Durian Diplomacy Is on the Rise in China and Southeast Asia

The scent of the fruit announces its presence long before it appears. The smell of snakes down lorongspast cafes and Xian Bing Stalls in Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown, ending at the gloved hand of a local fruit vendor, deftly cutting off the prickly skin of a durian. About a dozen Chinese tourists line up to try the football-sized fruit, which is served in cellophane containers or mixed with ice cream and puff pastries.

Durian, a divisive fruit often ridiculed in the West for its strong, onion-like flavor and creamy texture, has long been a popular treat in Southeast Asia. Only in recent years has the fruit emerged as a gastronomic sensation in China, which now consumes more than 1.5 million metric tons of the fruit each year, with shoppers spending about $25 for a single large durian. Almost all of it is shipped from China’s neighbors in Southeast Asia.

Durian, a divisive fruit often ridiculed in the West for its strong, onion-like flavor and creamy texture, has long been a popular treat in Southeast Asia. Only in recent years has the fruit emerged as a gastronomic sensation in China, which now consumes more than 1.5 million metric tons of the fruit each year, with shoppers spending about $25 for a single large durian. Almost all of it is shipped from China’s neighbors in Southeast Asia.

As the Chinese appetite for durian has grown, so has its appeal as a bridge between culture and politics. All the fresh durians heading to China came from Thailand, which sends three-quarters of its crop abroad. Thailand remains China’s largest trading partner, with exports amounting to about $4 billion annually, but its market share is rapidly declining as new countries join it. Over the past four years, Beijing has signed a raft of durian import deals across the region in a multibillion-dollar charm offensive that some policy experts have dubbed “durian diplomacy.”

In August, China received its first fresh shipment of durian from Cambodia. This followed an agreement to start importing frozen durian from Indonesia, which recently set up a company Farm development plan To enhance durian production. Malaysia, which has been sending whole frozen durians to China since 2019, entered the fresh export game in 2024. The Philippines struck a deal in 2023 to send fresh durians to China after a presidential state visit by Ferdinand Marcos Jr. aimed at boosting agricultural cooperation. In 2022, Vietnam began sending its durian north, becoming China’s second-largest supplier, with exports worth about $3 billion last year.

“Dorian very much reflects what is happening with leadership and with relations between countries,” said Kankan Shih, a professor of Southeast Asian studies at Peking University in China.

Xie said China has traditionally remained closer to Southeast Asian countries Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. (Laos and Myanmar hope to send their durians to China soon but do not have an export permit yet.) Vietnam has long been an exception to this trend, due to historical grievances and disputes over territorial waters in the South China Sea, which have similarly strained China’s relations with the Philippines. However, China is increasingly using Dorian deals to improve relations. This summer, China invited the two countries, along with other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), to the first ASEAN-China Durian Festival in Beijing.

The rivalry between China and the United States may help explain why more durian fruit is crossing into the People’s Republic of China than ever before. US President Donald Trump’s reorganization of global trade and withdrawal from international institutions under the America First policy creates an opportunity for China to gain allies and strengthen relations with neighbors. A shared love of the durian fruit is one way. “China is now trying to portray itself as a responsible superpower and engage with many of its counterparts in Southeast Asia,” Shih said.

Durian is being prepared for export to China in Chanthaburi on May 10.Lauren DeSica/Getty Images

The most likely explanation for durian’s appearance is that its toothy exterior protects it from hungry animals. However, it was unable to shake royal ties throughout Southeast Asia, where it is known as the “King of Fruits.”

However, away from its native forests on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, descriptions of durian are less picturesque. Niccolò de Conti, a 15th-century Venetian merchant who recorded one of the first European references to durian in his travels, noted that it resembled “thick butter” and had a “nauseous odor.” And even that might be fun by some standards. Glossary entry for 1903 Hobson Jobson The dictionary, which was used during British rule in India, quotes a former colonial official who compared durian to “carrion in custard.”

The West’s aversion to this prickly fruit means that it is unlikely, at least for now, to gain political goodwill by exporting massive quantities of it to the United States or Europe. In fact, many hotel rooms in Southeast Asian cities, from Bangkok to Singapore, explicitly prohibit eating durian to protect the sensitive senses of their international guests.

But for China, durian is a suitable delicacy. Regional alliances can be strengthened by satisfying local desires.

Appealing to the political palate is nothing new, according to Sam Chappell Sokol, a lecturer at the World Food Institute at George Washington University. He added that such activity falls within the scope of culinary diplomacy, a phenomenon that dates back thousands of years. “If you think about two ancient people getting together, they will talk around a fire, and there will often be food around that fire,” he said.

Durians stacked in baskets at a wholesale market in Chanthaburi on May 9.Lauren DeSica/Getty Images

Over the centuries, this type of diplomacy has become more refined, incorporating formal dinners and specialty dishes. In the 19th century, chef Antonin Carême traveled with the French delegation to negotiations, named his culinary inventions after various politicians, and allegedly created Pollard Albufeira and Nesselrode puddings. In recent decades, Southeast Asian countries have become particularly adept at wielding this kind of gastronomic power. Chappell Sokol pointed out that the spread of Thai restaurants around the world is not just a coincidence, but rather a deliberate government strategy.

He added that durian diplomacy is evident not only in business deals, but also in colorful culinary demonstrations that attract visiting officials. In 2022, after a formal lunch between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and then-Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, Yi expressed his admiration for the cheesecake he was served made of musang king (one of the most popular durian varieties), indicating that he was willing to import more tropical fruits and palm oil from the country.

In the case of Dorian diplomacy, Chappell-Sokol questions whether China is the main driving force. He said that culinary diplomacy is often associated with middle powers. Malaysia, in particular, has been a major player in this form of soft power over the past decade. “The countries that could benefit the most from this are Thailand, Peru, and Mexico,” he said. “They are the smaller BRICS countries, but they are large enough to support something like this. They may not have the military power or the GDP or the economic power, but they have something really strong to offer the world in terms of their cuisine, their culture, their history, their people.”

A Chinese export truck drives past the durian wholesale market in Chanthaburi on May 9. Lauren DeSica/Getty Images

Increasingly, these middle powers are using Dorian diplomacy to build bridges with each other and exclude larger players. In February, Malaysia hosted a “Durian Diplomacy” event at its embassy in Seoul, following a similar reception in Tehran in 2024. Addressing the hall, Mohd Zamrouni Khalid, the Malaysian ambassador to South Korea, acknowledged the usefulness of durian in statecraft. “Let’s remember that diplomacy is not just about official engagements and high-level meetings,” Khaled said. “It is also about the simple pleasures of sharing a meal, exchanging stories, and building connections.” “Today, let durians be a symbol of our shared commitment to a brighter and more collaborative future.”

Malaysia says it is now looking beyond Asia, eyeing Peru as a future durian export market.

Whether Dorian’s diplomacy continues apace, however, depends not only on the winds of politics, but on the rains. Climate change poses a growing threat to durian growers, and Thailand’s market share fell from 68 percent to 57 percent between 2023 and 2024, partly due to lower yields caused by extreme heat. In Vietnam, where the Mekong Delta accounts for about half of the country’s total durian production, last year’s drought pushed salt water into the delta’s freshwater reserves and into fields, slowing durian production. Therefore, addressing rising greenhouse gas emissions must remain on the list if the durian boom is to continue.