Международная научная конференция ЮВА в СПбГУ-65

Международная научная конференция, посвященная 65-й годовщине начала изучения языков ЮВА в нашей стране The CHinese Overseas in Thailand and Vietnam—Similarities and Differences 239 of state and political system Thailand greatly differs from China, the cooperation between the two countries has been becoming more intense, their relations more close and friendly in recent years. Thailand and China benefit from a pragmatic approach to building relations with each other, and unity of economic interests between them fosters cooperation in multiple dimensions. TheAsian economic crisis of 1997 also played an important role in the process of bringing the interests of Thailand and China closer together, Thailand’s economy has suffered greatly during that crisis, and it led to the reevaluation of certain former partnerships and ties among Thai political leaders. Another important factor that has been contributing to not only the development of friendly ties between the Thai and the Chinese states in recent years, but also to the generally favorable position of the many Chinese Overseas in Thailand, is that in the collective memory of the Thai people there is no place for wars with China, nor for any kind of fights for the sovereignty of their state against China. In the collective memory of the Vietnamese people, on the other hand, such conflicts are abundant.Another aspect worth considering is that, although, the history of Thailand during the 20 th century was filled with phases of military dictatorships and coups d’ tat , Thailand, however, did not experience any sorts of radical rebuilding of the whole economic system of the country, as did Vietnam. Neither had Thailand, unlike Vietnam, been divided into two separate states for several decades. On Thailand’s soil raged no long-termmilitary conflicts, such as the First (1946–1954) and the Second (1965–1975) IndochinaWars. All these factors undoubtedly have been contributing to the fact that the Chinese Overseas in Thailand all in all have been living in much better conditions in comparison to their counterparts inVietnam. To that should be added, currentlyThailand and China have no unsolved territorial disputes among each other, while the conflict between China and Vietnam pertaining to the territories in the South China Sea is yet to be resolved. This conflict certainly does not help make the lives of Chinese Overseas living in Vietnam easier, as they can easily become targets of blame and aggression on the one hand, on the other hand— the subjects of manipulation and propaganda.