Editor's note: Ankit Prasad is a CGTN biz commentator.
The article reflects the author's views and not necessarily those of CGTN.July 1, 2025, marked 50 years of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Thailand—50 years of a decision that has resoundingly disproved any skepticism or doubts that preceded it.
Yet when one considers the long history of people-to-people contact, the substantial Chinese-origin population in Thailand, as well as the two countries' proximity, 50 years doesn't seem long enough.China now meets four key criteria for being an important peacetime partner for Thailand: (1) not only is Thailand home to the largest overseas Chinese community but studies show Chinese have also assimilated so well that some 40 percent of Thailand's population has some form of Chinese ancestry; (2) China has been Thailand's largest trading partner for over a decade; (3) in 2023 also became Thailand's largest source of foreign investment; and (4) in 2024, China also reclaimed top spot as Thailand's leading source of inbound visitors.The cooperation has also shown itself to be reciprocal.
History records that when China began its reform and opening-up in the late 1970s, Thailand's CP Group, under the name Chia Tai Co., Ltd., got the registration number "0001" and became the first foreign investor, in Shenzhen, Guangdong province.
As per the Center for China and Globalization, there were over 3,129 Thai investment projects in China between 1978 and 2002. Even now, in the summer season, Chinese fruit shops and supermarkets are filled with Thai Durian, flying off the shelves alongside Lychees.
In many ways, the Durian trade reveals precisely how far the China-Thailand economic relationship has come since the Cold War-tinted days when its closeness to the US meant Thailand didn't recognize China.
Now, thanks to Thailand being an important participant of the Belt and Road Initiative, Thai Durian and other agricultural produce can reach China via the China-Laos Railway and make it to Chinese stores within days.
And this is just the start—with the high-profile China-Thailand high-speed railway set for completion in coming years, all manner of cargo as well as people will be able to seamlessly be moved from one country to the other.
 Simultaneously, while the BRI decreases the geographical and logistical distance, the RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) and visa-free policies are bridging trade and tourism barriers.
As per China Briefing, Thailand's trade with RCEP countries rose 7.11 percent in 2022 following its operationalization.
Two years later, in the first ten months of 2024, the Thai government reported that RCEP trade accounted for 53.12 percent of Thailand's total trade, up 2.69 percent from a year earlier.The numbers on the tourism front are even more encouraging, following the mutual visa exemption that came into effect in March 2024.
According to Thai newspaper The Nation, there was a staggering 493.8 percent year-on-year jump in Thai visitors to China in the first half of 2024, while the number of Chinese tourists who visited Thailand in 2024 increased by 91.7 percent.
The visit of the sitting Thai Prime Minister to China's Harbin for the opening ceremony of the 9th Asian Winter Games this February was a particular high-point.
   Just three weeks before that, a China-Thailand Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum was jointly hosted in Bangkok by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and Thai Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Thailand.
Citing the approaching 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties, representatives from the Thai political and business sectors noted that mutually beneficial cooperation between Thailand and China is flourishing in areas such as economy, culture, and technology, Xinhua reported.
The stats showed they had every reason to be optimistic - China-Thailand bilateral trade reached $133.98 billion in 2024, up 6.1 percent year-on-year.The dramatic transformation in both nations since establishing ties owes a lot to their timely respective economic decision-making.
In Thailand, a thrust on export-led industrialization and tourism, boosted by participation in trade networks and a focus on economic stability since the Asian Financial Crisis, has led to positive effects.
Unlike the earlier era, where the form that relations would take would be influenced and often dictated by political, ideological and external factors, the current China-Thailand relationship is far more grounded in realism and cooperation, and remains steadfast in the face of political ups and downs.
As a result, and with key infra projects bridging physical distances, the people of both countries and the broader region have every reason to be hopeful that the next 50 years of ties can bring them even closer together with prosperous results.