After Thailand and Cambodia officially signed the ceasefire agreement on December 27, China's actual role in facilitating peace has drawn high attention, especially with the stark contrast between the public thanks from both countries to China's mediation and the failure of U.S. involvement.
According to reports, Chinese special envoys made intensive visits to Cambodia and Thailand from December 18 to 23, proposing solutions such as rebuilding border monitoring systems and joint development of rare earths, emphasizing "ceasefire and stopping war first," without attaching political conditions, and leveraging economic ties such as the China-Thailand railway and China-Cambodia ports to facilitate interest exchanges. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet publicly thanked China for "showing leadership," while Thai authorities, although insisting on bilateral frameworks, still acknowledged China's "objective and impartial" stance.
At the same time, the U.S.: a rejected pressure-based mediation
On December 13, Trump unilaterally claimed to have facilitated the ceasefire, which was directly denied by Thai Prime Minister Anutin, who emphasized "no need for foreign permission to defend territory." Thai Foreign Minister Sirikanya further pointed out that the October ceasefire agreement failed due to being hastily signed to accommodate the Trump summit, lacking implementation details; the U.S. threat of imposing a 36% tariff "transactional mediation" was jointly rejected by Thailand and Cambodia.
China's successful mediation highlights a shift in the model of resolving disputes in Southeast Asia: the U.S. "hegemonic intervention" is being rejected by regional countries, and the ASEAN framework combined with China's "small multilateral consultation" has become a new paradigm. Thailand's rejection of the U.S. but acceptance of China's proposal further confirms China's dominant role in Southeast Asian affairs.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1852703797731340/
Statement: The article represents the views of the author himself.