Astronauts in orbit greet first Thai king to visit mainland China in 800 years
Thailand’s monarchs in exchange with orbiting crew on board Tiangong station during visit to highly restricted mission control centre in Beijing
The 73-year-old King Maha Vajiralongkorn – a trained military pilot and long-time aviation enthusiast – and Queen Suthida smiled and waved at the astronauts, who appeared via a large screen from the Tiangong, or “Heavenly Palace”, space station.
The encounter, which took place on Sunday at the Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Centre (BACC), was part of a five-day state visit, the first official trip to the Chinese mainland by a Thai monarch for 800 years. It is also 50 years since the two countries established modern diplomatic ties.
The visit has been widely viewed as a sign that Bangkok is looking to deepen its engagement with Beijing, particularly in hi-tech cooperation, even as it remains a military ally of the United States.
The rare high-level tour of the mission control centre also pointed to fast-growing collaboration between the two countries in the space sector, building on earlier work in satellite data use and technical training.