bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Laura Zhou

Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has arrived in China for a four-day visit as the two sides look to crack down on telecoms scam farms in Southeast Asia, and with trade, technology and infrastructure expected to top the agenda.
Thailand, a long-time US ally, is also a crucial regional partner for Beijing in light of its fierce rivalry with Washington.
Paetongtarn arrived in Beijing on Wednesday for what is her first visit to China since taking office in August.
Accompanying her are four deputy prime ministers – in charge of transport, internal affairs, finance and digital economy, respectively.
Ministers overseeing foreign policy, tourism and agriculture are also part of the Thai delegation.
Thai media reports ahead of Paetongtarn’s visit said she would meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in a bid to curb negative public perceptions about tourism safety in the kingdom, after several Chinese nationals were trafficked into Myanmar via Thailand to work at cyber scam farms there.
China and Thailand recently pledged to jointly crack down on dozens of cyber scam gangs in Myanmar and related human trafficking, including setting up coordination centres.
Paetongtarn’s arrival in Beijing coincided with Thailand’s decision to cut cross-border electricity supplies to five locations in Myanmar on Wednesday. The move aims to weed out the online scam hubs in the region after more than 10,000 Chinese tourists – as well as many from Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam – cancelled trips to Thailand last month over safety concerns.


According to Bangkok, Paetongtarn and her delegation will attend a meeting on Thursday with Xi, Premier Li Qiang and top legislator Zhao Leji.
The Thai government said the leaders of the two countries would discuss a high-speed rail project as well as cooperation in investment, economy, education, artificial intelligence and advanced technology. Some 15 memorandums of understanding are expected to be signed across sectors such as green energy, fish exports and the digital economy.
On Tuesday, Paetongtarn’s cabinet formally approved the second phase of the Thai-Chinese high-speed rail link.
The 340 billion baht (around US$10 billion) project from Nong Khai near the Laos border will link up with the Bangkok-Nakhon Ratchasima first phase that is under construction. The completed project will open up a fast route from the Thai capital to the southwestern Chinese province of Yunnan through the China-Laos railway – eventually connecting Thailand with China’s vast railway network.
Unlike other US allies in the region, Thailand has maintained strong ties with China, according to Zhu Ming, a researcher with the Fudan Western-China International Institute of Finance.
“Bilateral relationships have been pretty stable diplomatically and economically over the past decades, and despite its internal political uncertainties, Thailand’s policy on China has been considered as friendly and balanced,” Zhu said.
As a founding member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Thailand also plays a pivotal role in cooperation within the bloc, making it crucial to China’s ties in a region where it is vying for influence with the United States.
“As the US is in strategic retreat, China is expected to move to further strengthen its cooperation with the region,” Zhu said.
Zhu said Paetongtarn would use her trip to mitigate the adverse impact of the scam gangs and boost confidence in Thailand’s tourism industry, a crucial economic pillar.


“Rooting out online scams would take a long-time effort and would not be achieved overnight, but as one of the first foreign leaders to visit China after the Lunar New Year, Paetongtarn would hope to resume bilateral cooperation on tourism.”
Strong economic cooperation will also be high on the agenda when Paetongtarn meets her Chinese counterpart Li in Beijing, as Asean members navigate the US-China rivalry.
The new US administration has not made clear its policy on Thailand. However, during his confirmation hearing, Marco Rubio, now US Secretary of State, said he would press Thailand, “a very strong US partner, a strong historical ally” to prevent the deportation of about 50 Uygurs held in the Southeast Asian country since 2014. Beijing says they have links to terrorism in its western Xinjiang region.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump’s orders for federal agencies to investigate trade deficits and recommend suitable measures by April has raised deep concerns in Bangkok. Thailand had a trade deficit of US$5.19 billion with the US in 2023, and fears that major exports, including electronic devices, rubber products and agricultural goods, would be targeted by potential US tariff hikes.
Along with its neighbours Vietnam and Malaysia, Thailand is also a popular destination for Chinese companies seeking to diversify production to avoid US and European trade restrictions.
“As trade ties between China and the US deteriorate, many countries are looking to receive China’s outward investment and technology transfers so as to better develop their own economies,” Zhu said.
Thailand is Southeast Asia’s largest electric vehicle (EV) market, which is largely dominated by Chinese brands. Shenzhen-based BYD, the world’s largest EV maker, opened a factory in Thailand last year, its first in Southeast Asia.


Thailand’s Paetongtarn Shinawatra in China, with trade, railway, scam farms on the table

Southeast Asia’s poorest nation says ‘holding off’ Chinese interest in huge gas field

From Trump to tech titans, geopolitical traps await Southeast Asia

China, Thailand pledge joint action on Myanmar cyber scam centres, human trafficking

China-Asean relations

Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and her counterpart Premier Li Qiang during her four-day official visit to China. Photo: AP

Thailand shuts power to Myanmar’s scam hub, PM Paetongtarn vows firm action

Thai Deputy PM Anutin Charnvirakul (centre) speaks on the shutdown of power supplies to alleged scam operations across the Thai-Myanmar border. Photo: EPA-EFE

Shwe Kokko city from Thailand’s side of the border. Thailand has suspended electricity supply to some border areas with Myanmar in an effort to curb scam centres. Photo: Reuters

Chinese actor Wang Xing (right) with Thai police last month after he was rescued from a scam park in Myanmar near the Thai-Myanmar border. Photo: AP

Myanmar’s Myawaddy town as seen from across the border in Mae Sot, Thailand. Authorities in China have identified 36 major Chinese telecoms scam gangs operating in the Myawaddy region. Photo: AFP

China’s belt and road could fill ‘vacuum’ after Trump’s USAID freeze: analysts

A funding freeze has left the status of the United States Agency for International Development in doubt. Photo: Reuters

A funding freeze has left the status of the United States Agency for International Development in doubt. Photo: AFP

News

China

Diplomacy

Thailand, a long-time US ally, is also a crucial regional partner for Beijing in light of its fierce rivalry with Washington


Thailand, a long-time US ally, is also a crucial regional partner for Beijing in light of its fierce rivalry with Washington.


Thailand