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| The Long-Stream Friendship between Thailand and China |
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| Thursday,August 11,2005 Posted: 22:54 BJT(54 GMT) th |
As recorded in Chinese historical literature, friendly exchanges between Thailand and China date back to China’s Han and Tang dynasties. Toward the end of China’s Song dynasty and the beginning of the Yuan dynasty, the Sukhothai Kingdom in northern Thailand sent envoys to visit China nine times between 1292-1303, while during the Yuan dynasty, China sent envoys to visit Sukhothai three times. Thereafter, Sukhothai invited Chinese porcelain craftsmen to teach porcelain making techniques and produce delicate chinaware that Sold well in southeast Asia.
It was during China’s Ming dynasty, as the Ayudhya dynasty unified Thailand, that the most frequent exchanges between China and Thailand took place. As recorded then, the Ayudhya Kingdom sent envoys to visit the Ming dynasty 112 times and courts of the Ming dynasty repaid 19 visits to Ayudhya. Zheng He – the famous Triratna eunuch of the Ming dynasty – made two voyages to Siam as an envoy and was cordially received, deepening the friendship between Thailand and China. With the exchanges of envoys, commercial and cultural exchanges became more and more frequent, resulting in an ever-increasing number of Chinese merchants and settlers in Thailand.
During the Ayudhya Period and the succeeding Thonburi Period, as well as during the early Rattanakosin Kingdom, Thailand maintained close relations with China’s Qing dynasty. During the reign of King Rama II of Rattanakosin, about 86% of Thailand’s commodities were shipped to sell in China and Chinese merchant ships entering Thailand outnumbered all other foreign merchant ships in Thai ports. China had become Thailand’s major partner in foreign trade, and merchants in Thailand became primarily Chinese. By the reign of King Rama III, the number of Chinese immigrants in Thailand amounted to nearly one million.
At the end of the Qing dynasty, Sun Yat-sen, the great pioneer of China’s revolution, visited Thailand twice, establishing the “China Press Society”, a branch of the “Chinese United League” in Bangkok, with great support from overseas Chinese and their enterprises in Thailand. After the Revolution of 1911, the two countries held discussions on the establishment of diplomatic relations. After the Second World War, Thailand and China signed the Siam-China Friendship Treaty. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the traditional friendship between Thailand and China was reaffirmed and further developed. On July 1, 1975, Thailand and China established formal diplomatic relations, thus opening a new chapter in Thai-Chinese relations.
New Era of Diplomatic Ties
Since the establishment of formal Thai-Chinese diplomatic relations, there have been frequent mutual visits by the leaders of both countries and friendly cooperative relations have been developing rapidly in the fields of politics, economics, trade, military affairs, education, science and technology, culture, and other matters. Non-governmental exchanges have been increasing as well, greatly strengthening the traditional ties between the two nations.
The year 1975 witnessed Prime Minister M.R. Krukrit Pramote’s first visit to China and his meeting with Chairman Mao Zedong. Several members of Thailand’s royal family have also visited China, as well as successive Prime Ministers, Parliamentary Chairmen, Speakers of the House of Representatives and the members of the Senate. In 1978, the then Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping of China visited Thailand and made an official call on His Majesty Bhumibol Adulyadej. Other Chinese leaders, such as Li Xiannian, Yang Shangkun, Qiao Shi, Li Peng, Zhu Rongji, Li Ruihuan, Hu Jintao, Li Lanqing, Luo Gan have visited Thailand, too.
In September 1999, Chairman Jiang Zemin visited Thailand. In the year 2000, HM Queen Sirikit of Thailand paid her first state visit to China on behalf of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej and achieved much. The frequent mutual visits by the leaders of the two countries have been a positive significant factor in increasing mutual trust and cooperation. Now, the two countries have become close, cordial and trusting neighbors, and worthy partners in cooperation. Relations continue to improve in a comprehensive, deep and high-priority manner, bringing about mutual trust, benefit and support, while shaping “Affectionate family ties between Thailand and China”; a model of harmonious cooperation between the two neighboring countries.
Steady Development through Exchange and Cooperation
After the establishment of formal diplomatic relations, the two countries signed many agreements on mutual benefit and cooperation in economic matters, trade, science and technology, tourism, civil aviation, sea transportation, judicial, consular and other affairs. With the signing of these agreements and protocols, broader prospects have been opened for the development of Thai-Chinese economic relations. Thai-Chinese cooperation in economic matters and trade has been steadily expanding, with bilateral trade and investments growing with it. New cooperation mechanisms have been created for conducting smoother economic affairs. Meanwhile, the two countries’ have also cooperated in education, science, culture, health, sports and other areas to an unprecedented level.
