Thai Commerce Ministry, China discuss premium goods and SME access

Suphajee Suthumpun, Minister of Commerce, held a bilateral meeting with He Lifeng, Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China, on Saturday (May 23, 2026), during the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting in Suzhou, People’s Republic of China.

Suphajee said relations between the two sides were growing ever closer, particularly as last year marked the 50th anniversary of Thailand-China diplomatic relations.

There was also the official visit to China by Their Majesties the King and Queen in November 2025, during which she expressed appreciation to President Xi Jinping and the Chinese people for their warm welcome.

Thailand also expressed appreciation for China’s latest national economic and social development plan, which gives importance to the digital economy and green economy.

The plan leads to high-quality development through the use of technology and innovation to upgrade the manufacturing sector, in line with Thailand’s development approach of adding value to products and strengthening the country’s competitiveness.

Suphajee added that she used the opportunity to propose a pilot project for cooperation between the two sides to upgrade Thai products into “high-quality goods” or “premium goods” for export to the Chinese market.

The project would meet both countries’ goals: Thailand already has quality agricultural raw materials, while China’s technology and innovation could be used to process and expand markets to modern consumers in China and around the world.

Initial pilot products may include functional food products or food suitable for older people, in line with China’s development approach that gives importance to the silver economy.

This co-creation cooperation is also expected to strengthen Thailand’s advantages as a base for food security, particularly in agricultural products such as fruit, for the Chinese market and potentially the global market.

She also asked for support for Chinese investors in Thailand to consider using more Thai resources in their manufacturing processes.

This would not only promote production and investment cooperation between the two countries but could also enable such products to be exported to global markets.

She viewed this as a win-win solution for both countries.

If successful, the pilot project would become a “success model” that could be extended to other products in the future.

Suphajee also emphasised the importance of promoting the role of SMEs and proposed ways to raise standards and inspection procedures on both sides.

This would ensure that Chinese goods entering Thailand did not affect Thai SMEs, while products from Thai SMEs would also be able to enter the Chinese market.

She requested support from the Chinese Vice Premier in helping promote sales channels for Thai SME operators through the creation of a “Thai National Pavilion” on major Chinese online platforms, to improve Thai entrepreneurs’ access to the Chinese market.

“Thailand’s proposals to China today meet the needs of both sides. I see this as strengthening Win-Win cooperation, and the Chinese Vice Premier agreed. Both sides have instructed that a working group be set up to put today’s discussions into practice and report the results to the Thailand-China Joint Committee on Trade, Investment, and Economic Cooperation. Vice Premier He Lifeng and I will serve as chairs. The two sides agreed that the meeting should be held as soon as possible this year, after a gap of more than eight years.”

Suphajee added that the Chinese side had emphasised the importance of supporting Chinese investors doing business in Thailand, particularly in modern industries such as electric vehicles and robotics.

Thailand proposed that China invest in Thailand across the entire supply chain, allowing China to expand the value of trade and investment with Thailand as a centre for production and exports to other markets.

Finally, she also used the talks to follow up on progress in facilitating exports of Chinese chemical fertiliser to Thailand, a matter the Thai Prime Minister had raised with Wang Yi, China’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, in late April.

She asked China to export 350,000 tonnes of chemical fertiliser to Thailand this year, and the Chinese Vice Premier received the request for consideration.

China has been Thailand’s largest trading partner for 13 consecutive years.

Overall bilateral trade in 2025 was valued at US$147.33853 billion (+21.13%).

In the first three months of 2026 (January-March), total trade was worth US$40.84071 billion (+29.43%), comprising Thai exports worth US$9.65952 billion (+9.81%) and imports worth US$31.18119 billion (+37.02%).

Key Thai export products included computers, equipment and parts; rubber products; fresh, chilled, frozen and dried fruit; copper and copper products; and other industrial goods.

Imports from China included electrical machinery and parts; machinery and parts; household electrical appliances; chemicals; and computers, equipment and parts.