The 2026 Zhejiang International Trade Exhibition (Thailand) officially opened on September 16 at the IMPACT Exhibition and Convention Center in Bangkok, running for three days through September 18. Hosted by the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Commerce, this marks the fourth consecutive year that Zhejiang has held this overseas trade exhibition in the Thai capital since first bringing it to Bangkok in 2023. Organized under the theme "Zhejiang Made, All You Need," the exhibition brings together Zhejiang's competitive industries in smart home products, building materials and lighting equipment, offering a new platform for Zhejiang companies to expand into the Thai and wider Southeast Asian markets.

This year's exhibition centers on Zhejiang's most internationally competitive industry clusters, covering smart security and smart home products, construction lighting and electrical equipment, building materials and engineering supplies, and building safety and protection systems. Zhejiang is one of China's leading provinces for both economic output and foreign trade, with a consistently dynamic private sector. In recent years it has built increasingly complete industrial chains in smart manufacturing, the Internet of Things and new materials, with products sold to markets worldwide, including Southeast Asia. Demand for smart home and smart security products in Thailand has also expanded in recent years, particularly in the condominium and townhouse markets of major cities such as Bangkok, where consumers are increasingly receptive to products such as video intercoms, smart door locks and smart lighting, opening up a fairly broad market space for Zhejiang companies. The exhibition serves as a showcase for the results of Zhejiang's manufacturing upgrade and transformation to overseas markets, and gives Zhejiang enterprises a key opportunity to use Thailand's strategic location to reach further into the Indochina peninsula and the broader ASEAN market.

The exhibitor lineup includes a number of well-known Zhejiang brands. Hikvision, a leading global provider of smart IoT and digital solutions, is presenting video surveillance and smart security products; Tuya, a global IoT cloud platform provider, is showcasing smart home solutions and has already partnered with Thai building-materials giant SCG and local firm T3 Technology to develop the smart home ecosystem in Thailand; Seng Smart Kitchen is presenting integrated smart kitchen appliances such as built-in cooktop-range units, while Wonderful-Wall New Materials is displaying its decorative building material products. Past editions have also featured Zhejiang brands such as Dahua Technology, Meka and VOC, with Hikvision and Dahua, as leading players in the security sector, having built a market presence in Thailand for years, continuing to build the profile of Zhejiang manufacturing in Southeast Asian markets. In terms of product categories, this year's exhibition spans AI-powered surveillance cameras, smart door locks, smart plugs, LED lighting, aluminum profiles, built-in gas cooktops and bathroom fixtures, covering applications in residential, commercial real estate and construction projects, giving Thai distributors and contractors a fairly comprehensive range of sourcing options.

According to organizers, representatives of Thailand's Ministry of Industry, the Digital Economy Promotion Agency (DEPA), the Business and Economic Affairs Office of the Chinese Embassy in Thailand, and the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) have all been invited to attend this year's opening ceremony. At previous editions, guests from Thailand's Ministry of Energy, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), the Electrical and Electronics Industry Club, and the Federation of Thai Industries also attended, reflecting the exhibition's growing profile among Thai business and government circles. Following past practice, guests from both sides are expected to jointly cut the ribbon at the opening ceremony before touring selected booths to get a closer look at the latest products and technologies from Zhejiang companies.

The Zhejiang International Trade Exhibition (Thailand) has now been held in Bangkok for four consecutive years since it first launched there in 2023, becoming one of Zhejiang's flagship overseas trade exhibition brands in Thailand. In September 2024, the exhibition was likewise held at the IMPACT Exhibition Center over three days, drawing more than a thousand participating companies among buyers and sellers, with business cooperation fostered through industry forums, dedicated matchmaking sessions, VIP delegation receptions and one-on-one meetings. The following September, the 2025 edition was again held at the IMPACT Exhibition Center and was co-located with the ASEAN Light + Design Expo, further broadening the exhibition's industry coverage and the scale of its professional visitor base. Consecutive years of hosting have also allowed exhibiting companies to track changes in Thai market demand over time and build more stable relationships with local distributors and contractors.

The exhibition comes against a backdrop of deepening China-Thailand economic ties. According to publicly available data, bilateral trade between China and Thailand exceeded 1 trillion yuan (about US$147.8 billion) in 2025, up 15.1 percent year-on-year, with China remaining Thailand's largest trading partner and Thailand one of China's key trading partners within ASEAN. Chinese investment in Thailand has also continued to grow: close to 1,000 Chinese enterprises are now invested in the country, with 588 new investment projects registered over the past two years worth nearly US$7 billion, spanning manufacturing, the digital economy and new energy. In agricultural trade, China has long been a major export destination for premium Thai products such as durian and rice, with export value in this category continuing to grow in recent years. Zhejiang is a leading Chinese province for both private-sector and outward-oriented economic development, and has in recent years pursued a high-level opening-up strategy under the concept of the "Digua (Sweet Potato) Economy," encouraging provincial companies to actively venture abroad, with ASEAN and Thailand among its priority regions for outbound investment and trade cooperation. Zhejiang's trade cooperation with Thailand mirrors this broader trend; in April 2025, Zhejiang and Thailand held a China (Zhejiang)-Thailand Trade and Investment Cooperation Conference in Bangkok, establishing a longer-term mechanism for matching companies from both sides.

Organizers said the exhibition will also promote China's latest investment projects and industrial-upgrading opportunities, aiming to draw participation from Thai manufacturing and agriculture-related businesses. For small and medium-sized Thai manufacturers, the exhibition offers a direct opportunity to engage with Zhejiang's advanced smart manufacturing technologies and products, potentially opening new partnerships in intelligent upgrading and supply-chain development. For Thai agricultural companies, deeper trade ties with Zhejiang could also bring new technology and investment into areas such as agricultural processing and cold-chain logistics. For Zhejiang companies looking to expand overseas, Thailand's relatively developed infrastructure, transport connectivity and growing middle-class consumer base also make it an important springboard into the wider ASEAN market. Analysts say that as China-Thailand economic cooperation continues to deepen, recurring platforms such as the Zhejiang International Trade Exhibition will keep playing a role in connecting industries and integrating regional supply chains between the two countries.

Analysts note that in recent years Thailand has benefited from tariff preferences under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), as well as a range of foreign investment incentives from Thailand's Board of Investment (BOI), helping it accelerate its position as a regional manufacturing and export hub and attract more Chinese manufacturing investment, including from Zhejiang enterprises. The IMPACT Exhibition Center, which hosts this year's exhibition, is one of Southeast Asia's leading large-scale venues and has long hosted major international trade exhibitions, providing convenient conditions for Chinese and Thai companies to hold face-to-face negotiations, display samples and conduct business visits. As the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 continues to take shape, cooperation between Zhejiang and Thailand in emerging fields such as smart manufacturing and green building materials is expected to expand further, with this year's exhibition seen as an important window on the future direction of Zhejiang-Thailand economic ties, though its ultimate impact will only become clear once companies follow up after the fair with actual deals and orders.