| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立暨南國際大學 === 東南亞研究所 === 101 === Frequent exchanges between Thailand and China have existed for more than thousand years. After the Opium War in 1840, China’s national strength declined. In 1853, Thailand no longer regarded itself as a subject to the Central Kingdom, a tremendous change in the history of Sino-Thai relations. After World War II, the Chinese civil war erupted between the Nationalist Party and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), with the latter eventually ruling mainland China by establishing the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in October 1949. With grave concern that the spread of communism might threaten its national security and sovereignty, Thailand adopted a pro- US policy.
Later on, due to the growing tension and conflicts between PRC and USSR, the improvement of relations between PRC and the United States, the PRC’s joining the United Nations (UN) and geopolitical changes in the region, Thailand and PRC established diplomatic relations on July 1, 1975 based on their respective national interest. The two countries spent time to learn how to deal with each other in the beginning period of the diplomatic relations. The CCP convened the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee in 1978, and Vietnam invaded Cambodia. Due to the adjustment of PRC’s foreign policies, Thailand’s concern over PRC disappeared. As Thailand and the PRC held similar positions and supported each other on the issue of Cambodia, both countries swiftly improved their bilateral relations and became military and strategic partners.
Profound mutual trust was established between Thailand and the PRC when the two countries worked together to resolve the issue of Cambodia. Because there were no territorial disputes and ethnic conflicts between the two countries, high level officials and national leaders of the two countries frequent exchanged visits and established regular and close communications in multilateral forums. The relationship between Thailand and PRC continued to develop steadily.
The relations between Thailand and the PRC entered into a new phase after they signed the “Joint Declaration of the People's Republic of China and the Kingdom of Thailand on the Cooperation Program of the Twenty-first Century” in February 1999, explicitly offering a framework for the two countries to expand their cooperation in political, economic and diplomatic areas. The following documents such as “Joint Communiqué”, “Sino-Thai Strategic Cooperation in a Joint Action Plan”, and “Joint Declaration of the People's Republic of China and the Kingdom of Thailand on the Establishment of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” are all the subsequent achievements based on the Joint Declaration of 1999 and increased to more aspects of cooperation.
The bilateral relations between Thailand and the PRC continue to grow stronger and closer since their diplomatic ties were established. Through the study of the history of their bilateral relations from 1975 to 2005, this thesis is aimed to provide analysis to the dynamics of the diplomatic relations between these two countries, how this relationship brings impact to the regional developments in East Asian region, and the future challenges and prospects caused by this strategic partnership.
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