The current dual policy overlay of RCEP and the China-Thailand Free Trade Agreement is pushing China-Thailand trade from the traditional simple purchase and sale of goods to a stage of in-depth interaction of “investment-driven trade”.
For foreign trade export companies, the current core task is not only to complete order shipments, but also to understand the accumulation rules of origin, make good use of local currency settlement tools, and effectively transform policy dividends into real profit margins.
Core Highlights: China is Thailand’s largest source of imports, accounting for nearly 30%; China-Thailand trade will continue to heat up in 2026, and policy dividends combined with China’s export category advantages make it an incremental market that foreign trade practitioners cannot miss.
1. Four core features of Thailand’s import trade
1. China’s supply is absolutely dominant, and Thailand’s import dependence is extremely high: Data in the first four months of 2025 show that China’s share of Thailand’s total imports reached 28%-29%, making it Thailand’s largest source of imports. The second place, Japan, only accounted for 8.7%. The gap is very wide.
Among Thailand’s consumer goods imports, Chinese manufacturing accounts for as much as 41%, and electrical products made in China account for 43.3%. Thailand’s industrial production and consumer market lifelines have been deeply tied to the Chinese supply chain.
2. The import structure is clear, mainly production materials: Thailand’s import core is divided into four major sectors, all of which accurately match China’s advantageous export categories. The order in order of value is: electromechanical/electrical machinery (adapted to Thailand’s automobile and electronic assembly industries), industrial equipment/general machinery (supporting the upgrading of Thailand’s manufacturing industry and the implementation of infrastructure), raw materials/intermediate products (used for processing and re-export by Thai companies), and consumer products (China’s outstanding cost-effectiveness advantage makes it the first choice for local price-sensitive needs).
3. The trade deficit with China continues to expand, and export opportunities are highlighted: The core of Thailand’s trade deficit comes from China, and it is expanding year by year. In 2025, Thailand’s deficit with China reached 2.26 trillion baht (approximately $64.5 billion), a year-on-year increase of 39.9%; in the first quarter of 2026, the deficit reached 679.7 billion baht (approximately $19.4 billion), a year-on-year increase of 41%, setting a record high.
The core reason behind this is that Thailand’s exports are mainly low-value-added agricultural products and resource products, and its imports are mainly high-value-added mechanical and electrical machinery and equipment. The trade structure is naturally imbalanced, and its dependence on Chinese imports continues to increase.
4.
The import driver is clear and supported by three major demands: First, the demand for the automobile industry chain. Japanese car companies such as Toyota and Honda have set up a large number of factories in Thailand and need to import a large number of motors, wiring harnesses and other parts from China. Second, the demand for electronic assembly. Thailand is an important exporter of computer parts in the world and needs to import large quantities of parts from China.
To mass-produce electronic core components, a complementary pattern of “China supplies parts and Thailand does assembly” is formed; the third is driven by infrastructure + domestic demand. Thailand’s current infrastructure and real estate boom has driven up demand for imported steel and building materials. At the same time, the local middle class continues to expand, and consumer demand for home appliances and 3C products has grown steadily.
2. Core data of China-Thailand trade in 2025-2026
Official data shows that China-Thailand bilateral trade continues to grow, with China’s exports to Thailand growing at a significantly higher rate than imports, and the surplus continuing to expand.
The total bilateral trade volume in 2025 will reach 1.0967 billion yuan (approximately 156 billion U.S. dollars), a year-on-year increase of 15.1%; of which China’s exports to Thailand are 740.5 billion yuan (approximately 105 billion U.S. dollars), a year-on-year increase of 21%; China’s imports from Thailand are 356.2 billion yuan (approximately 51 billion U.S. dollars), a year-on-year increase of 4.5%.
The latest data in the first quarter of 2026 shows that the total bilateral trade reached 1.278 trillion baht (approximately US$36.5 billion), a year-on-year increase of 18.78%; of which Thailand imported 979.1 billion baht (approximately US$27.9 billion) from China, a year-on-year increase of 25.68%; Thailand exported 299.4 billion baht (approximately US$8.5 billion) to China, a year-on-year increase of only 0.70%.
3. Thailand’s Top 10 Imported Goods from China (2025)
Data shows that the top three categories account for more than 50%, and they are all China’s dominant export categories. There is still a lot of room for explosive growth in 2026: 1. Electrical machinery and parts, accounting for 27.3%, covering motors, transformers, wiring harnesses and other products that are just needed for automobiles, electronics, and home appliances; 2. Machinery and parts, accounting for 15.7%, covering core products for manufacturing and infrastructure such as pumps, valves, machine tools, and engineering machinery; 3.
Household appliances, accounting for 10.3%, cover categories such as air conditioners, refrigerators, and small household appliances. Chinese products have obvious cost-effective advantages; the rest are chemical products, computers and parts, steel and products, metal ores/scrap metal, circuit boards, jewelry/precious metals, and metal products.
4. Key categories of support for China-Thailand trade in 2026
Combined with the RCEP agreement, relevant cooperation policies between China and Thailand, and Thailand’s BOI investment policy, the four major categories can enjoy dual policy support, which is the focus of the layout in 2026:
1. New energy vehicles and parts: BYD and other Chinese car companies have built factories in Thailand, promoting Thailand to become a new energy vehicle center in Southeast Asia. The demand for imports of motors, batteries, charging piles and other parts has surged. In 2025, Thailand’s imports of related products from China will increase by 38% year-on-year.
On the policy side, Thailand has provided support from 2024 to 2027, including tax reductions and exemptions for electric commercial vehicles, subsidies for battery companies, and tariff reductions and exemptions for complete vehicles for foreign car companies. China has included this field as a key area of the “One Belt, One Road” initiative, simplifying customs clearance procedures and providing export credit support.
2. Electromechanical/electrical machinery and parts: accounting for 27.3% of Thailand’s imports from China. Chinese products have outstanding cost performance and meet the needs of Thailand’s automobile and electronics industries. In 2026, Thailand’s “4.0 Strategy” will promote a surge in demand for high-end electromechanical products.
On the policy side, some categories under the RCEP agreement have zero tariffs, and certificates of origin are easy to apply for. China and Thailand are promoting interconnection of semiconductor supply chains and simplifying inspection and quarantine procedures.
3. Construction machinery and infrastructure materials: Thailand’s current infrastructure and real estate market is heating up, and Chinese excavators and steel products dominate the local market. In 2025, Thailand’s imports of Chinese steel and products will increase by 29% year-on-year.
On the policy side, Thailand provides tariff concessions and simplifies approvals for infrastructure equipment, while China provides export credit insurance to promote the integration of the “Belt and Road” initiative and Thailand’s infrastructure planning.
4. Electronic information products: Thailand has a developed electronics assembly industry and strong demand for imported computer parts and PCB boards from China. Related imports will increase by 25.68% year-on-year in 2025, which is highly complementary.
On the policy side, China and Thailand have deepened digital economic cooperation, simplified the use of electronic documents, promoted intellectual property cooperation, and supported enterprises to participate in exhibitions and exchanges.
Core Tips for Foreign Trade Practitioners: Thailand’s imports are highly dependent on China, with electromechanical, machinery, home appliances, and steel being core export opportunities, accounting for over 60%; policy dividends in 2026 will be concentrated in the fields of new energy vehicles, high-end electromechanical, and infrastructure materials, superimposed on the RCEP tax exemption advantage; China-Thailand trade is highly complementary, and the expansion of the deficit means that China’s export opportunities will exist for a long time, and the above-mentioned TOP10 import categories can be prioritized.
