Cambodia prepares to talk with China over bilateral cooperation promotion

Cambodia held an inter- ministerial meeting on Monday to discuss and prepare documents for a talk with China in November in order to further enhance bilateral ties and cooperation, officials said. … Koy Kuong, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that the Monday’s meeting was a preparatory one for the 1st Meeting of China-Cambodia Inter-Governmental Coordination Committee, which would be held in China. … During Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s visit to China in April 2013, the two countries agreed to set up an Inter- Governmental Coordination Committee to jointly implement the Action Plan on the Implementation of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of Cooperation, he said, adding that the committee is co-chaired by Hor Namhong and Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi. … China is one of the top providers of development assistance to Cambodia. Loans and grants from China during the period of 1992 to present have amounted to 2.85 billion US dollars, according to the Cambodia’s Finance Ministry. In terms of economic cooperation, China is the top investor in Cambodia. According to the figures of the Council for Development of Cambodia, from 1994 to 2012, total Chinese investment in Cambodia has reached 9.17 billion US dollars. China is also one of Cambodia’s leading trading partners. Last year, the bilateral trade volume accounted for 2.9 billion U. S. dollars and was expected to reach 5 billion US dollars by 2017. …

Global Times News Staff
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