King Vajiralongkorn’s historic visit to China marks strengthening ties

King Maha Vajiralongkorn will make history on Thursday as the first reigning Thai monarch to visit China. The visit signals China’s growing influence in Thailand, with both countries strengthening their diplomatic and economic ties.

A constitutional monarchy since 1932, Thailand has used royal visits as foreign policy tools, including two U.S. trips by King Vajiralongkorn's father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, during the height of the Cold War in the 1960s.

Beijing and Bangkok established diplomatic relations in 1975 and their bilateral ties have evolved from the post-Cold War years, with a significant expansion in two-way trade and investment.

China is the largest import market for Thailand, which shipped in Chinese goods worth $80 billion last year, as well as a top source of visitors for its vital tourism sector and a major investor in industries such as automobiles.

Migration from China to Thailand also spans centuries, and many Thai families, including captains of industry, business and politics, have Chinese ancestry.

"Thailand and China share a special bond, we see them as siblings and they see us as family," said former Thai foreign minister Tej Bunnag, who also served as ambassador to Beijing.

In a statement announcing the visit by King Vajiralongkorn and his wife Queen Suthida, the Thai government said it was a reflection of "the deep-rooted friendship and mutual understanding shared between Thailand and China at all levels."

In Beijing, the king is scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang, although no agreements are expected to be signed between the two countries.

Since his ascension to the throne in 2016, King Vajiralongkorn has only made one official trip abroad, to Bhutan in April.

"China is the first major country which His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn officially visits," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said in a briefing last week.

"This fully demonstrates the great importance that the two sides attach to growing bilateral relations."

Despite invitations, the late King Bhumibol - who spent seven decades on the throne - did not visit China. Instead, he sent representatives, including the current king when he was Crown Prince in 1987, said Sitthiphon Kruarattikan, an international relations scholar at Bangkok's Thammasat University.

"Look at all the countries that China has diplomatic relations with, the heads of states of most of those countries have been to China, with Thailand an exception for a long time," he said.

"To have a reigning Thai monarch visiting, this is what the Chinese wanted," Sitthiphon said.

The visit comes during an official mourning period just weeks after the death of the king's mother, signifying the importance the royal court gives to Beijing.

As in other parts of Southeast Asia, China has grown increasingly assertive in Thailand, pressing the government to intensify efforts against cross-border cyber scams and repeatedly discouraging the legalisation of gambling, citing concerns about the possible impact on Chinese tourists. 

In February, Beijing also succeeded in persuading the Thai government to deport 40 Uyghurs in detention in Bangkok, an issue that had been stalled for a decade.

Although a robust long-term relationship with China is vital, Thailand must also look out for its own interests, said former foreign minister Tej.

Thai officials have flagged the flare-up in trade tensions between the United States and China as a big risk to Southeast Asia's economy.

"China is a big country and they look at things at a global level," Tej said. 

"We are a small country in Southeast Asia and we have to maintain a balance in our foreign relations."

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