Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday in Beijing, during the meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen was given numerous guarantees of China’s political and economic assistance.
China’s official Xinhua News Agency quoted Xi as saying to Hun Sen, “(China) firmly supports Cambodia in safeguarding national sovereignty and security. Cambodia in steadily advancing major domestic political agendas and economic and social development. And resolutely opposes external forces interfering in Cambodia’s internal affairs.”
Chinese loans were financed by China’s state banks for the purpose of building of airports, roads and other infrastructures.
China is the recipient of more than 40% of Cambodia’s $10 billion in foreign debt. But Cambodia has not requested Beijing to restructure that debt, unlike nations like Sri Lanka, Zambia, and Ethiopia, which have.
Cambodia has grown to be a significant ally for China despite its small size. China was the main supporter of the communist Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s. Whose radical policies are thought to have killed an estimated 1.7 million people.
China and Cambodia started construction on a naval port extension project in June, which alarmed the United States and other countries. Because it might provide Beijing a strategically significant military base on the Gulf of Thailand.
According to reports, Hun Sen granted China permission to establish a military post at the Ream Naval Base in 2019. He has long disputed it, claiming that foreign military installations are forbidden by the Cambodian Constitution.
Hun Sen stated that Cambodia is willing to actively support the growth of ASEAN-China cooperation going forward. According to him, maintaining world peace and advancing development depend much on China’s “Belt and Road” plan, global development initiative, and global security effort. Cambodia backs and actively takes part in these projects. The two sides also discussed concerns that both parties shared. Development is not a privilege of a select few nations, according to Xi Jinping.
