Editor’s note: This article was submitted by the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Bangkok. It reflects the embassy’s perspective on China-Thailand cooperation in green development and environmental issues.
China and Thailand are close friendly neighbors and important partners working hand in hand to advance green development and pursue a sustainable future. In recent years, guided by the principles of mutual benefit, win-win results and collaborative governance, the two countries have steadily deepened practical cooperation in ecological environment and climate change. Focusing on key areas including environmental governance, ecological conservation, low-carbon transition and people-to-people bond, they have advanced policy alignment, technology sharing, capacity building and industrial collaboration, delivering fruitful outcomes. These efforts have injected strong green impetus into the building of a more stable, prosperous and sustainable China-Thailand community with a shared future, and contributed wisdom and strength to ecological governance and climate resilience across Southeast Asia.
Two-way Exchange of Governance Experience Forges Consensus on Environmental and Climate Cooperation
Building on their respective needs in ecological governance and climate action, China and Thailand have deepened experience sharing in environmental and climate governance practices. The environmental authorities of the two countries have established regular, professional channels for personnel exchanges and mutual learning under bilateral and multilateral frameworks. Thailand has actively shared its practices in the Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) economy model, while China has systematically introduced the development path of the Beautiful China initiative. Through in-depth interactions, the two sides have built consensus, learned from each other’s strengths, and fostered a sound pattern of coordinated progress.
Targeted Environmental Governance Delivers Regional Cooperation Benchmarks
To address the shared challenge of haze pollution in Southeast Asia, China and Thailand have joined forces to advance technology empowerment and experience sharing. The two sides jointly launched the Bangkok Clean Air project and built an atmospheric environment super observation station, which provides data support for the formulation and implementation of pollution control policies in Bangkok, and helps the city establish a more scientific air quality monitoring, assessment and early warning system. Meanwhile, the two countries co-hosted the International Symposium on Haze Governance in Northern Thailand, where participants shared practical experience on core topics such as agricultural straw burning control and agricultural waste recycling, jointly advancing regional atmospheric governance.
Deep Integration of Low-Carbon Industries Powers High-Quality Green Transition
Aligned with carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals, China and Thailand have deepened cooperation in clean energy, low-carbon technologies, green finance and green value chains, expanding ecological cooperation from environmental governance to industrial green upgrading and fostering a sustainable green economic growth model. Chinese enterprises have played an active role in Thailand’s photovoltaic sector, supporting floating PV projects at the Sirindhorn Dam and Srinagarind Dam. The 180 MW floating PV facility at Srinagarind Dam, once fully operational, will cut carbon dioxide emissions by roughly 180,000 tonnes annually, helping optimize Thailand’s clean energy mix. In addition, seven Chinese automakers have set up manufacturing bases in Thailand with cumulative investment exceeding 3 billion US dollars, and Chinese new energy firms have built EV battery plants in the country, supporting the upgrading of Thailand’s new energy industrial chain.
Coordinated Land and Marine Conservation Reinforces Regional Biodiversity Shield
Putting ecological protection first, China and Thailand have carried out all-round joint conservation efforts covering coastal ecological restoration, marine ecological monitoring and biodiversity protection. The two countries have established the Joint Laboratory on Climate and Marine Ecosystems and deployed Thailand’s first in-situ real-time video monitoring system for coral reefs. The system has successfully captured footage of critically endangered marine species including hawksbill turtles, providing continuous data support for regional coral reef protection and marine biodiversity monitoring. The two sides have also jointly built coastal land-sea integrated monitoring stations and deployed self-developed monitoring equipment, providing solid technical support for coastal vulnerability management and marine ecological restoration.
Integrated Livelihood and Ecological Progress Boosts Sustainable Community Resilience
China-Thailand ecological cooperation always puts people at the center and delivers tangible benefits to the public, with a focus on strengthening community-level capacity to address climate risks and adapt to climate change. Under the joint climate-resilient community demonstration project, 800 Thai households have received household emergency supply kits to prepare for extreme weather events such as rainstorms and floods. Complementary climate adaptation training has also been provided to improve communities’ practical capabilities in emergency evacuation and climate risk self-rescue. This people-centered, warm-hearted cooperation has consolidated the popular foundation of China-Thailand friendship.
In July 2026, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul paid an official visit to China. The two governments issued the Joint Statement towards a China-Thailand Community with a Shared Prosperous Future, under which both sides will strengthen cooperation in climate change, low-carbon economy, marine resources and environment, air and water pollution governance, and clean energy technologies, to deliver more practical outcomes in the building of the China-Thailand community with a shared future over the next 50 years.
To Deepen Regional Collaboration in Key Areas. The two countries will focus on priority areas including air pollution control, watershed ecological protection and climate change adaptation, and continue to deepen technical exchanges and experience sharing. As current co-chairs of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) mechanism, China and Thailand will work closely with other member states to jointly address regional environmental and climate challenges, build a green economic development belt in the Lancang-Mekong basin, and strengthen the green driving force of “LMC 2.0”. The two countries will also work together to advance the ASEAN-China Beautiful Homeland initiative, elevate the ASEAN-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, and build an even closer ASEAN-China community with a shared future.
To Strengthen Convention Implementation and Green Transition Support. Centering on international conventions on climate action, biodiversity conservation, ozone layer protection, persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and mercury pollution prevention and control, the two sides will deepen tripartite collaboration among governments, research institutions and industries. They will continue to explore innovative models of green finance enabling ecological governance, and support the green and low-carbon transformation of industries and infrastructure in both countries.
To Upgrade Green Value Chain and Low-Carbon Industrial Cooperation. The two countries will deepen green economic cooperation under the framework of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA) 3.0 upgrade protocol, promote the R&D and application of low-carbon technologies, and share good practices in low-carbon development to facilitate green and sustainable trade connectivity. They will jointly implement the Initiative on International Economic and Trade Cooperation Framework for Digital Economy and Green Development, advance digital and green transformation, and jointly foster a resilient and dynamic green economic growth model.
To Build a Long-term Knowledge Sharing and Capacity Building System. The two sides will continue to pool quality practices and technical achievements of China and Thailand in green development, climate governance and ecological protection, and carry out policy exchanges, talent training and joint research for developing countries at large, jointly contributing wisdom to building an inclusive, resilient and sustainable green future for the region and the world.
Connected by mountains and rivers, China and Thailand walk side by side on the path of green development. Looking ahead, the two countries will take ecology as a bond and win-win progress as the direction, continue to deepen practical green cooperation, jointly safeguard regional ecological security, advance green and low-carbon transition, and share the fruits of sustainable development. These efforts will further enrich the green foundation of the China-Thailand community with a shared future, and contribute to global ecological governance and climate action.
