Cambodian PM Hun Sen receives support pledges from China

In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands on the sidelines of a meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, Friday, Feb. 10, 2023. Hun Sen met Friday with Xi Jinping on a visit to his ally that underscores increasingly close ties between the two Asian countries. (Huang Jingwen/Xinhua via AP)

CAMBODIAN Prime Minister Hun Sen received multiple assurances of Chinese economic and political support during a meeting in Beijing with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“(China) firmly supports Cambodia in safeguarding national sovereignty and security, firmly supports Cambodia in steadily advancing major domestic political agendas and economic and social development, and resolutely opposes external forces interfering in Cambodia’s internal affairs,” Xi was quoted as telling Hun Sen by China’s official Xinhua News Agency yesterday.

China would also encourage more Chinese enterprises to invest in Cambodia, help in the construction of the Sihanoukville economic zone in Cambodia’s southwest on the Gulf of Thailand and support building transportation infrastructure, Xi said.

Hun Sen was quoted as thanking China for providing Covid-19 vaccines and said Cambodia “firmly supports China in safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests” and “firmly opposes any external forces interfering in China’s internal affairs on issues related to Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet”.

Cambodia is a key Chinese diplomatic partner, helping dampen criticism of Beijing within the 10-member Asean, several of whose members are engaged in territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea.

The meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guest House comes in the middle of Hun Sen’s three-day visit.

He was to meet later with outgoing Premier Li Keqiang, after which the leaders were to oversee the signing of a raft of agreements.

Hun Sen took power in 1998 and with strong Chinese backing has eliminated all democratic threats to his rule.

In return, China has gained an outsized role in Cambodian politics and the economy, as seen in the numerous Chinese-funded projects, hotels and casinos dotting the landscape.

China’s state banks have also financed airports, roads and other infrastructure built with Chinese loans.

More than 40% of Cambodia’s US$10bil (RM43bil) in foreign debt is owed to China, although Cambodia has not asked Beijing to restructure that burden, unlike other countries such as Sri Lanka, Zambia and Ethiopia, which have taken out massive Chinese loans. — AP