Thailand to push 'soft powers' in China

In an effort to boost exports during the second half of this year, Thailand’s Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP) will focus on penetrating China market, including Hong Kong, with Thai soft powers, namely foods, fruits, fashion, films and fairs.

Director-general of DITP Phusit Ratanakul Seriroengrit on Monday said that its eight offices in China have been tasked with organising activities to promote these goods.

Thai food promotion festivals will be held in mainland and the special administrative region both on-site and on social media, focusing on raising awareness of foods that have been awarded the Thai SELECT certification.

According to Phusit, activities will be held during important festivals in China, such as the beer festival in Qingdao and the summer festival in Shanghai. He noted that these activities will be broadcasted on platforms like Little Red Book (Xiaohongshu), Weibo and Dianping.

Similar activities will be held at shopping malls and supermarkets in six secondary cities, namely Dongguan, Wuhan, Liuzhou, Xiamen, Xi'an and Ningxia.

Phusit said activities to promote Thai fruits had kicked off in Kunming, Chongqing, Jiangxi and Guangzhou in May, generating 40 million THB ($1.1 million) in trade value.

He noted that these activities focused on introducing the taste, quality, safety standards and variety of Thai fruits.

Besides, the DITP has planned to promote fashion items and accessories in China through a gala night in Shanghai in August and a fair and fashion show in Hong Kong from September 4-7.

As for films, he confirmed that the hit Thai movie film “Lahn Mah” or “How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies” had received a good response in Hong Kong and the DIPT office in Shanghai is planning to promote Lahn Mah prior to its release in China in September this year.

The DIPT had also selected Thai entrepreneurs to attend several trade fairs in China, such as Thai Brands Kunming 2024 on July 23-28, China-ASEAN Expo 2024 on September 24-28, and China International Import Expo on November 5-10, and the department will collaborate with shopping malls and convenience stores in China and Hong Kong to hold fairs promoting Thai products.