Warm welcome: People holding portraits of Xi and King Norodom at Phnom Penh International Airport. — AFP
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Cambodia for a two-day state visit that serves as an opportunity to further strengthen already robust relations.
The visit, Xi’s first since 2016, will conclude a three-nation South-East Asian tour that included stops in Vietnam and Malaysia.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet recently described Beijing as “an important and indispensable friend of Cambodia that has helped support the country’s economic and social development”.
Xi was formally greeted at the airport in Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh by head of state King Norodom Sihamoni.
Xi is also scheduled to meet Hun Manet and Senate President Hun Sen, who is Hun Manet’s father and predecessor as prime minister.
One for the album: Xi and Vietnamese General Secretary of the Communist Party To Lam posing for a photo with children at a welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi during Xi’s visit to Vietnam. - AP
In a statement at Phnom Penh International Airport after his arrival, Xi said he was “delighted” to visit again.
“Cambodia is a priority in China’s neighbourhood diplomacy. China will unswervingly support Cambodia in upholding strategic autonomy and in pursuing a development path suited to its national conditions,” he said, according to a transcript of his remarks distributed by the Chinese embassy.
Trade will likely be a major topic of Xi’s discussions in Cambodia, which faces among the highest tariff rates proposed by Washington. In addition to US President Donald Trump’s universal 10% tariff, the country faces the threat of a 49% tax on exports to the United States once his 90-day pause expires.
In addition to discussions on strengthening bilateral ties and regional and international issues, several agreements are expected to be signed on cooperation in various sectors.
In both countries, Xi emphasised strengthening ties, particularly in trade and investment, amid global economic uncertainties and the backdrop of trade tensions with the United States.
Xi holding talks with King Norodom at the Royal Palace Phnom Penh in Cambodia. — AP
He underscored the need to oppose unilateralism and protectionism and uphold the multilateral trading system.
China is presenting itself as a source of stability and certainty as South-East Asia scrambles to respond to tariffs imposed by Trump, which threaten the region’s export-oriented economies whose largest markets are generally the United States.
Cambodia’s rapid growth in recent decades has been fuelled largely by Beijing.
In Hun Manet’s remarks earlier this month at the inauguration of a Chinese-funded road, he called China “a first-class partner country”, pointing to achievements like the inauguration of the Chinese-named Angkor Siem Reap Airport and a Phnom Penh ring road named after Xi as evidence of continued strong relations and gratitude, and noted China’s continued ranking as the top investor in Cambodia in 2024.
China is Cambodia’s largest trading partner, surpassing US$15bil in 2024 and representing nearly 30% of Cambodia’s total trade volume. — AP
