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Premier Zhu Rongji pledged China's support for a war on drugs in the "Golden Triangle" and offered help to Thailand's vital agricultural sector, Thai officials said on Saturday night. Zhu is on a four-day visit to the country for strengthening economic and political bilateral ties and boosting regional cooperation. Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai told reporters that Zhu offered to host a drug summit for leaders of Thailand, China, Myanmar and Laos in Kunming, capital of China's southern province of Yunnan. The summit would be the first to focus on the region's drug problems. A date was not announced. The countries are on the front lines of a war against narcotics trafficking out of the Golden Triangle, rugged territory where the borders of Laos, Thailand and Myanmar converge. It is one of the world's largest sources of illicit drugs. The Thai foreign minister said that Zhu told Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra China would buy at least 200,000 tons of rice and up to 600,000 tons of rubber from Thailand this year. China confirmed plans to invest US$1 billion to help Thailand turn eucalyptus trees into paper for export. China also supports Thailand's efforts to rally Asia behind a plan to stabilize regional agricultural prices. Thailand is the world's largest exporter of rice and rubber, and a drop in prices of these commodities can devastate farmers. China, Thailand, Laos and Myanmar will soon hold a ceremony marking the opening to navigation of Lancang-Mekong River, Zhu said. The planning and preparation for Kunming-Bangkok highway, a major international thoroughfare linking China and the ASEAN countries, are also well under way, agency quoted the Chinese premier as saying. Zhu was scheduled to travel to the seaside resort of Hua Hin today to meet Thailand's constitutional monarch Bhumibol Adjulaydej. China is Thailand's fourth-largest trading partner. Last year, bilateral trade reached US$6.6 billion. In a meeting on Saturday between the two premiers, Thaksin said he believes that Sino-Thai ties will grow closer in the new century "and will pass on from generation to generation," according to the news agency. Commenting that "the Thais and the Chinese are brothers," Zhu said there are no outstanding issues between the two countries. The Chinese premier said a major feature of China-Thailand relations is the frequent exchanges of visits between leaders of the two countries. Zhu said all these activities enhanced mutual understanding, trust and cooperation, and he hoped the two countries will maintain this "good tradition." Zhu invited Thaksin to pay an official visit to China at his convenience. He went on to thank Thailand for "its understanding of and support to China's stance on "important issues concerning China's sovereignty and national interests, such as the isses of Taiwan, Tibet and human rights." "All these have fully demonstrated the unbreakable and very close relations between China and Thailand," Zhu said, noting that he is confident the two sides will conduct more-effective cooperation in regional and international affairs. Zhu said economic and trade cooperation has become a driving force in the development of China-Thailand relations, pointing out that two-way trade volume reached US$6.6 billion last year. There remains great potential in economic and trade cooperation between the two countries, Zhu said.