China needs soft touch to fit into Thai culture

“The Sino-Thai relations are exemplary. However, there is still room for improvement,” said Lin Yi, a lecturer at Pridi Banamyong International College’s Chinese studies programme, Thammasat University.

In an interview with The Nation, the Chinese sociologist believes socio-cultural ties between the two countries is key to developing deeper relations.

In his opinion, many Thais regard Chinese who visit the Kingdom as the “new rich” and, therefore, attach little importance to enhancing socio-cultural ties.

Lin said that many Thais were still unfamiliar with Chinese culture despite the growing numbers of Chinese tourists visiting the country each year. Last year, 4.62 million Chinese tourists came to Thailand.

Many Thais complain about Chinese tourists’ behaviour and how they clashed with norms and practices in Thailand. Recently, officials from Phi Phi Islands National Park fined a Chinese tourist Bt1,000 for washing her feet in a face washing bowl. This act is deemed offensive in Thai culture. 

Meanwhile, cultural and educational exchanges between the two countries have increased. There are 12 Confucius Institutions and more than 5,000 Chinese language-teaching volunteers in Thailand.

“Although many Thai students show an interest in going to China to further their studies, very few of them demonstrate an intention to stay on after graduating. In the eyes of Thai students, there are very few incentives that could encourage them to stay as most prefer to be settled in Thailand,” said Lin.

Lin said that a similar phenomenon occurred on the Chinese side. He said that many Chinese students came to Thailand for language studies, but were more attracted by going to Western countries to continue their studies, notably the United States and European countries.

A significant number of overseas Chinese have been settled in Thailand for generations but they are mostly assimilated into Thai culture. 

The Chinese culture after 40 years of diplomatic relations between the two nations is relatively new and strange for Thais.

According to Lin, Thais are much more accustomed to the Japanese and the Korean socio-economic lifestyle than China’s. This is largely because Thailand and China have had less time to work on their soft diplomacy to promote cultural values while the J-Pop and K-Pop culture has been very popular amongst Thai teenagers for decades, he said. 

China should work more on improving its image in order to increase its capacity to compete with other countries in the promotion of cultural values, Lin said.

Relations between the two countries over the past 40 years have mostly focused on political and economic activities. However concerns have been raised in Thailand that Bangkok might be too close to Beijing after the military coup last year resulted in an “uncomfortable” reaction from the United States.

“China considers Thailand as one family, although it knows that Thailand is a close ally of the US,” he said. “China will not force Thailand to take a side.” 

This is to avoid China being perceived as being too assertive and adopting an imperialist attitude, he said.

Lin said that China knew Thailand was dependent on the US market for export of commodities. China playing rule-maker would result in Beijing bearing a high political and economic cost.

At the moment, the issue that matters most for China in the perception of Lin is the tension between China and Japan, which he believes will be more intense in a few years time – be it economically or politically. Both countries have been actively supporting economic and social development in the region.

“Thus, the competition between the two giants will have a serious impact on Asean, in particular Thailand, which is a close partner to both China and Japan. Thailand will have to find ways to maintain ties with the two regional powers,” Lin said. 

China’s territorial claim in the South China Sea is another issue in concern, but citing China Representative Admiral Sun Jianguo’s statement at the 2015 Shangri la Dialogue in Singapore, Lin said: “War in the South China Sea is an impossibility in the next 50 years.”

The statement underscores China’s peaceful intention and the legality of its land reclamation and construction projects in the sea, he said.

“The South China Sea is crucial for China as it constitutes a big part the maritime Silk Road,” Lin said, adding that getting into a conflict with another country would be harmful to the development of China’s economy.

 

LAST OF THE SERIES THE NATION WILL RUN THIS WEEK TO COMMEMMORATE 40thANNIVERSARY OF THAILAND-CHINA DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS.