Sino-Cambodian economic and trade ties remain healthy, thanks to deepening cooperation between the two Asian nations, according to the Chinese ambassador.
Wang Wentian made the remark at the China-Cambodia Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum on July 23 via video link.
The forum was organised by the China Economic Daily and the Asian Vision Institute (AVI), and covered themes such as China-Cambodia development strategy verification, China-Cambodia economic and trade cooperation opportunities, and the China-Cambodia Digital Economic Cooperation Vision.
Wang told the forum that China and Cambodia are “good neighbours, good friends, good brothers and good partners”. Since 2020, Covid-19 has spread worldwide, but economic and trade cooperation between China and Cambodia has continued to grow, he noted.
This is an achievement of the economic and trade cooperation between the two countries, which was attained on the back mutual trust and respect, benefit from common success, and constant expansion undergirded by complementary economic structures that lift either side to greater heights, he said.
“Currently, the two countries are at an important stage of development, where both sides need to further strengthen strategic verification to take full advantage of the policy interests to assume a unique role in mutually filling in the gaps of the implementation of key cooperation projects.
“I hope that the two sides will continue to make efforts to deepen economic and trade cooperation . . . to provide greater benefits to the people of the two countries and fulfil the role for the mission of stable development in Asia and the world,” Wang said.
Cambodian government adviser and AVI chairman Sok Siphana, who attended the forum, noted that Beijing has provided loads of Covid-19 vaccines to Cambodia, accelerating the implementation of the Kingdom’s vaccination goal to help revive the economy.
This, he said, underscores the deep ties between Cambodia and China, especially evident in times of need.
“Both sides need to pay more attention to and strengthen economic cooperation … and make joint efforts to nullify the effects of the virus as soon as possible,” Siphana said.
China Economic Daily president and editor-in-chief Zheng Qingdong said Sino-Cambodian economic and trade cooperation had developed to a considerable degree, spawning many important projects.
Under the framework of Mekong-Lancang operations, cooperation between the two countries is always moving forward smoothly, he said.
“The free trade agreement [FTA] between China and Cambodia, signed in October 2020, demonstrates that the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two sides, community building, common destiny and road and belt cooperation has reached a new stage,” Zheng said.
The bilateral FTA between Cambodia and China is expected to enter into force next year.
Cambodia-China trade in 2020 was worth $9.56 billion, up 1.4 per cent compared to 2019, according to Wang.
