On the afternoon of August 3, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Peace Building in Phnom Penh and held working talks. The two sides discussed bilateral cooperation between the two countries, regional and global issues, etc.
China will consider adding more direct flights between China and Cambodia. At the working meeting, Hun Sen proposed that he hoped that Chinese investors would increase investment in Cambodia and that China would increase direct flights between the two countries to promote the development of Cambodia’s tourism industry. Regarding the flight issue, Wang Yi said that some flights have been resumed, and the Chinese side will consider opening additional flights from Cambodia to China to facilitate Cambodian students returning to China to resume classes.
Hun Sen: Firmly adhere to the one-China principle. At the meeting, Hun Sen conveyed his sincere greetings to Chinese leaders to Wang Yi and wished the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China a complete success. At the same time, he stressed that Cambodia firmly adheres to the one-China principle and believes that, Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory. Cambodia firmly opposes any words or deeds that violate China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and will continue to firmly support China in safeguarding its core interests and stand firmly with the 1.4 billion Chinese people.
Wang Yi thanked Prime Minister Hun Sen for his support. China appreciates Cambodia’s adherence to the one-China principle and supports China in safeguarding its core interests. China is also a reliable partner and has strong backing in Cambodia’s development and revitalization process, and is willing to work with Cambodia to safeguard their respective sovereignty, security, and development interests, maintain the basic norms of international relations of non-interference in internal affairs, and safeguard international fairness and justice. He is willing to deepen strategic communication with the Cambodian side, continue the traditional friendship, so that the friendship between China and Cambodia will be passed on from generation to generation, and maintain youthful vitality forever.
Wang Yi: China firmly supports Cambodia’s domestic and foreign policies. Wang Yi praised Hun Sen for recovering Cambodia from the war and building a better life for the people. He said that China firmly supports Cambodia’s domestic and foreign policies, supports Cambodia in safeguarding its sovereignty and independence, and continues to play a leading role. At the same time, congratulations to the Cambodian People’s Party for winning the current township district council election.
Hun Sen thanked China for its firm support for Cambodia to pursue a development path that suits its national conditions as always. He said that the Cambodian side has made arrangements to ensure that Cambodia-China relations will remain stable under the leadership of the successor and there will be no change.
China will import more high-quality agricultural products from Cambodia. Hun Sen spoke highly of the achievements of Cambodia-China economic and trade cooperation. In 2021, the trade volume between Cambodia and China will reach 11.1 billion US dollars. He hopes that the bilateral trade volume between Cambodia and China will reach 15 billion US dollars. It is hoped that the two countries will continue to strengthen economic and trade cooperation, and it is believed that with the implementation of the Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the scale of trade between Cambodia and China will continue to expand. At the same time, it is hoped that China will continue to increase imports of Cambodian agricultural products, including rice and longan.
Wang Yi said that China will encourage more enterprises to invest in Cambodia, and China will continue to maintain the status of Cambodia’s largest trading partner. He pointed out that China is a huge market. In order to help Cambodian agricultural exports, he will continue to increase imports of Cambodian agricultural products.
The friendship between China and Cambodia is unbreakable, and the two countries continue to deepen their cooperation. Hun Sen said that the friendship between Cambodia and China is unbreakable, and the joint construction of the “Belt and Road” has achieved fruitful results and brought great benefits to the people. The two countries have joined hands to fight the epidemic, and the Chinese vaccine has effectively helped Cambodia safeguard people’s lives and health, speed up economic recovery, and restore normal social life. The two sides will jointly commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Father Sihanouk, and will also celebrate the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The Cambodian side looks forward to continuing to promote the construction of a Cambodia-China community with a shared future, deepening the alignment of the development strategies of the two countries, and strengthening cooperation in various fields such as economy, trade, infrastructure, minerals, energy, agriculture, and defense.
Wang Yi said that the high-quality joint construction of the “Belt and Road” between China and Cambodia has continued to bear fruit, showing broad prospects for development. The two sides should firmly grasp the direction of jointly building a community with a shared future, and continuously improve the quality and upgrade of the all-around cooperation between the two countries. It is expected that China-Cambodia relations will continue to be at the forefront of China’s relations with countries in the region.
In addition, the two sides expressed that they will strengthen communication and coordination in regional affairs, adhere to the ASEAN-centered regional cooperation structure, oppose the introduction of camp confrontation in the region and coerce countries to choose sides. The two sides also exchanged views on the situation in Myanmar, the crisis in Ukraine, and the current situation in the Asia-Pacific region.
