In talks with China’s leadership this week, including President Xi Jinping, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra is expected to emphasize that Thailand is on board with increasing security and doing more to make Chinese tourists feel safe.
China is Thailand’s top trading partner, and its biggest inbound tourism market. But a recent high-profile abduction of a Chinese actor from Thailand has spooked many Chinese tourists.
Scam center scare in Thailand
In January, actor Wang Xing flew to Bangkok for what he thought was a casting call. Instead, he was picked up at the airport and driven across the border to Myawaddy, Myanmar and forced to work in a cyber-scam center.
Wang was rescued by Thai authorities four days after he disappeared in January, but the case has since caused a huge stir in China and worldwide, prompting both Thai and Chinese officials to promise further action.
Most of these telecom and internet scam centers are operated by Chinese criminal syndicates in Southeast Asia and are particularly rife in Myanmar and Cambodia. Many of the victims are Chinese, and are trafficked via Thailand.
“The scammers are a big deal for Thailand because scam centers are threatening Thailand’s tourism and hospitality industries. Scam centers are bad news, and Chinese tourists are a big intake,” Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, told DW.
Chinese tourism is vital for Thailand’s economy, with over 6 million arrivals in 2024.
But the impact of Wang’s trafficking saw Chinese visitors cancel their trips to Thailand for Lunar New Year.
This was despite Thailand’s tourism bureau taking steps to publish a press release in Mandarin in January, reassuring Chinese nationals that “Thailand attaches great importance to the safety of tourists.”
Thailand still predicts there will be 9 million Chinese arrivals this year, which will be nearly a quarter of total international arrivals forecasted for 2025.
Teaming up to fight crime
Pravit Rojanaphruk, a Thai journalist and political observer, says Thailand will focus on reassuring China this week that its citizens are safe in the country.
“Thailand is very sensitive to any negative perception about its country, particularly from the Chinese point of view, as they constitute the largest group of foreign tourists to Thailand. The Thai prime minister hopes that President Xi would be able to help restore confidence among some Chinese,” he told DW.
There is already cooperation on combating crime, with Bangkok and Beijing planning to set up anti-scam centers. It is reported Chinese authorities will operate one such center in the Thai-Myanmar border city, Mae Sot.
Thailand has also helped transfer about 900 Chinese nationals who had been trapped in scam operations in Myanmar last year, but the number of Chinese nationals still missing is thought to be much higher.
Nikorndej Balankura, a Thai Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson, said in January that combating cross-border crimes is a “national priority.”
Myanmar is also entering its fifth year of civil war, which has created a security vacuum. China is heavily invested in Myanmar and has tried to intervene and mediate ceasefires, as well as backing both the junta and the resistance, without success.
“For China it is about ensuring that Thailand is still part of the geo-strategic chessboard, the Belt and Road Initiative. I think China has a big headache with Myanmar, so it is much more important now to get Thailand to stay on board,” he told DW.
Building closer trade ties
Deepening economic ties is also expected to be on the agenda in light of US President Donald Trump’s tariffs targeting China.
Mark S. Cogan, associate professor of peace and conflict studies at Kansai Gaidai University in Osaka, Japan, told DW that Paetongtarn will try and avoid the thorny topic of Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods.
Source : https://www.dw.com/en/thailand-pms-china-visit-aims-to-allay-safety-concerns/a-71502860
