AI cooperation with China could support innovation: Thai journalist

Thailand, one of Southeast Asia's fastest AI adopters, is looking to China for deeper cooperation on developing the technology as a tool to help people, not replace them, said a news editor from the country.

With AI already deeply embedded in everyday life across Thailand, Thai PBS World news editor Stephanie Adair said the country sees China as a natural partner to help shape the future of the technology.

"AI is widely used in Thailand. And with Thailand right now being a developing country, we really want to take advantage of this. So consumer behavior studies show that about 73 to about 91 percent of Thais actually use AI for their daily lives. This is ranking upon like one of the highest in Southeast Asia. So the most popular that's used by Thai people are ChatGPT and Gemini, which these are mostly Western AI platforms. So I was thinking maybe there could be a collaboration between Thailand and China regarding AI platforms," she said.

With Thailand's society aging rapidly, Adair highlighted AI's potential as a powerful tool for improving elderly care, noting that China's advancements in the field are well positioned to help.

While AI is reshaping industries from manufacturing to media and raising concerns about job displacement, Adair said the Thai government could explore ways to manage the transition, with a focus on upskilling citizens to better navigate the rapid changes.

"I think AI can't replace humans. So especially for media, we like to use it as an assistant more than leading the way. You have to lead the way instead of AI leading you, so we could use it to (review) transcripts or anything that could make the workload a lot easier, but we firmly believe that AI can't replace humans, and the responsibility and the context that is needed as a journalist is still very important, because probably AI doesn't understand the context or social norms of each country," she said.

In 2025, China and Thailand signed a memorandum of understanding to deepen cooperation in artificial intelligence, aiming to strengthen collaboration in AI development and governance and promote AI technology to benefit the people of both countries.

AI cooperation with China could support innovation: Thai journalist

The 2026 Qixi Festival Gala, produced by China Media Group (CMG), got underway at 20:00 Beijing Time on Wednesday, marking the annual celebration of one of China's oldest and most cherished traditional festivals.

The Qixi Festival, also referred to as the Chinese Valentine's Day, falls on the seventh day of the seventh month on the Chinese lunar calendar. It dates back more than 2,000 years and was inscribed on China's national intangible cultural heritage list in 2006.

The festival's enduring romantic association stems from the legends of the cowherd Niulang and the weaver girl Zhinyu, star-crossed lovers separated by the Milky Way who are permitted to meet only once a year when a flock of magpies forms a bridge across the heavens.

In ancient China, young women celebrate the festival by praying to Zhinyu for clever hands and domestic talents. Today, couples usually spend the day by exchanging gifts and many partners choose this auspicious date to register their marriages or hold collective traditional weddings.

This year's gala centered on the motif of a bridge, linking ancient myth with contemporary life.

A travelogue performance themed around the mythological bridge ran through the entire event, which featured songs, dances, traditional operas and ballet.

A highlight of the gala was a micro-film which explores shared Qixi customs between people from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan.

Among the evening's touching highlights was a short film featuring the enduring romance of 88-year-old Chinese radar technology expert Ben De, recipient of China's 2026 State Preeminent Science and Technology Award, and his wife. The award is the nation's highest honor for scientific and technological achievement.

This year's gala centered on co-creation, featuring segments with real couples from across the country to jointly celebrate the millennia-old traditions through contemporary expressions of love.

CMG airs special TV gala to celebrate China's 2,000-year-old love festival