Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) shakes hands with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen in their meeting in Beijing. (Photo: phnompenhpost.com) Phnom Penh (VNA) – Chinese President Xi Jinping has pledged to encourage Chinese investors to do business in Cambodia, contributing to the kingdom’s economic development.
The Chinese President made the promise at his reception for Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen in Beijing on February 5. Hun Sen was the only foreign leader to visit China since the new coronavirus (nCoV) outbreak started in China’s Wuhan city last December.
Xi said he welcomed a new era in China-Cambodia relations, saying the implementation of the “common destiny” policy will take bilateral ties to a new height.
The Chinese leader expressed his deep gratitude for Hun Sen’s support, adding the visit demonstrated Cambodia places higher trust in China.
Xi affirmed that China will continue facilitating the negotiation of a bilateral free trade agreement with Cambodia and that the Chinese government will encourage Chinese businesses to invest in Cambodia and to import more Cambodian products, Hun Sen said in a recent Facebook post.
The Cambodian PM welcomed China’s gesture and hoped that China will provide a broader market access for Cambodian products.
The first round of the two countries’ FTA negotiation convened in Beijing on January 20 and 21, according to the Cambodian Ministry of Commerce. The trade deal is expected to lift two-way trade to 10 billion USD in 2023.
The China-Cambodia trade reached 7.4 billion USD last year, up 22 percent from 2017. China has so far invested about 14.7 billion USD in Cambodia between 1994 and 2016./.
VNA
