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While Huawei Technologies remains firmly on a United States cyber-security black list, its long-time ally Thailand is opening wide to the Chinese tech giant. On December 19, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha presided over an inauguration event for the “Siriraj World Class 5G Smart Hospital”, which was likewise attended by Huawei Thailand chief executive officer Abel Deng, among others. The event also marked the launch of a Joint Innovation Lab between Bangkok’s Siriraj Hospital and Huawei to incubate innovative 5G medical applications. 5G, or fifth generation, refers to the latest telecommunications technology standard that began rolling out in 2019 and of which Huawei is a pioneer and market leader. 5G not only means faster communications and connections to electronic devices but also enables businesses to collect vast amounts of data for further use in digital platforms and application development as well as startup businesses, all key aspects of the modernized, digital economy Thailand is striving to create. Siriraj Hospital happens to be the hospital in which the much-revered late Thai monarch King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) spent his twilight years and was founded by his father, the Harvard-educated Prince Mahidol Adulyadej, remembered as the “father of modern medicine” in the kingdom. Huawei’s establishment of close collaboration with such a royally connected institution represents a public relations coup and underscores the Chinese tech giant’s growing clout in Thailand’s economy, observers note.    “It sends a very strong signal that Thailand is opening the door to Huawei, especially during a public health crisis,” said Benjamin Zawacki, senior program specialist for Southeast Asian Regional Security at The Asia Foundation in Thailand and author of the book “Thailand: Shifting Ground between the US and Rising China.” China has arguably scored more points from the Covid-19 pandemic in Thailand than the United States, which was perceived as slow to provide access to US-made vaccines – Pfizer and Moderna – while China was quick to deliver Sinovac and Sinopharm alternatives. While both Chinese-made shots have been deemed less effective against the virus, especially the now fast-spreading Omicron variant, they were ostensibly on hand during the early days of the pandemic when the Thai government was under heavy criticism for botching the vaccine rollout.  Huawei has been similarly astute in leveraging the pandemic to its advantage. As early as June 2020, Siriraj and Huawei had developed 5G technology applications to launch self-driving vehicles for “contactless” delivery of medical supplies to Covid cases in the hospital. Since the Covid outbreak, Siriraj Hospital, and Huawei have also piloted 5G portable medical boxes, 5G medical carts and 5G smart hospital beds and the two partners expect that 30 5G medical applications will be incubated and promoted nationwide in 2022. Given its greater speed and enhanced data storage capacity, 5G is deemed particularly well suited to medical applications which require stable, uninterrupted telecommunication connections. It is one of several huge potential markets for Huawei in Thailand, which is promoting itself as a regional medical and wellness hub for global travelers and patients. “We will introduce 5G hospitals, 5G ambulances, and AI-assisted solutions in 10 hospitals,” said Huawei management in written responses to Asia Times questions. That is the tip of the 5G iceberg. “We will also build over three 5G city benchmarks to support the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Summit to be hosted in Thailand (in November) and in line with the EEC’s digital vision we will deploy ten 5G factories in the EEC, including a 5G automobile manufacturing factory,” said Huawei. The Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), comprising three provinces on Thailand’s eastern coastline adjacent to Bangkok, is a pivotal program for uplifting the economy and escaping the so-called middle-income trap by stimulating future growth through the promotion of high-tech industries, many of which will rely on 5G technology in such areas as automation, robotics, and logistics.  To learn more please visit OUR FORUM.