China-Cambodia pragmatic cooperation continues to deepen

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen paid an official visit to China from February 9th to 11th, becoming the first foreign leader China will receive after the Chinese Lunar New Year in 2023, which fully reflects the high level of China-Cambodia relations. China and Cambodia are traditional friendly neighbors and staunch friends, and the China-Cambodia friendship has been widely supported. In recent years, under the strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries, China-Cambodia relations have continued to reach new heights, and the construction of the China-Cambodia Community of Shared Future has achieved fruitful results, bringing tangible benefits to the two peoples and contributing to the peace of the region and the world. Contributed to prosperity.

Poverty reduction cooperation bears fruitful results

Danong Village, Bati County, Takeo Province is located about 60 kilometers south of Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. Regular Khmer-style houses on stilts, flat and wide country roads, neatly arranged solar panels, and brand-new clean water production stations... This rather modern village is the location of the China-Cambodia Friendship Poverty Alleviation Demonstration Village Project.

When the water valve is turned on, clean and cool domestic water gushes out from the water storage tank, and the children onlookers are happy and playing in the water. In August last year, the clean water production station in Danong Village was officially put into use, and it is open to all villagers for free. "In the past, water was very difficult in the village. Only a few villagers had water pumps, but the groundwater pumped up often turned yellow. Most villagers spent money to buy water, which was a considerable expense." Joey, head of Danong Village, told Our reporter.

The China-Cambodia Friendship Poverty Alleviation Demonstration Village Project was officially launched at the end of January 2021 for a period of three years. The China Foundation for Peace and Development invested 10 million yuan to help Danong Village build rural roads, provide clean drinking water, and improve education and medical conditions. Develop breeding and animal husbandry, carry out skill training and improve the public environment of villages, etc.

At present, the project has completed the construction of clean water production stations, rural concrete roads, drainage channels, and solar power generation facilities, and has connected all 125 households in the village to electricity. According to Guo Wenli, State Secretary of the Ministry of Royal Affairs of Cambodia, in the future, Cambodian and Chinese poverty alleviation workers will further implement the established goals of the demonstration village project, "to build Danong Village into a model of Cambodia-China poverty alleviation cooperation, and promote poverty alleviation throughout Cambodia." experience".

In the field of poverty alleviation, China-Cambodia cooperation has achieved fruitful results. At the end of 2020, the Cambodian project of the "East Asian Poverty Reduction Cooperation Initiative" implemented by the Project Center of the Sichuan Provincial Poverty Alleviation and Development Bureau in two villages in Kandal Province, Cambodia, successfully completed the acceptance inspection after three years of construction and was handed over to the Cambodian side. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China will also send an expert team to aid Cambodia's agricultural development planning project in 2022 to help Cambodia's rural development and improve farmers' lives.

Chee Monil, director of the Project Planning Department of the Cambodia Civil Society Organization Alliance Forum and president of the Cambodia-China Relations Development Association, told reporters that in recent years, Cambodia-China cooperation in poverty reduction assistance projects has made continuous progress, and the experience of poverty reduction has benefited Cambodian rural areas.

High-quality joint construction of the "Belt and Road"

On a weekend in early February, towards the evening, the toll gate of Sihanoukville (hereinafter referred to as "Sihanoukville") on Cambodia's Golden Port Expressway ushered in a shift change of toll collectors as usual. Si Weiwuti, the leader of the toll class, took advantage of the gap between the cars to park, and strode up the steps on the side of the toll booth, waiting to hand over shifts with his colleagues in the booth.

"The Jingang Expressway has become more and more prosperous in recent months, especially on weekends. The vehicles entering and leaving the station can't stop at all." Swiwuti told reporters that the Westport toll station is a "popular station", and tens of thousands of people pass through it every holiday. cars. "Although I am very busy, I am very proud to be working on the first expressway in Cambodia!"

On October 1, 2022, the Jingang Expressway connecting Phnom Penh and the tourist city of Westport was officially opened for trial operation. This is the first expressway in Cambodia. The 187.05-kilometer Jingang Expressway, which spans 5 provinces and cities, has two-way four-lanes, shortens the travel time between Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville from 5 hours to less than 2 hours.

