Roundup: China's Belt and Road initiative to provide new opportunities to further enhance Sino-Cambodian ti

The China-proposed "Belt and Road" initiative will provide new opportunities for China and Cambodia to further enhance ties and cooperation in all fields, Han Qide, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) said here on Friday.

"Since the old era, Cambodia has been an important country along the ancient Silk Road and has been one of the key trade corridors between the West and the East, so the revival of the Belt and Road initiative will give new chances to further broaden China-Cambodia relations," he said during a Conference on Sino- Cambodian Cooperation: Opportunities and Challenges.

The conference was attended by some 150 people comprising Cambodian government officials, academicians, researchers, economists, and historians.

Belt and Road, a reference to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, was initiated by Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to Central Asia and Southeast Asia in September and October 2013.

The Belt is an overland network bringing together China, central Asia, Russia and Europe, linking China with the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea, and connecting China with Southeast Asia, South Asia and the Indian Ocean.

The Road is a maritime network designed to link China's coast to Europe through the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean by one route, and China's coast to the South Pacific through the South China Sea by another.

Han said the Belt and Road initiative will promote diplomatic exchanges, infrastructure interconnectivity, and cooperation on economics, trade, and investment among the countries along the routes.

To support the approach, China has initiated the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) with an initial capital of 100 billion U.S. dollars and the Silk Road Fund with China's funding of 40 billion U.S. dollars.

Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Bu Jianguo said Cambodia is located along the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, so it will benefit from the initiative.

"China is ready to cooperate with Cambodia under the framework of the Belt and Road initiative in order to boost the sustainable development of Cambodia as well as to further strengthen and expand friendly relations between the two countries," she said.

Speaking at the conference, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Cabinet Minister Sok An said the initiative will create opportunities for joint development and shared prosperity among countries along the routes.

"The Belt and Road initiative benefits the world, contributing not merely to world peace, security and close cooperation through people-to-people exchanges and connectivity, but also to the development of yet another essential new infrastructure for trade and investment activities," he said.

During the conference, participants also shared their views on Sino-Cambodian relations.

Tek Meng, a researcher of Sino-Cambodian relations at the Royal Academy of Cambodia, said the ties between the two countries have become closer in the last two decades, thanks to the frequent exchange of visits by the top leaders of both countries.

"Through close ties between the two countries, a lot of Chinese investors have come to do businesses in Cambodia, making China the largest investor in this Southeast Asian nation," he said, adding that China is the second largest source of foreign tourists to Cambodia. Endi