In China’s diplomacy with neighbouring countries, the friendly relations between China and Thailand have always sparkled. The many “firsts” created in this relationship have vividly demonstrated the special bond of “China and Thailand are as close as one family” as well as a firm belief of the two countries in working hand in hand for common development, bringing great benefits to the people, and setting a shining example of regional cooperation.
His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Phra Vajiraklaochaoyuhua and Her Majesty Queen Suthida Bajrasudhabimalalakshana will pay a historic state visit to China. In a spirit of pioneering shown by the inspiration of first-ever accomplishments jointly achieved in the bilateral relationship, China and Thailand will continue to inspire enthusiasm for deepening the friendship and practical cooperation.
Thailand was the first country in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to engage in strategic cooperation with China, as well as to establish a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership with China. In 2022, President Xi Jinping visited Thailand and attended the Apec Economic Leaders’ Meeting. Both leaders reached important consensus on building a more prosperous, stable, and sustainable China-Thailand community with a shared future, ushering bilateral relations into a new era.
Indeed, Thailand was the first Asean country to implement a free trade arrangement with China. In October 2003, China and Thailand implemented a zero-tariff arrangement for 188 types of vegetables and fruits. Thailand is the country with the most varieties of fresh fruits granted access to China, with 23 types of fresh fruits approved for import, ranking first globally. China’s agricultural imports from Thailand ranked first among Asean countries, with the total value reaching US$11.6 billion in 2024. Thailand established the first wholly foreign-owned enterprise in China. Thailand’s Charoen Pokphand Group established its presence in the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, holding the approval document “Shen Wai Zi Zheng Zi (1981) No. 0001” in 1979.
Thailand hosts the largest overseas production capacity of Chinese new energy vehicles. Eight Chinese automakers, including SAIC and BYD, have invested here, with an annual production capacity of nearly 600,000 new energy vehicles and a total investment of over 20 billion yuan (91.3 billion baht). Thailand is the first Asean country where China’s 5G technology has been fully implemented for commercial use. Thai telecommunications operators launched 5G mobile services to the public in 2020, with Chinese companies like Huawei and ZTE as key partners. China is the largest source of MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) tourists to Thailand, with 250,000 Chinese MICE visitors in 2024, ranking first with the proportion of 34% of the total.
Thailand is the first country to conduct joint military exercises and training with China across all branches of the military, featuring the regular training and exercises of “Strike”, “Blue Strike” and “FalconStrike”. Seven “Strike” joint exercises have been conducted since 2007. Thailand was the first Asean country where China stationed drug liaison officers and signed an extradition treaty with China.
Thailand is the first country to collaborate with China in building a VGOS radio telescope. In 2025, a 13-metre diameter Very Long Baseline Interferometry Global Observing System (VGOS) radio telescope, jointly developed by China and Thailand, was inaugurated in Chiang Mai. Thailand is the first country to receive a Chinese nuclear fusion experimental device (Tokamak). In 2017, the Chinese Academy of Sciences gifted the Tokamak device to the Thailand Institute of Nuclear Technology, marking the first such device in Asean.
Thailand is the first country to host an overseas exhibition of China’s lunar samples. In 2024, precious samples brought back by China’s Chang’e-5 mission were displayed in Thailand. China will be the first country to send a Thai research instrument into deep space, as the Chang’e-7 mission has selected Thailand’s “Space Weather Monitoring” device for deployment. Thailand is also the first Southeast Asian country to engage in polar cooperation with China, establishing a joint laboratory at a Chinese Antarctic research station, and the first Asian country visited by the Xuelong 2,China’s polar research icebreaker.
Thailand hosts the world’s longest-running, largest and highest-level celebrations of the Happy Chinese New Year. The Happy Chinese New Year, a flagship project of China-Thailand cultural cooperation, has been held in Thailand for years with great success. Her Royal Highness Princess Sirindhorn attended celebrations in Chinatown for many years. The China Cultural Center in Bangkok is the first of its kind set up by China in Southeast Asia and the largest China Cultural Center in the world. Meanwhile, China has been the largest source of tourists for Thailand. Chinese tourists to Thailand exceeded 10 million person-times in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Thailand is the first country to declare traditional Chinese medicine legal like China.
Thailand is home to the world’s first Confucius Classroom and the first Development Alliance of Confucius Institutes. In 2006, the Confucius Classroom at Bangkok’s Traimit Wittayalai Secondary School was established. Now, there are 17 Confucius Institutes and 11 Confucius Classrooms. China and Thailand jointly built the world’s first Luban Workshop, creating an integrated education model of “Chinese language + vocational skills” that has trained 1,804 Thai students.
Thailand is one of the first countries to incorporate Chinese into its national education system, and it ranks first in the world in the number of Chinese exam takers. Since Chinese was included in foreign language education in 1992, over 3,000 schools in Thailand have offered Chinese courses. The scale of two-way student exchanges between China and Thailand ranks the top of Asean countries, with over 30,000 students studying in each other’s countries. Thailand hosts the largest number of international Chinese language teacher volunteers in the world. More than 20,000 volunteers in 23 groups have worked in Thailand. Thailand has the largest number of International Chinese Language Scholarship recipients as well. As close partners building a community with a shared future, China is confident the visit by Their Majesties to China will bring new vitality and vigour to our relations and a better future for our peoples.