Cambodia is a vital leg in Xi’s regional tour, with half of companies there exporting to the US Chinese language-owned.
Cambodia is hoping to shore up extra monetary help from China as President Xi Jinping arrives in Phnom Penh in an effort to strengthen regional commerce ties to offset the impact of steep US tariffs.
As a part of a three-pronged Southeast Asia tour, which included Vietnam and Malaysia, Xi on Thursday is assembly Cambodia’s King Norodom Sihamoni, Prime Minister Hun Manet and Senate President Hun Sen.
“We count on extra cooperation together with on infrastructure improvement,” Meas Soksensan, a spokesman for the Cambodian Ministry of Economic system and Finance, advised the Reuters information company on the eve of Xi’s arrival.
He was answering a query about whether or not Cambodia anticipated Beijing to announce monetary help for the 180km (110-mile) Funan Techo Canal, the nation’s most formidable infrastructure venture.
Phnom Penh is an in depth companion of China, which has invested billions of {dollars} in numerous initiatives, together with roads and airports, and is the nation’s largest creditor.
“The Trump administration could be very clearly attempting to isolate Beijing, and Beijing’s response is right here to increase its arms to its Asian neighbours,” mentioned Al Jazeera’s Katrina Yu, talking from the Chinese language capital.
Yu added that Xi obtained the warmest help in Cambodia on his tour as a result of the 2 are “ironclad mates”, with deep army ties along with the infrastructure investments.
In the meantime, Cambodia is a serious exporter of clothes and footwear to the US, with half of those firms owned by Chinese language enterprise homeowners, Yu defined.
Phnom Penh was slapped with a US tariff price of 49 %, one of many highest globally, earlier than most duties have been paused till July.
“[Cambodia] will attempt to negotiate that [tariff rate] down, and Xi Jinping desires to remind them that, right here we’re mates, and we don’t need you to chop any offers at Beijing’s expense,” mentioned Yu.
In an article printed on Thursday morning in Cambodian media, Xi urged Phnom Penh to oppose “hegemonism” and “protectionism”, repeating messages he despatched earlier this week to Vietnam and Malaysia within the first two legs of his journey.
‘Pivotal function’
China is Cambodia’s largest buying and selling companion and supply of funding, and greater than a 3rd of Cambodia’s $11bn in overseas debt is owed to China, in line with the Worldwide Financial Fund.
Up to now, China has made no public monetary dedication to Cambodia’s canal venture, whereas Phnom Penh has modified its statements on Chinese language engagement from overlaying one hundred pc to 49 % of complete prices, estimated at $1.7bn.
Beijing signed no new loans to Cambodia final yr, in line with Cambodian official knowledge, a marked distinction with earlier years when it lent the nation a whole lot of tens of millions of {dollars}.
The drop in funding got here as China lowered total abroad investments amid home financial woes and issues over unsuccessful initiatives.
Regardless of this, Hun Manet, in a video posted on Wednesday, mentioned the 2 international locations had “frequent pursuits based mostly on the rules of respect for sovereignty, equality, and noninterference in inside affairs”.
He additionally mentioned China had performed a “pivotal function” in Cambodia’s socioeconomic improvement.
