China Remains Thailand's No.1 Trade Partner for a Decade
September, 15 2022
Thailand-China Trade Overview
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Imports from China (2021):
- $66.546 billion (approx. 2.39 trillion THB)
- Key imported goods: electrical machinery and components, home appliances, mechanical machinery, circuit boards, and chemicals
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Exports to China (2021):
- $37.204 billion (approx. 1.33 trillion THB)
- Key exported goods: fresh, frozen, and dried fruits, tapioca products, plastic pellets, computers, and components
Key Developments from the Thailand-China Ministerial Meeting
A recent ministerial-level meeting was held between Mr. Li Fei, Assistant Minister of Commerce of China, and Mr. Sinit Lertkrai, Thailand's Deputy Minister of Commerce. The discussions focused on economic, trade, and investment cooperation, aiming to push forward key trade issues such as:
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Expanding Thai Exports to China
- Expediting access for edible bird's nests, live cattle, dates, salacca, and purple passion fruit into the Chinese market.
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Enhancing Fruit Export Logistics
- Accelerating the construction of an inspection site for fruit at Mohan Railway Checkpoint to ease congestion at Youyi Guan checkpoint, which is the main land route for fruit exports from Thailand to China.
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Improving Chemical Fertilizer Imports
- Requesting China to ease fertilizer export restrictions to allow Thai farmers faster access to Chinese fertilizers.
Other Areas of Economic Cooperation
The two sides also discussed:
- Post-pandemic tourism cooperation, aiming to boost Chinese visitor arrivals to Thailand.
- Technology and satellite utilization for economic development.
- Encouraging Chinese investment in Thailand, particularly in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC).
China has expressed full support and assigned relevant agencies to follow up on these matters.
Five-Year Economic Cooperation Plan (2022-2026)
Both countries have agreed to set a new trade target and develop a joint five-year action plan (2022-2026) focusing on:
- Trade facilitation
- Intellectual property protection
- Tourism promotion
The meeting's outcomes will be swiftly implemented to achieve concrete results in strengthening the Thailand-China trade partnership.