Cambodia-China meeting to deepen bilateral ties

The first meeting of Cambodia- China Inter-governmental Coordination Committee to be held on Jan 1-3 in Beijing is crucial to further develop and deepen relations and cooperation between the two countries, a Cambodian official said Tuesday.

"It is very important to strengthen and deepen relations of longstanding and close friendship and productive cooperation in all fields between Cambodia and China,"Koy Kuong, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told reporters.

The meeting will be co-chaired by Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong and Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement, adding they will exchange views on the implementation of the Action Plan of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of Cooperation between Cambodia and China.

Both sides will discuss ways to strengthen and expand bilateral cooperation in security, trade, industry, agriculture, mines and energy, telecommunication, education, culture, health and tourism in addition to regional and international level cooperation.

At the end of the meeting, Hor Namhong and Yang Jiechi will witness the signing of three documents.

Cambodia and China have witnessed rapid development of bilateral relations in the last decade with ties boosted to the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of Cooperation in December 2010.

During Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's visit to China in April this year, both sides signed the Action Plan of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of Cooperation and formed the Cambodia-China Inter-governmental Coordination Committee in order to strengthen and deepen ties and cooperation between the two countries.

China is the top investor in Cambodia. According to the figures of the Council for Development of Cambodia, total Chinese investment in Cambodia has reached 9.17 billion US dollars since 1994.

China is also one of Cambodia's leading trading partners with bilateral trade hitting 2.83 billion US dollars in the first nine months of 2013 and projected to reach 5 billion US dollars by 2017.

China is the second largest source of visitors to Cambodia. According to the Ministry of Tourism, during the first ten months of this year, some 376,570 Chinese tourists visited Cambodia, up 42 percent year-on-year.