Let the friendly cooperation between China and Cambodia bear more fruitful results (Ambassador's essay)

China and Cambodia are traditional neighbors and staunch friends.   In the past 9 years, with the joint efforts of both sides, the blueprint for building a community with a shared future jointly planned by the leaders of the two countries is increasingly becoming a reality and a model for jointly building a community with a shared future for mankind.
Be true friends who treat each other with sincerity and care. The leaders of China and Cambodia often visit each other like relatives, forming a special friendship.   During the COVID-19, Prince Hun Sen "retrograde" visited China against the wind and snow to express support for China. China sent the first anti epidemic medical team in the region to Cambodia and took the lead in providing vaccine assistance to Cambodia, demonstrating the strong friendship between China and Cambodia for helping each other and sharing weal and woe. The choice of China as the first country to conduct a bilateral visit by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Ma Nai after taking office reflects the long-standing friendship between China and Cambodia.
Unity of righteousness, being a fellow traveler who shares weal and woe. Cambodia is the first country to sign an action plan with China to build a community of shared future. The construction of the China Cambodia community of shared future has entered a new era of high quality, high level, and high standards. The two countries have always adhered to mutual respect and equal treatment, supported each other on issues involving each other's core interests and major concerns, and actively promoted the implementation of the three major global initiatives in Cambodia. Both China and Cambodia are committed to being a force for peace, development, and progress in the world, closely cooperating in international and regional affairs, and jointly strengthening the power of the global South.
Mutual benefit, be good partners for common development. China has been Cambodia's largest source of investment and trading partner for 13 consecutive years. The highlights of pragmatic cooperation between China and Cambodia are diverse. Cambodia's first expressway, the Golden Port Expressway, has been completed and opened to traffic. The Cambodia National Stadium, the largest and highest level sports stadium built by China with foreign aid, has become the main venue for the Southeast Asian Games. The first international airport built by Chinese enterprises overseas in the "construction operation transfer" model, Siem Reap Angkor International Airport, is now in operation. The cooperation framework of the "Diamond Six Sides" between the two countries has been continuously enriched, and the construction of the "Industrial Development Corridor" and "Fish and Rice Corridor" has been continuously promoted, effectively helping Cambodia's economic and social progress and receiving widespread praise from local people.
A family that blends literature and becomes acquainted through blind dates. The "Chinese fever" continues to heat up in Cambodia, and Chinese education has officially been incorporated into the Cambodian national education system. Four Confucius Institutes have trained tens of thousands of Chinese talents for Cambodia. Chinese cultural carriers such as film and television dramas are highly popular in Cambodia. The personnel exchanges between China and Cambodia are becoming increasingly close, with over 840000 Chinese tourists visiting Cambodia in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 55%. More and more Chinese people are coming to Cambodia to personally experience the beauty of the "Khmer smile". Not long ago, the "China Cambodia Year of People to People and Cultural Exchanges" came to a successful conclusion. Activities such as "When Shaolin Meets Angkor", the China Cambodia Youth Dialogue, the first China Cambodia Friendship City Conference and so on further brought the hearts of the two peoples closer.
 
(The author is Wang Wenbin, the Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia)
People's Daily (April 17, 2025, Issue 02)