CGTN published an article on Chinese Premier Li Qiang’s visit to Thailand and his upcoming attendance at the China-ASEAN Summit in the Philippines. With an emphasis on China-Thailand ties and China-ASEAN cooperation, the article stressed that China and ASEAN are fostering a high-density, multi-dimensional connectivity landscape to advance high-quality cooperation.
For Chinese consumers, enjoying fresh Thai durians has become increasingly affordable. With the China-Laos Railway providing a vital transport link, Thai durians and other fresh produce can be shipped more efficiently through cold-chain logistics. Shorter transit times and lower transportation costs have helped reduce the retail prices of Thai durians in China by an estimated 30 to 40%, benefiting Chinese consumers while creating new opportunities for Thai farmers and related industries.
The story illustrates how China and Southeast Asian countries are moving beyond traditional trade towards deeper economic integration.
Five years into their comprehensive strategic partnership, China and ASEAN are fostering a high-density, multi-dimensional connectivity landscape to advance high-quality cooperation.
As Chinese Premier Li Qiang visits Thailand from November 13 to 15, and will attend the 29th China-ASEAN Summit in the Philippines from November 15 to 16, the trip offers an opportunity to further advance bilateral ties and strengthen regional economic cooperation.
Closer China-Thailand ties
China-Thailand cooperation stands as a vivid example of the China-ASEAN community with a shared future. As close neighbors, the two countries align their development strategies on the basis of traditional trade, infrastructure and people-to-people exchanges to deliver tangible benefits to their peoples.
For 13 consecutive years, China has been Thailand’s largest trading partner and its primary export market for agricultural products. Bilateral trade spans sectors such as electronics, machinery and equipment, automobiles and auto parts, rubber, fruits and processed foods.
Data from the General Administration of Customs shows that in 2025, bilateral trade reached $153.26 billion, up 14.4% year on year, reflecting the resilience and growing depth of their economic ties.
Over the past nine years, a number of Thai businesses and distinctive products – ranging from traditional Thai beverages to fragrances – have become known to Chinese consumers through the China International Import Expo, with an increasing number of Thai companies choosing to establish a firm foothold in the Chinese market.
People-to-people exchanges have also gained momentum. The two countries have signed a mutual visa exemption agreement for ordinary passport holders, making cross-border travel easier and creating more opportunities for tourism, business and cultural exchanges.
Meeting with Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Friday, Premier Li said China stands ready to work with Thailand to strengthen the alignment of development strategies, advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and key projects such as the China-Thailand railway, and accelerate consultations on a new five-year plan for economic and trade cooperation.
Deeper China-ASEAN cooperation
This year marks the fifth anniversary of the China-ASEAN comprehensive strategic partnership. Over the past five years, bilateral cooperation has expanded from trade in goods toward joint industrial development and collaboration in emerging sectors, injecting momentum into regional economic growth.
The growth has been remarkable. In 1991, China-ASEAN trade stood at approximately $7.96 billion. By 2025, it reached $1.05 trillion – approximately 131 times the original figure, with an average annual growth rate of 15.4%, according to China’s Ministry of Commerce.
Landmark connectivity projects keep unlocking long-term gains. In Indonesia, the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway has carried more than 18 million passenger trips since its launch in 2023, according to China Railway International Co., Ltd, boosting tourism and regional economic development along the route. The China-Laos 500-kV interconnection project went into operation in April, raising the two-way power transfer capacity between the two countries from 50,000 kW to 1.5 million kW — roughly 30 times the capacity of previous lines. It enables an annual transmission of about 3 billion kWh of clean electricity, according to China Southern Power Grid Co., Ltd.
Meanwhile, the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA) 3.0 upgrade is opening up new possibilities for cooperation. Going beyond tariff reductions and conventional market access, the upgraded framework places greater emphasis on rules alignment, standards coordination and institutional opening up, and expands cooperation into nine emerging areas such as the digital economy, providing institutional safeguards for regional economic and trade cooperation.
The upcoming 33rd APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting provides another platform for regional economies to advance openness and cooperation.
Noting that seven of ASEAN’s 11 member states are also members of APEC, ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn underscored the close connection between the two regional frameworks. “With the Asia-Pacific remaining a major engine of global economic growth, the direction we must consistently uphold is openness,” he told China Media Group.
“By deepening China-ASEAN cooperation while connecting it with the wider Asia-Pacific, we can avoid limiting cooperation to a small circle, thus achieving breakthroughs at the subregional level to benefit the entire Asia-Pacific,” said Dong Bin, executive president of the Sino-International Entrepreneurs Federation.
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