In March 1978, the governments of Thailand and China signed a Trade Agreement, which laid a better foundation for the development of bilateral trade. In 1975, the first year after the establishment of formal diplomatic relations, bilateral trade accounted for only 24.62 million USD; but in 2001, it amounted to 7.05 billion USD. In the first nine months of 2002, alone, bilateral trade amounted to 6.037 billion USD, with an increase of 17.7% over the same period of the previous year. Bilateral trade for thewhole year of 2002 is expected to exceed 8 billion USD.
In the ranking of trade, Thailand ranks as 16th among China’s trading partners, and third among China’s trading partners within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Commodities exported to China from Thailand include mainly computer equipment, components and assemblies; IC’s and microelectronic modules; natural rubber, rice, liquefied petroleum gas, and some others. Commodities exported to Thailand from China mainly include mechanical equipment, textiles and other light industrial goods, computer equipment, components and assemblies; iron and steel products, electronics and electric appliances, chemical products, pharmaceuticals, etc.
In 1985, the governments of Thailand and China signed an agreement on the establishment of the Chinese-Thai Joint Economic Cooperation Committee and an agreement on mutual investment protection, providing improved conditions for investment cooperation.
In recent years, mutual investments have boomed and the amounts of investment have increased considerably. Thailand is the first country among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to have made investments in China. No sooner than China had implemented its open-door policy than had Thai entrepreneurs taken the lead in investing in China. Investments from Thailand into China have been increasing constantly. By the end of 2001, China had approved more than 3,000 projects with investments by Thai enterprises, with a total budget of more than 5 billion USD and an actual paid-up capital of more than 2 billion USD.
Enterprises with investments from Thailand involve such businesses as the production of animal feed, agricultural cultivation, food processing, motorcycle production, paper-making, electricity, building materials, etc. China’s investments in Thailand came a bit late, but have been growing veryfast.
By the end of 2001, Chinese investors were operating 230 joint ventures or independently owned enterprises in Thailand, with a total Chinese investment of 223 million USD, involving such businesses as textiles and other light industrial goods, rubber, chemicals, food processing, non-ferrous metal smelting, banking, insurance, commodity inspection, hotels, restaurants, real estate, etc. China’s business in engineering project contracting and labor service cooperation in Thailand has been developing strongly.
It was in 1980 that China began to enter Thailand’s market for engineering project contracting and labor service cooperation. At present, there are more than 20 Chinese companies operating in the business of engineering project contracting and labor service in Thailand. By the end of 2001, more than 2200 contracts for engineering projects and labor service cooperation had been signed, totaling 2,176 million USD. During the period Jan. – Sept. 2002, Chinese companies signed another 70 contracts for engineering projects, totaling more than 41 million USD. The projects were contracted by the Chinese companies to provide infrastructural projects such as water conservation, roads, bridges, ports, and other industrial projects such as steel works, a chemical plant, textile mill, hospital, residential housing, etc.
With the development of trade and tourism between the two countries, tourist routes have increased. So far, there are already airline connections between Beijing, Shanghai and Kunming with Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, and other stops. The number of tourist arrivals increases year by year. During January to October of 2001, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Thailand amounted to 668,000, while that of Thai tourists visiting China increased to 187,000. To go sightseeing and spend holidays in Thailand has becomefashionable for Chinese people, while China has become the first choice of Thai people touring abroad.
Exchange and cooperation between the two nations has been steadily increasing in the fields of science and technology, culture, health care, education, sports, military affairs, judicial matters, etc. In 1978, the two countries signed an agreement on scientific and technological cooperation and held the first joint committee meeting in Thailand. So far, the two parties have implemented 689 projects of cooperation, and 2,790 excursions for the exchange scientific and technological information covering agriculture, transportation, IT, satellite communications, and other fields.
Cultural cooperation and exchange has been taken very seriously by the two countries’ governments and the royal household of Thailand, so they have developed very quickly in recent years. In 1996, Thailand’s Ministry of Education and China’s Ministry of Culture signed a Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation in Thai-Chinese Cultural Exchange; in 2001, the two governments signed the Chinese-Thai Governmental Agreement on Cultural Cooperation. These two Agreements have served to propel cultural exchange to new heights of development. As of 2001, the number of cultural exchange projects had increased to more than 300, as compared to 4 before formal diplomatic relations were established.
Non-governmental exchanges in the fields of arts, religion, sports and social science have also been flourishing through various channels, while the scale of these exchanges is being expanded as well. Friendly communication and exchanges between the two countries’ armed forces have been constantly maintained. Military leaders have paid mutual visits and their military academies and schools have regularly exchanged students. In the judicial field, the two countries have cooperated closely, and have achieved results in cracking down on trans-territorial crimes, economic crimes and drug smuggling, and other illegal activity.
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Bilateral Visits
