The Forerunner to Promote Civilian and Commercial Usage of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

By Qi Li

In recent years， the development of the unmanned aerial vehicle（UAV） market has become popular due to the convenient uses of UAVs in both civilian and commercial sectors. Prior to the establishment of Thailand UAV Technology Development Co.， Ltd.， Wu Congqi was also the founder of Taimei Medical Beauty， which conducts business throughout Asia. Why did Wu choose to cross over from the traditional medical beauty industry to the UAV industry？ Furthermore， this year marks the 46th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Thailand. As the executive vice chairman of the China Chamber of Commerce in Thailand， how does Wu view the investment opportunities of the two countries in the future？ During the COVID-19 pandemic， this reporter exclusively interviewed Wu Congqi， current chairman of Thailand UAV Technology Development Co.， Ltd.

Dare to be the first in the world

Chinas Foreign Trade： Can you explain your original intentions when establishing Thailand UAV Technology Development Co.， Ltd.？

Wu Congqi： As we all know， science and technology pave the way to the future， and the usage and development of UAVs thus promotes social progress and a higher degree of human civilization. I am always exploring the field of innovation and tracking the progress of science and technology with the mindset of “daring to be the first in the world”， hoping to benefit society and create social value in some way with my meager efforts. As a UAV fan， I hope more people can discover and utilize the value of UAVs. Another important consideration is that， across the ages， certain dangerous jobs have been carried out manually， resulting in some people even losing their lives， the idea of which deeply saddens me. For instance， there are still Southeast Asian people who collect honey from clifftops and some people who pick precious herbs on the steep sides of mountains. Of course， there are also some routine work， although occupy a lot of manpower and material resources， yet is relatively simple， such as mail delivery.

With the continuous progress of society， such work has been gradually replaced by a series of machines. However， in general， these machines are not very efficient， and the work that is completed by them is not that satisfactory. As such， UAVs are currently taking over these jobs. They can reduce the cost of human operation and help people complete work more efficiently， and they will have more and more extensive applications in the future.

Chinas Foreign Trade： How do you understand the prospects of the UAV industry in Thailand？ What are your future plans in this market？

Wu Congqi： At present， with global technological innovation， exploration of the UAV field has been put as a strategic aim of every country. At present， UAVs are already widely used in agriculture， parcel delivery， construction， investigation and mapping. Since 2013， the market size of UAVs has continued to grow， while the proportion of civilian UAVs has steadily increased. According to a survey， the global UAV market reached USD 25.9 billion in 2019 and is expected to hit USD 58 billion by 2023. I believe， first of all， Southeast Asian UAVs account for approximately 20% of the global revenue by region， and Thailand accounts for approximately 25% of the total revenue from Southeast Asia. Therefore， there is great market potential to develop the UAV industry in Thailand. Second， Thailand has promoted the transformation of UAVs from military to civil and commercial use in terms of policies since June 2019. As such， the UAV application market is gradually shifting from military to civilian， and the proportion of civilian UAVs is increasing. This will certainly be of great convenience for production and people from all walks of life and will increase the number of possibilities for future production and lifestyles. Third， different forms of agricultural production can be derived from the features of Thailands different terrains， and UAVs can aid agriculture in many aspects， including transportation and fertilization. It is also possible to promote inter-city exchanges， relieve the pressure of traffic congestion and promote the progress of cities and countries in various fields， such as transportation and parcel delivery. My idea is to first establish a UAV technology company， and then apply it in more fields， such as agricultural production and transportation， so as to promote the civilian and commercial use of UAVs in various fields. This is my goal. I will also work more closely with more politicians and business people to promote the commercial use of UAVs by acting as a model role so as to drive social progress.

