Xi Visit: 31 Agreements Reached

KHMER TIMES
CHEA VANNAK AND VEN RATHAVONG

Chinese President Xi Jinping (left) and Prime Minister Hun Sen smile as they walk together to a meeting yesterday. KT/Mai Vireak

China agreed yesterday to provide financial aid of 1.2 billion Chinese yuan (about $180 million) to Cambodia in deals made during the two-day state visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping, while 31 agreements and memorandums of understanding (MoUs) between the two countries were reached.

The financial aid is related to cooperation on economic and technical matters between China and Cambodia.

Other agreements, exchange notes and MoUs are focused on building infrastructure, electricity networks, trade, banks and milled rice exports.

Of the 31 agreements, which include the private sector, the Ministry of Economy will handle more than 14 of them.

The number of agreements between Cambodia and China is the most that have been made so far between the two countries, which established diplomatic ties in 1958.

In 2009, when Mr. Xi visited Cambodia as vice-president, the two sides also reached 14 agreements.

As planned, China and Cambodia reached a new agreement on exporting milled rice from Cambodia to China with a quota of 200,000 tons a year, which the Chinese government agreed to double from 100,000 tons.

But the request of $300 million in loans that Cambodia asked the Chinese side for to be used to restore the rice sector was not mentioned in the meeting between the two leaders.

In September, Cambodia asked China to consider a $300 million loan to help the rice sector, which has been in crisis.

The agreements reached yesterday were a milestone in the two countries’ relationship.

Mey Kalyan, a senior advisor to the government’s Supreme Economic Council, applauded the agreements, which he said will contribute to developing the country’s economy.

“We see that the agreements almost cover all fields,” Mr. Kalyan said. “They are not just focused on economic development, but also they strengthen relations, diplomatic ties, the geo-political aspects and culture of the two countries.”

In the meeting with Mr. Hun Sen, Mr. Xi said China decided to write off Cambodia’s debt of 600 million Chinese Yuan owed to China in 2015, according to Mr. Hun Sen’s assistant Eang Sophalet, who did not go in detail.

In July, the Chinese government announced it would provide nearly $600 million to Cambodia for a three-year project to be implemented in elections, infrastructure, education and the health sector.

China remains the largest trade partner and foreign investor in Cambodia. The volume of trade between the two countries reached $2.34 billion in the first half of this year.

By June, China’s total direct investment in Cambodia topped $12 billion.

Since 1992, China has provided financial aid to Cambodia valued at approximately $2.5 billion and Chinese investors have invested more than $14 billion since 1994, according to the Council for Development of Cambodia.

Mr. Xi will wrap up his two-day visit this morning and will fly to Bangladesh before heading to India, where he will attend in the BRICS summit.