Li Qiang Meets Cambodian People’s Party President and Senate President Hun Sen

Summary

On the afternoon of 26 June, Premier Li Qiang of the State Council met with Cambodian People's Party President and Senate President Hun Sen at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Li Qiang stated that China and Cambodia are ironclad friends who share weal and woe, and China has always made Cambodia a priority in its neighbourhood diplomacy, firmly supporting the smooth governance of the Cambodian government. China is willing to strengthen strategic communication with Cambodia, take the implementation of the action plan for building a China-Cambodia community with a shared future in the new era as the main line, continuously enrich the 'Diamond Hexagon' cooperation framework, accelerate the construction of the 'Industrial Development Corridor' and the 'Fish and Rice Corridor', enhance the scale and quality of bilateral trade, and deepen cooperation in infrastructure, agriculture, clean energy, digital economy, artificial intelligence, and other fields.

Hun Sen stated that Cambodia-China relations have entered a new phase of building an all-weather community with a shared future in the new era. Cambodia appreciates China's long-term support, which has helped Cambodia's economic and social development and strengthened its confidence in maintaining political independence. China is the most important pillar for Cambodia's economic development.

Cambodia is willing to strengthen development strategy alignment, deepen cooperation in trade, agriculture, infrastructure construction, high-quality investment, and other fields, and tap into cooperation potential in digitalisation, green transformation, blue economy, supply chains, and finance. It welcomes more Chinese enterprises to invest in Cambodia. The two sides also agreed to strengthen collaboration in multilateral mechanisms.

State Councillor Wu Zhenglong attended the meeting.

Commentary

For New Zealand small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) owners, this news may appear to be about China-Cambodia bilateral relations, but in fact it reflects the new direction of China's foreign cooperation strategy. Firstly, China is accelerating its deep engagement with Southeast Asian countries, exporting infrastructure, agricultural, and digital technology through frameworks such as the 'Diamond Hexagon' and 'Industrial Development Corridor'. For New Zealand businesses that have already established a presence in Cambodia or plan to enter, this may mean more developed infrastructure (e.g. railways, ports) and a more favourable investment environment, but they will also face strong competition from Chinese companies in these areas.

Secondly, China's positioning of Cambodia as a 'priority in neighbourhood diplomacy' suggests resource concentration, which could squeeze New Zealand's traditional agricultural and dairy export markets in Southeast Asia—Cambodia and neighbouring countries may be more inclined to source Chinese products rather than New Zealand ones.

Keywords: Li Qiang, Hun Sen, China-Cambodia relations, Diamond Hexagon, Industrial Development Corridor, Fish and Rice Corridor, cooperation, strategic alignment, ironclad friends, Cambodia

Source: China.org.cn