Chinas Foreign Trade： In April of 2019， Taimei Medical Beauty set up its Greater China operation center in Guangzhou， China. Could you please explain the companys development status in China？

Wu Congqi： In April 2019， TMYM （Taimei Medical Beauty） International Beauty Industry Group settled in China due to Chinas reputation for housing international brands， professional teams and large amount customer resources. Its operational headquarters was set up in Guangzhou International Financial Center. In line with their objectives “quality with ingenuity， earning a reputation through original aspirations， and establishing a brand through perseverance”， we have deeply rooted ourselves in China， with an eye towards the world and ready to embrace the future. Were aiming to create a grand business blueprint with new medical beauty ecological rules. TMYM is the first company in the medical， hairdressing and cosmetic industry to successfully implement a block chain application， and embraces development in all of its different sections， including asset management， financial products， trading of precious metals， real estate， import and export trade， medical tourism to Thailand， international cosmetics and celebrity clubs. The group has now garnered strong influence in mainland China， Hong Kong， Macao and Taiwan， as well as Southeast Asia as a whole， firmly establishing its leading position in the industry. We will continue to strengthen investment for deep cultivation in the Chinese market and believe that the future will be even better.

Communication with the Chinese and Thailand business communities to play a leading role

Chinas Foreign Trade： This year marks the 46th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Thailand. As the executive vice chairman of the China Chamber of Commerce in Thailand， how do you see the future economic， trade and investment development between China and Thailand？ Which sectors do you think promise future investment opportunities for entrepreneurs from both countries （China and Thailand）？ What are your expectations for the future development of China-Thailand economic and trade relations？

Wu Congqi： China and Thailand have a history of close relations spanning more than 700 years. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1975， the two countries have signed a series of agreements， including trade agreements， maritime agreements， agreements on the promotion and protection of investments and agreements on the avoidance of double taxation. China is Thailands largest trading partner， while Thailand is Chinas third largest trading partner from among the ASEAN countries. On the basis of the principles of equality and mutual benefit， the two countries have expanded their mutually beneficial cooperation in the fields of trade， investment， agriculture， industry， maritime transport and science and technology， and have issued a string of preferential policies. The Implementation of Chinas “Belt and Road” initiative has brought about dividends for Thailands infrastructure， transportation， tourism， finance， cultural and educational exchanges， and import and export trade. This is not only for the benefit of the Thai people， but also strengthens Thailands position as an important sea port in Southeast Asia， acting as an important logistics channel for the maritime silk road and bringing huge benefits in terms of close bilateral economic and trade exchanges， as well as investment and financing. At present， Thailand is still in the early stage in terms of the new energy， new material， new technology and new economy industries， with favorable prospects and a large market share. Chinese enterprises should respond quickly and utilize the advantage of being first， thereby not only filling the technology gap presented by Thai industry， but also improving the local digital economy and the technical level of manufacturing so as to gain the most preferential investment incentive in Thailand. The development and planning projects in Thailand will bring about great business opportunities for Chinese manufacturers engaged in the field of innovative technology.

In my opinion， Thailand is a pivotal country in terms of Chinas implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative. Sound China-Thailand economic and trade relations and investment development is of great demonstrative significance and provides good publicity for implementing the Belt and Road Initiative， as well as docking the “Thailand 4.0 Development Strategy” and the “Eastern Economic Corridor Plan”. It is hoped that with the joint efforts of the two countries， more and better mutually beneficial policies will be introduced so that we can learn from each others strengths and achieve mutual benefits in order to jointly enhance the economic strength of both countries and elevate their status among the international community.

Chinas Foreign Trade： Could you talk about the development history of the China Chamber of Commerce in Thailand？ What role does the Chamber play in promoting trade and investment between China and Thailand？ What are your plans for the future of the Chamber？

