Bowin, Thailand – The collapse of a Chinese construction office tower in Bangkok added to the negative perceptions of the nascent commercial presence of China in Thailand, testing the government’s open door policy in Beijing.
The authorities investigate the reasons why the unfinished height imploded, buried dozens of construction workers, following an earthquake of magnitude 7.7 Friday in the neighboring Myanmar which was felt in the region. It was Bangkok’s only increase in collapsing. The first construction material tests of the site indicated the presence of lower quality steel.
The disaster is red meat for certain Thai politicians and could strengthen the disaffection that bubbles at the base due to the perception that Chinese companies and investments do not benefit the inhabitants.
“Only one building collapsed,” said the Minister of Industry, Akanat Promphan, for journalists even if he said that he was not jumping to conclusions on the cause of the disaster.
“I guess the public could say the reason he fell,” said Akanat, who has campaigned for several months against an apparent epidemic of defective Chinese industrial products in Thailand.
China has become the largest foreign investor in Thailand for the first time in 2019, moving Japan which has held the title for decades, and again in 2023, according to the investment promotion agency in Thailand.
Chinese companies have been stimulated to invest in Thailand in part due to the American prices on Chinese exports imposed by the first Trump administration. The price strategy is now in doubt after President Donald Trump announced new prices aimed at almost all countries on Wednesday, including a 36% rate on Thailand goods.
In the midst of the negative media coverage covered the role of the Chinese construction company in the disaster, the Beijing Embassy in Bangkok said that its companies abroad should always act legally and contribute to the company.
“China supports and fully meets the needs of Thailand and calls Chinese companies relevant to cooperate fully with the Thai government to investigate the cause. [We] Believe that the Thai government’s investigation will lead to fair scientific results, “said a spokesperson for the embassy.
Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra met Wang Chengjie, president of the Chinese car manufacturer Faw Hongqi abroad, in Government House in Bangkok, in the government’s continuous reception for Chinese companies on Tuesday.
Paetongtarn said that she liked to travel to luxury Hongqi limousine during a recent visit to China and that he was convinced that Faw’s investment in Thailand would bring advantages to the two countries, according to Thai media.
But in the industrial heart of Thailand to the east of Bangkok, a Chinese enclave of shops, massage fairs, karaoke bars and apartments that have emerged in Bowin, a city of factory, highlights common complaints concerning the lack of advantages for the Thai economy.
Residents, labor defenders and some legislators say that all transactions in the enclave are in Chinese yuan through the Chinese payment application Alipay and do not benefit the local economy.
The working groups complain that many factories belonging to Chinese in what the government surgos its oriental economic corridor avoids using Thai nationals.
“There are more and more Chinese factories, but they do not hire many Thai nationals,” said Jirun Petra, an Eastern Labor Relations Group defender at Radio Free Asia. “They have rather used workers from our neighboring countries because they are unlikely to challenge the bosses.”
“We don’t mind Chinese investments in this region,” said Jirun. “But they must employ Thai workers in a regulated proportion.”
The construction of the high height of Bangkok, which was to be the new house of the audit agency of the state of Thailand, was supervised by a joint venture between the engineering group n ° 10 of China Railway n ° 10 and the Thai Thai Italian-Thai. In a press release, they said they had acted legally and respected by quality controls.
It was the highest building ever undertaken by the Chinese company, according to Seatao, a Chinese site which reports on the global infrastructure plan of Belt & Road de Beijing.
Akanat, the Minister of Industry, said most of the tested steel came from a single manufacturer.
An opposition legislator, CHUTIPHONG PIPOPPINYO, said on its Facebook page, some of the steel corresponded to two Chinese factories that were closed by the government in December.
“It was not just these factories that caused problems,” said Chutiphong.
“There are tens of thousands of Chinese nationals who continue to come with campaigns without visa through [employment] Brokers, “he said.” They build their own dormitories and transfer money without paying taxes. “”
Steel quality problems in Thailand are the product of official corruption and cost reduction in Chinese factories, said Soussak Tippayarat, owner of a metal recycling company in the center of Thailand.
“They distorted the price structure with poor quality products,” he told Radio Free Asia. “They made samples to acquire the approval of the state industrial standard, then opted for standard, then opted for standard [in commercial production]”He said.
Published by Stephen Wright and Mike Firn.