Why did Cambodia's new prime minister choose China?, Depth | First official visit to Prime Minister since taking office | China | Cambodia

At the invitation of the Chinese side, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manai will officially visit China from September 14th to 16th. This will be the first official visit of this 45 year old new generation leader since he was sworn in on the 22nd of last month.

Within less than a month of taking office, Hong Manai chose his destination in China, and the signal released during this visit is thought-provoking and attention grabbing.

Analysts believe that this reflects the continuity of the "iron rod" friendship between China and Cambodia, and will also bring greater vitality and energy to this friendship.

Continuing the "iron rod" friendship

As a close neighbor of China, Cambodia does not border with China, but the Cambodian Prime Minister is a frequent guest of Beijing.

In February of this year, then Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen visited China.

In February three years ago, at a special moment when China was fighting against the COVID-19, Hun Sen temporarily decided to visit China after his visit to South Korea. He became the first foreign leader to visit China during the outbreak of the epidemic, demonstrating to the outside world the brotherhood of Cambodia and China in sharing weal and woe.

Now, Cambodia's new Prime Minister, Hun Manai, will set off again, with the destination still being China.

Unlike attending events such as the ASEAN Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia a few days ago, this will be the first official visit by Hong Manet during his tenure and is seen as a barometer.

So, why did he choose China as his first official destination for a visit during his tenure?

"Hong Manai has always been a participant and promoter of China Cambodia relations. In the first two visits of Hong Sen to China, he accompanied the two countries as a member of the delegation, witnessing mutual benefit and win-win cooperation between the two countries. This visit highlights the high importance that the new Cambodian government attaches to the development of China Cambodia relations." Xu Liping, a researcher at the Asia Pacific and Global Strategic Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, pointed out that this is a manifestation of the continuity of the "iron rod" friendship between China and Cambodia, and will also bring greater vitality and vitality to this friendship.

Zhou Shixin, Director of the Diplomatic Office of the Institute of Foreign Policy at the Shanghai Institute of International Studies, pointed out that Hong Manai has attended multiple foreign affairs events since taking office, but has not made an official visit. This time, he will make his first official visit to China, which is not only an agenda requirement but also a policy choice, reflecting Cambodia's importance to China and the efforts made by the new Cambodian government to promote the new development strategy.

"Since the beginning of this year, some Southeast Asian countries, including Cambodia, have been under considerable pressure in terms of economic development, and all countries have prioritized economic development. The core of the" Five Corners Strategy "proposed by the Hong Manai government is to develop the economy and improve people's well-being." Zhou Shixin explained that China and Cambodia are comprehensive strategic partners, and China is also Cambodia's largest trading partner and largest investor. Strengthening relations with China also reflects the priority direction of the new government in governing the country.

Promoting economic integration

In addition to his first official visit during his term of office, Hon Manet's visit coincided with several milestones in China Cambodia cooperation: the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, the year of China Cambodia friendship, and the 10th anniversary of the "the Belt and Road" initiative.

Looking back at the past 65 years, the relationship between the two countries has undergone international changes and has always been as solid as a rock, with fruitful cooperation in multiple fields. Taking economy and trade as an example, China has become Cambodia's largest trading partner for 11 consecutive years. Last year, the bilateral trade volume reached 16.02 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 17.5%, reaching a historic high.

What will be the main points of discussion between the two sides during Hong Manai's visit to China this time? How will the two countries use this visit as an opportunity to promote greater development in their relations?

According to a spokesperson from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China has three expectations for this visit. Strategically, plan comprehensive strategic cooperation between China and Cambodia for the next period; On the agenda, we will promote cooperation initiatives such as the Industrial Development Corridor and the Fish and Rice Corridor to be implemented and take effect as soon as possible; In terms of goals, we aim to build a community with a shared future between China and Cambodia in the new era with high quality, high level, and high standards.

The Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also has high hopes for the visit - to promote the construction of a "diamond six sided" cooperation framework between China and Cambodia, benefiting the two countries and their peoples.

Two analysts believe that the focus of Hong Manai's visit should be combined with the ambitious domestic development strategy of the new Cambodian government.

Xu Liping predicts that Cambodia may focus on two themes: introducing its governance philosophy and direction to Chinese leaders, including the newly proposed "Five Corners Strategy"; At the same time, further deepen practical cooperation between the two countries.

