The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) is targeting 1 billion baht in business opportunities from Chinese investors with the launch of “Meet Thai Plus 2026” in Shenzhen this week, aiming to capture growth in trade, investment, and cooperation between the two countries.
TCEB chairman Pasu Loharjun said the two-day business event on Sept 9-10 serves as a strategic platform to deepen economic engagement with China, Thailand’s top trading partner, with the Mice (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) industry helping to expand trade opportunities, in addition to the existing bilateral trade value that exceeded 1 trillion yuan (4.9 trillion baht) in 2025.
For the Mice industry, China was also the top source market, accounting for 30% of total overseas visitors.
Mr Pasu said the agency brought together 135 organisations from Thailand to join the event, including government agencies, private companies and academic institutions, to meet with Chinese investors, with total participation estimated to reach 2,000.
The prominent agencies participating in the event promote international economic cooperation, including the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Tourism Authority of Thailand, Department of International Trade Promotion, Thai Board of Investment, Eastern Economic Corridor Office, Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand and Thailand Privilege Card.
He said the agency expects to facilitate roughly 800 business matchings, generating business value of more than 1 billion baht.
The targeted industries are diverse, including tourism, digital technology, innovation, healthcare, food, education, the creative economy and future industries.
The initiative aims to expand business opportunities in Shenzhen and the Greater Bay Area (GBA), one of China’s most influential economic, technology and innovation hubs.
The event this week is considered a crucial step for further business cooperation, as Shenzhen is also hosting the Apec China 2026 meeting slated for Nov 18-19 in which Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul is scheduled to participate, said Mr Pasu.
“Our challenge is increasingly to convert the scale of bilateral trade into higher-value investment, technology partnerships and access to China’s rapidly expanding consumer and business markets,” he said.
The Shenzhen event is intended to create a two-way platform, allowing Chinese companies to explore trade and investment opportunities in Thailand while helping Thai businesses gain access to the Chinese market.
The programme attracted support from more than 15 Chinese organisations and business associations, including the China Chamber of International Commerce. As Shenzhen has developed into a major technology and innovation centre, connecting Thai businesses with companies in the GBA will help Thailand expand beyond conventional trade into technology partnerships, supply chains and investment, said Mr Pasu.
CONTINUED PARTNERSHIPS
Minister attached to the Prime Minister’s Office Napintorn Srisanpang said the Shenzhen event would also help translate recent government-to-government agreements into commercial opportunities.
During Mr Anutin’s official visit to China in July, the two nations signed 15 cooperation agreements covering trade, science and technology, the space industry, water management, education, intellectual property and artificial intelligence.
“The 15 cooperation agreements demonstrate the confidence of Chinese businesses in Thailand’s potential and reflect the deepening and expanding economic partnership between the two countries,” said Mr Napintorn.
Mr Pasu said the Mice industry should play a broader economic role, with this event serving as an initiative towards that goal. The sector has traditionally been viewed primarily as a tourism-related activity, generating spending from international business travellers attending meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions.
TCEB wants to use business events to increase trade negotiations and facilitate investment discussions, business matching and international networking, he said.
This approach could give Thailand an additional channel to compete for foreign investment as countries across Southeast Asia seek to attract Chinese companies looking to diversify their production bases and expand overseas, said Mr Pasu.
The target of 1 billion baht in economic value from the Shenzhen event will be measured not only by transactions generated by business matching this event, but also by the potential for longer-term business relationships, investment and market access, he said.
“For Thailand, the larger objective is clear: to leverage its longstanding commercial relationship with China to secure a greater share of investment, technology, supply chain activity and market opportunities emerging from one of Asia’s most important economic regions,” noted Mr Pasu.