Up to now, the cumulative traffic volume of the Jingang Expressway has exceeded 1.6 million vehicles. On January 22 this year, a single-day traffic record of about 25,000 vehicles was set. Cambodian "Khmer Times" commented that the Jingang Expressway built by a Chinese company is operating well, providing travelers with a safe, comfortable and convenient experience, and also stimulating economic and social development along the expressway.

In Sihanoukville, the terminal point of Jingang Expressway, there is the "model of China-Cambodia pragmatic cooperation" - Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone. In 2022, the total import and export volume of the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone will be nearly 2.5 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 12%. There are already 175 enterprises in the park, creating about 30,000 jobs for the local area. It is known as the "engine of the Sihanoukville economy" . According to Chen Jiangang, chairman of the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone Company, under the joint development and construction of Chinese and Cambodian enterprises, the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone is developing vigorously and expanding in scale. Eventually, 300 enterprises will settle in and the population of the entire park will reach 80,000 to 100,000.

Over the years, Chinese companies and builders have built roads and bridges in Cambodia. Up to now, 8 bridges across the Mekong River and nearly 4,000 kilometers of various roads have been built; the total irrigation area of the constructed water conservancy projects is about 420,000 hectares; The total length of laying optical cables exceeds 20,000 kilometers, and the total length of Cambodian national grid and rural power transmission and transformation lines is more than 8,000 kilometers... At present, Siem Reap’s new airport, Sihanoukville-Hồng Kông submarine optical cable, the third ring road in Phnom Penh, and the Kratie Mekong River The joint construction of the "Belt and Road" projects such as bridges and connection roads are in full swing.

Hun Sen said that it is China that allows Cambodian people to have roads and bridges to cross. The construction of the "Belt and Road" by the Cambodian Communist Party of China demonstrates the achievements of the Cambodia-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership and the construction of the Cambodia-China community of shared future, and shows that Cambodia and China are inseparable. A true "hardcore brother".

Bilateral trade and investment reach a new level

On January 1, 2022, the "Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement" (RCEP) and the China-Cambodia Free Trade Agreement will come into effect at the same time, pushing the bilateral trade between China and Cambodia to a new level. Statistics show that the bilateral trade volume between China and Cambodia will exceed US$16 billion in 2022, an increase of 17.5%. China will continue to maintain its status as Cambodia's largest trading partner.

The China-Cambodia Free Trade Agreement is the first bilateral free trade agreement in Cambodia's history. According to the agreement, China has granted 97.53% of the zero-tariff items for Cambodian trade in goods, and Cambodia has given China zero-tariff for 90% of the tax items. This is the highest level in all free trade agreement negotiations between the two sides. Deputy State Secretary and Spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce of Cambodia Bin Soviji said that the Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement provides Cambodia with good market access conditions, will promote Cambodia’s exports to China, promote Cambodia’s economic activities and create employment opportunities.

Driven by RCEP and the China-Cambodia Free Trade Agreement, more and more high-quality Cambodian agricultural products have entered the "vegetable basket" of the Chinese people. In 2022, three Cambodian agricultural products, including pangasius, corn, and longan, have completed the export procedures to China and can enter the Chinese market. Longan has also become the third Cambodian fresh fruit that can be directly exported to China after bananas and mangoes. Chen Qisheng, vice president of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia and general manager of China Inspection and Certification Group Cambodia, said that although the export of Cambodian agricultural products to China has a small share in the bilateral trade between Cambodia and China, the huge Chinese market has greatly promoted Cambodian agriculture, especially fresh fruits. Development of cultivation and export industries. It is understood that China and Cambodia are currently promoting the export of Cambodian pepper, wild aquatic products, bird's nest, coconut, etc. to China.

According to the data released by the Cambodian Development Council in January this year, in 2022, the Cambodian government approved 186 new investment projects with an agreed investment of US$4.032 billion, of which China’s investment in Cambodia reached US$1.694 billion, accounting for 42% of the total investment. It is the largest source of investment in Cambodia. Chandali Nick, director of the Cambodian 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Research Center, told our reporter that thanks to the traditional friendship and the complementarity of the two economies, Cambodia-China economic and trade exchanges have always been very close. With the RCEP and the Cambodia-China Free Trade The agreement will gradually play a role, the construction of the "Belt and Road" by the Cambodian and Chinese Communist Party will be deepened and solid, and the trade and investment cooperation between Cambodia and China will continue to reach new levels.