Cabinet Approves Thai-China 5-Year Automotive MOU
Thailand's Cabinet has approved a five-year MOU with China to boost cooperation in the automotive sector, focusing on electric vehicles, battery production, and supply chain resilience. The agreement establishes a joint working group and covers investment, trade, standards harmonization, industrial management, and policy alignment. Signing is expected during the Chinese Premier's visit to Thailand in November 2026.
The Cabinet approved a five-year Thai-China cooperation framework on the automotive industry to promote investment, trade, electric vehicles, and strengthen Thailand's automotive sector. Deputy Government Spokesperson Lalida Perisawathana revealed that the Cabinet endorsed the draft memorandum of understanding (MOU) on automotive industry cooperation between Thailand's Ministry of Industry and China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). The agreement aims to elevate cooperation on the modern automotive industry, promote investment, trade, technological innovation, and development of electric and smart vehicles, while strengthening the automotive supply chain between the two nations. The cooperation targets enhanced competitiveness for Thailand's automotive industry and sustainable industrial development through five key pillars: 1. Investment - promoting Thai-Chinese investment in vehicle manufacturing, auto parts, electric vehicles, battery production and recycling, plus investment facilitation. 2. Trade - exchanging market information, trade policies, and production needs to expand trade opportunities under fair, equitable, and open conditions. 3. Standards and regulations - sharing information on automotive standards and regulations through seminars, training, and joint activities, promoting standards alignment and mutual recognition of test results. 4. Industrial management - exchanging experience on strategic planning, industrial oversight, and obstacle analysis to develop solutions and improve management efficiency. 5. Policy measures - exchanging information on industrial support measures to align policies with technological changes and future industry directions. Both countries will establish a China-Thailand Automotive Industry Cooperation Working Group as a coordination and monitoring mechanism, prepare annual action plans, promote exchanges on policies, standards, regulations, and research, and support collaboration among industries, educational institutions, and research institutes. Thailand's coordinating agency is the Office of Industrial Economics under the Ministry of Industry; China's is the Department of Equipment Industry I under MIIT. They will jointly set cooperation directions, organize meetings, and monitor progress. The MOU takes effect upon signing, planned for November 2026 during the Chinese Premier's visit to Thailand. The Minister of Industry or designee will sign. Activities and budgets under the framework will be considered case by case without binding the national budget.
