Tan Jialin, assistant minister of the international department of the CPC's central committee, and his entourage called on Abhisit at the Democrat headquarters in the morning. The meeting lasted about an hour.

Abhisit told reporters that Tan invited him to visit China at a time he saw fit in order to strengthen relations between the two parties.

The meeting focused on economic and political ties between the two countries, he said.

The Democrat leader said he told Tan that he expected to visit China in the near future, and that Democrat executives' plans for overseas trips were recently postponed due to the ongoing political problems.

Abhisit said he told Tan he expected the political situation to return to normal later this year.

Tan and his delegation also visited the headquarters of the ruling Thai Rak Thai Party (TRT) yesterday, where they were greeted by party secretary-general Suriya Jungrungreangkit and party executive member Suranand Vejjajiva, TRT deputy spokesperson Sansanee Nakpong said.

Both sides exchanged views about boosting ties between the two countries and enhancing co-operation between the CPC and the TRT, according to Sansanee.

She said Tan asked about Thailand's political situation, to which Suriya responded that things were returning to normal.