Anutin, accompanied by his wife Ja Thananon, attended the Chinese New Year celebration for the Year of the Horse, performing the lion's eye-dotting ritual to boost vitality according to Chinese belief, and expressed that Thailand and China are like close siblings, not distant others.
On 11 February 2026 at 11:40 a.m., at the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Thailand, Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Anutin Charnvirakul, along with his wife Thananon Niramith, attended a reception celebrating the Chinese New Year of the Horse. The event was hosted by Zhang Jianwei, the Chinese Ambassador to Thailand. Upon arrival, Anutin was presented with a blue vase decorated with a golden dragon by Ambassador Zhang and in turn gave a red bouquet to congratulate the ambassador./On this occasion, Anutin performed the lion's eye-dotting ceremony, using a brush to paint the eyes of the lion costume used in the lion dance—a symbol of opening the eyes and increasing vitality according to Chinese tradition. He then placed a red envelope into the lion's mouth and tried riding the EHANG EH216-S, an unmanned electric passenger drone. Afterwards, he toured an exhibition of traditional Chinese culture and participated in activities such as tea brewing and watercolor painting. A Sichuan artist presented him with a horse painting as a keepsake, and Anutin requested the artist to add his name in Chinese characters on the painting.He said tohave his name added in Chinese characters on the painting. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister also tried kicking a soccer ball; the event organizers then gave him a red sports jersey as a prize.
Afterward, Anutin and his wife entered the banquet hall inside Building B to watch a drum performance and a video about the Chinese New Year celebrations before he delivered the opening remarks in Chinese.He said, “On behalf ofthe Thai people, I would like to thank China for the warm welcome during the official visit of His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen to the People's Republic of China. I also thank the Ambassador for his kindness and the invitation that allowed me to join today's reception celebrating the Chinese New Year with everyone. Thailand and China are like close siblings, not distant others. On behalf of the Thai government, I wish all Thai people of Chinese descent and all Chinese brothers and sisters happiness during the Year of the Horse, with good fortune and all their wishes fulfilled. I also hope that the friendship and cooperation between our two countries will continue to be long-lasting and even stronger.”
