Bangkok: The Prime Minister thanked the Chinese ambassador after his term ended, confident that the new pandas will definitely come, while 'Pichai', the Minister of Commerce, thanked China, saying that all Thai products go to China, and that trade grows in every dimension.
According to Thai News Agency, Mr. Jirayu Huangsap, spokesman for the Prime Minister's Office, revealed that after the Prime Minister welcomed Mr. Han Zhiqiang, Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Thailand, to meet at Government House to bid farewell on the occasion of the completion of his term. The Prime Minister thanked the ambassador and the Chinese government in all aspects on the occasion of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Thai-Chinese relations, which this year will bring good news about a new pair of giant pandas coming to Thailand.
Yesterday, Mr. Pichai Naripthaphan, Minister of Commerce, along with Mr. Worawong Ramangkura, Assistant Minister to the Ministry of Commerce, Mr. Wutthikrai Leewiraphan, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, and executives of the Ministry of Commerce jointly hosted a reception to honor Mr. Han Zhiqiang, Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Thailand, on the occasion of his completion of his term of office. The event was attended by delegations from the Chinese Embassy, including Mr. Wu Zhiwu, Minister-Counselor for Commercial Affairs, Mr. Jiang Wei, Minister-Counselor for Commercial Affairs, and Ms. Zhang Xiaoxiao, Commercial Counselor.
Mr. Pichai revealed that he took this opportunity to express his gratitude to the Chinese Ambassador for his close cooperation with the Ministry of Commerce throughout his tenure in Thailand, especially for his continued support of Thai agricultural exports to the Chinese market, including opening the live cattle market, facilitating customs procedures, and pushing for China to increase its imports of Thai agricultural products such as rice, cassava, and fruits, especially durian, which have high potential in the Chinese market.
'We have asked the Chinese ambassador and embassy to help push more Thai agricultural products into the Chinese market, especially cassava, which is currently very popular. We are pleased that after the signing of the trade agreement between the Ministry of Commerce and the Chinese government, Thailand was able to export cassava to China three times more than expected.'
Mr. Pichai continued that while Thai rice in the first four months, January-April 2025, was exported to China at a volume of 202,889 tons, an increase of 77.67%, valued at 3,574 million baht, an increase of 31.31%, it is considered one of the successes of the good relations between Thailand and China on the occasion of the 50th anniversary, which he and Ambassador Han Zhiqiang have had throughout the period of working closely together in the past. He also emphasized the intention of both parties to strengthen economic, trade, and investment cooperation at both bilateral and regional levels, especially in the ASEAN cooperation framework, including organizing activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Thai-Chinese diplomatic relations in 2026, which is another important opportunity to enhance the relationship between the two countries to be even closer," said Mr. Pichai.
While the Chinese Ambassador has expressed his intention to support trade promotion, such as opening a live cattle market, which Thailand is expected to be able to export to China soon. In terms of investment, it is believed that there will be more investors and businessmen from China investing in Thailand, including promoting tourism by pushing for more Chinese people to travel to Thailand, as the Chinese already love to travel to Thailand.
And for Thai fruits, they are already popular in China. It is believed that more can be exported. In the past, the Chinese Embassy and the Ministry of Commerce have worked closely and continuously facilitated the export of durian. Especially when the Ministry of Commerce requested to relax various measures, the Embassy coordinated until the durian export went smoothly.
China has been Thailand's number one trading partner since 2013. In 2024, Thailand and China had a total trade value of 115,851.30 million US dollars, an increase of 10.33 percent from the same period in 2023. This was divided into Thailand exporting 35,243.30 million US dollars, an increase of 3.13 percent, and Thailand importing 80,608.00 million US dollars, an increase of 13.81 percent. For 2025 (January-April), the total trade value between Thailand and China was 43,895.92 million US dollars, an increase of 24.20 percent from the same period of the previous year, with exports of 12,331.50 million US dollars, an increase of 14.30 percent, and imports of 31,564.43 million US dollars, an increase of 28.55 percent. The main export products from Thailand to China were computers, equipment and components, rubber products, fresh, chilled, frozen and dried fruits, rubber, plastic pellets, cassava products, etc., while important imported goods include electrical machinery and components, machinery and components, home electrical appliances, chemicals, computers, equipment and components, iron, steel and products, etc.