Wu Congqi： The establishment of the China Chamber of Commerce in Thailand can be traced back to the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce in Thailand， which was established in 1910 and was active for a whole century. Over the course of these one hundred years of development， its influence has radiated throughout the entirety of Chinese society in Thailand， and has even exerted a far-reaching influence on friendly cooperation， economic and trade exchanges， cultural exchanges and other aspects between Thailand and China. In recent years， with the rise of overseas Chinese businessmen in Thailand， more influential chambers of commerce have since emerged. The Chamber of Commerce is the “chamber of businessmen” with “mutual benefit and mutual help” as the consensus， acts as a network of contacts and a channel of information， and is the place where entrepreneurs can find a sense of belonging. The Chamber of Commerce takes the lead in terms of win-win cooperation， complementary resources and the strong supporting the weak， with the aim of common development in mind. It allows us to make use of the established relations， channels and other public resources owned by business people within the Chamber to help coordinate and solve problems related to seeking land， projects， funds， product sales and even various rights protection issues encountered during business. More Chinese people in Thailand can also express their homesickness， talk about development and seek cooperation through the Chamber. As such， they can better contribute to society and shoulder their responsibilities. In my opinion， in the future， the China Chamber of Commerce in Thailand should first of all maintain its current state of patriotism and solidarity to continue to play its leading role. Second， the chamber is supposed to enhance its popularity and influence， expand the existing circle of entrepreneurs， in order to better serve more Chinese people in Thailand and act as a joint force. Third， in 2020， the pandemic dealt a huge blow to the global economy and by extension， peoples lives. The China Chamber of Commerce in Thailand should assume more social responsibilities， engage in more charitable undertakings， and make warmth the main theme of the Cham-ber. Fourth， and most importantly， the China Chamber of Commerce in Thailand should make due contributions to the economic and trade cooperation between China and Thailand.

Social responsibility is the only way for enterprises to go from“big” to “great”

Chinas Foreign Trade： Has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the companys business？ If so， what are the companys countermeasures？

Wu Congqi： Last year， the pandemic greatly impacted the global economy， with sections such as asset management， real estate， import and export trade， medical tourism to Thailand， international beauty and plastic surgery， and brand chain catering of Thailands TMYM International Beauty Industry Group all feeling the influence created by this. However， at the same time， we also experienced the Chinese spirit when combating the pandemic. I was deeply impressed by the speed in which the pandemic was contained， with economic development resuming in just a few months. Moved by Chinas resistance to COVID-19， Thailand TMYM signed a general agent contract with Beijing Juxiechang Pharmaceutical for the use of a traditional Chinese medicine containing honeysuckle particles in Thailand， which can be used to cure influenza and treat coronavirus， and which has been approved by the State Food and Drug Administration. As such， Thailand TMYM has become the only cooperation mechanism in Thailand for this type of traditional Chinese medicine， taking a key step to enable traditional Chinese medicine to expand its influence abroad and allowing Southeast Asian people to understand Chinas traditional medicine culture. In the meantime， we will enhance the sharing of our brands in the Chinese market and will actively cooperate with Chinese competitive enterprises， striving for consensus to promote development， and will mobilize the linkage between various industries and strive to become a well-known international brand in China. We will take advan- tage of favorable policies to accelerate our cooperation with China in the science and technology industry and the e-commerce innovation industry， seeking out cooperation opportunities with cutting-edge enterprises and launching the first shot in terms of scientific and technological reform and innovation. During the pandemic， we sorted out industry sections and conducted online skills training to make full preparations for the post-pandemic recovery. In addition， we have strengthened our international exchanges and cooperation within the industry， and have developed more new markets and customer resources.

Chinas Foreign Trade： Can you please explain your understanding of entrepreneurs social responsibility？

Wu Congqi： There is an old saying in China： All for one and one for all. Within the TMYM International Beauty Group， we have established a team consisting of several thousand deaf and mute people， giving these silent angels a fair social status and allowing them to enjoy the same social treatment as other people. After eight years of persistence， I have found that these angels have also touched every member of the company with their unique shining points. I provide them with the platform and they made me who I am. I also established the Pacific Medical Education Charity Foundation， and have donated money and materials in Chiangmai and other places many times， as well as donating equipment which was urgently needed by 12 students in China Town in northern Thailand. During the pandemic， the Foundation has also donated urgentlyneeded materials and supplies to the government and for society.

These days， with the rapid economic development and continuous social progress， our original aspirations， love and social responsibility are particularly important for us to hold on to. Entrepreneurs that are actively engaged in philanthropy can improve their spirits， representing their sense of value and social responsibility. Charitable acts and social responsibility will benefit more people， will enable others to feel the glow of helping others， and will also make society kinder， no matter when and where in the world it is. Our original aspiration was the persistence of entrepreneurs to move forward， but love is the essence of human nature that entrepreneurs must not forget. Social responsibility is the bottom line of enterprise development and is also the only way for an enterprise to go from “big” to “great”.