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Chinese, Cambodian senior officials meet to further enhance bilateral ties

Xinhua, June 25, 2015 Adjust font size:

Han Qide, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, met with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Cabinet Minister Sok An here on Thursday to discuss ways to further enhance ties and cooperation for the interests of the two countries and peoples, a Cambodian spokesman said.

"Han expressed his gratitude to Cambodia for supporting China on regional and international arenas and said China would continue assisting Cambodia in socio-economic development," Ek Tha, deputy chief of the Press Unit at the Cambodian Council of Ministers, told reporters after the meeting.

According to Ek Tha, Han said China always sees Cambodia as a good neighbor, friend, brother and partner.

Meanwhile, Han said the China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank would provide an alternative source of capital to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the development of connectivity infrastructures.

For his part, Sok An expressed his belief that the China- proposed "Belt and Road" initiatives would contribute to economic development and poverty reduction in ASEAN countries.

He spoke highly of Sino-Cambodian relations over the past 57 years, saying that the ties have moved from a simple diplomatic relation in 1958 to the comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation in 2010.

Currently, China is the largest investor in Cambodia with cumulative investment of more than 10 billion U.S. dollars, he said.

"This investment has greatly contributed to economic development and poverty reduction in Cambodia," he said.

On the trade side, two-way trade volume was valued at 3.75 billion U.S. dollars in 2014 and the two countries vowed in 2012 to boost the volume to 5 billion U.S. dollars by 2017.

Han arrived in Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh on Thursday at noon for a three-day visit. He is scheduled to meet separately with Cambodian Senate President Say Chhum and National Assembly President Heng Samrin on Friday morning.

He will also attend a seminar on "Opportunities and Challenges of Sino-Cambodian cooperation" on Friday afternoon before visiting the Angkor world heritage site in Siem Reap province on Saturday. Endi