50 billion this year. He said Thailand's exports were expected to grow by at least 17-18 per cent a year to achieve the target. Two-way investment is expected to grow by 15 per cent a year from 2012-2016.

Target investment sectors are automobiles and parts, machine production, alternative energy, agricultural products, and services.