Strong ties with Thailand stressed

President Xi Jinping rolled out the red carpet for visiting King Maha Vajiralongkorn Phra Vajiraklaochaoyuhua of Thailand in Beijing on Friday, the first Thai king to visit China since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1975, amid efforts by both nations to advance the building of a community with a shared future.

During his meeting with the Thai king at the Great Hall of the People, Xi said that the king has taken China as the first major country to pay a state visit, which fully reflects the great importance he attaches to China-Thailand relations and the deep friendship characterized as "China and Thailand are as close as one family".

Xi expressed condolences over the recent death of Queen Mother Sirikit and noted that the Thai royal family has a time-honored relationship with China and has made important contributions to promoting friendship between the two countries, which Beijing deeply appreciates.

Noting that this year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties and the "Golden Jubilee of China-Thailand Friendship", he said that over the past half century, China and Thailand have always worked together and supported each other amid an ever-changing international landscape, making them "good relatives, good friends and good partners".

Xi expressed his willingness to work with Thailand's king to further advance construction of the China-Thailand community with a shared future over the next 50 years and jointly write a new chapter in China-Thailand friendship.

Xi mentioned the recommendations for the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) adopted at the fourth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in October, which, he said, focus on promoting high-quality development and expanding high-standard opening-up.

Emphasizing that Thailand is also at a critical stage of national development and revitalization, he expressed China's readiness to strengthen the alignment of development strategies with the Southeast Asian nation, steadily advance major projects such as the China-Thailand Railway, expand imports of high-quality agricultural products, and explore bilateral cooperation in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence, the digital economy, and aviation and aerospace.

Efforts should be made to promote cultural integration and enhance cultural exchanges to bring the two peoples closer together, Xi said. China is willing to actively support the Thai royal family's public welfare projects, strengthen exchanges on poverty reduction experiences, and assist Thailand in improving people's livelihoods, he added.

The Thai royal couple arrived in Beijing on Thursday for a five-day state visit. According to the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the visit aims to strengthen the close and enduring friendship between the two nations and promote deeper understanding between their peoples.

During the meeting, the Thai king extended congratulations to Xi on the remarkable achievements China has made in economic and social development.

He said that Thailand and China share a close and friendly relationship, with frequent interactions between their peoples and extensive, in-depth mutually beneficial cooperation. He described cooperation between the two countries as collaboration between brothers.

Thailand is ready to actively learn from China's development experience, expand cooperation with China in various fields, and enhance cultural and people-to-people exchanges to make the countries' friendship even more deeply rooted in the hearts of their people, the king said.

China remains Thailand's largest trading partner, top investor and biggest source of tourists, while Thailand continues to be one of China's key trading partners within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. In 2024, bilateral trade exceeded $133 billion, a year-on-year increase of 6.1 percent, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

In an interview with China Daily, Korn Dabbaransi, former Thai deputy prime minister and president of the Thai-Chinese Friendship Association, highlighted the significance of the Thai king's visit, saying it truly confirms that the relationship between China and Thailand goes beyond just diplomacy on the occasion of 50th anniversary of their ties, but rather, sends a clear and loud message to the world that the two nations are akin to a family.

Chat Luangarpa, executive vice-president of Thai Kasikornbank, a major banking group in Thailand, said that as a country sitting at a very important location in Southeast Asia, Thailand enjoys geographic advantages of further connecting China with the Southeast Asian region. "There is a lot of potential for joint development between us in the future, in particular in clean energy, artificial intelligence and electronic vehicles," he said.