Zhou Shixin also mentioned Cambodia's "Five Corners Strategy". He believes that from the original "Four Corners Strategy" to the current "Five Corners Strategy", this is the inheritance and development of the national development strategy by the Hunmani government. The same goes for relations with China. The new government inherits the achievements of previous cooperation between the two countries and also attaches great importance to improving the quality of economic and trade cooperation.

"The most important agenda for this visit is to further promote the integration of economic relations between the two countries, especially in terms of high-quality development." Zhou Shixin explained that Cambodia is in the process of industrial structure transformation and upgrading, and has great expectations for seamless cooperation with China. Cambodia may hope that China will increase investment in key areas such as new energy vehicles, e-commerce, and digital economy, enhance Cambodia's commercial competitiveness, and expand exports of agricultural products to China, opening up greater space for Cambodia's tourism development and promoting rapid economic recovery.

Looking at the "Diamond Six Sides" cooperation framework, Xu Liping pointed out that production capacity and agriculture are considered important focus and driving force of Cambodia's economy. The "Industrial Development Corridor" and "Fish and Rice Corridor" mentioned by the Chinese side are just in line with them. The construction of these two corridors was a consensus reached by both sides during Hun Sen's visit to China in February, and is also the two pillars and new flagship projects of the "Diamond Six Sides" initiative. At present, the blueprint has been drawn, and the key is how to implement them.

During this process, "China and Cambodia can each contribute their strengths." Xu Liping pointed out that the two countries are at different stages of development, and there is a certain gap in industrialization level, which happens to form a complementary relationship. China can use its own experience and talents in industrial development to promote the pace of Cambodia's industrial development, especially in terms of capacity construction and industrial parks.

Forming a demonstration effect

In addition to an official visit, Hong Manai's trip will also go to Nanning, Guangxi to attend the opening ceremony of the 20th China ASEAN Expo and the China ASEAN Business and Investment Summit.

"The Prime Minister of Cambodia is an old friend of the East China Expo. Since its inception in 2004, Hun Sen has led a delegation to participate almost every year." Xu Liping pointed out that the East China Expo is an important component of China ASEAN cooperation, and can be regarded as a comprehensive platform for initiative release, product display, and practice. By holding a series of high-level meetings and forums, it opens up channels to promote the implementation of consensus between the leaders of both sides. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the start of the East China Expo, with over 40 participating countries.

"The East China Expo has always played a role as an engine in promoting economic and trade relations between China and ASEAN, and has therefore received attention from ASEAN countries." Zhou Shixin pointed out that after 20 years of development, the East China Expo is no longer limited to a simple economic and trade promotion association, but is also endowed with more diverse functions, gradually becoming an interactive platform that combines online and offline organically, providing more impetus for promoting mutual understanding, strategic docking, and economic integration.

From this perspective, the Cambodian Prime Minister's annual support is not only a sign of support and importance for the East China Expo, but also makes China Cambodia cooperation a model of cooperation among countries at the Expo and between China and ASEAN.

"Cambodia is not only an important link for China to carry out Lancang Mekong cooperation and China ASEAN cooperation, but also an important country to jointly build the the Belt and Road with high quality." Xu Liping pointed out that the exploration and attempts of the two sides in the field of bilateral cooperation can provide reference and reference for China to strengthen cooperation with other countries in Southeast Asia, and even play an exemplary and leading role, especially for its neighbors Myanmar, Laos, etc.

Zhou Shixin mentioned that China and Cambodia are leading in the construction of free trade zones. Within ASEAN, only two countries have reached free trade agreements with China, one is Singapore and the other is Cambodia.

From the start of negotiations in early 2020 to the announcement of completion, China and Cambodia only took 7 months. Compared to the international practice of negotiating free trade agreements for years or even decades, the achievement of the China Cambodia Free Trade Agreement is quite efficient.

"Compared with the China ASEAN Free Trade Agreement and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, the China Cambodia Free Trade Agreement is more flexible and targeted, better reflecting the economic and trade complementarity and local advantages of the two countries." Zhou Shixin pointed out that Cambodia's production capacity is relatively weak, and under the bilateral free trade arrangement, China provides great help and assistance to Cambodia's agricultural development. Cambodia can fully leverage its advantages in agricultural products and expand exports to China.

Looking ahead, both analysts are full of confidence in China Cambodia relations and the prospects of China ASEAN cooperation.

Zhou Shixin pointed out that the new Cambodian government hopes to promote a relatively balanced diplomatic route, including developing better relations with Europe and America, but the latter seems to have a lackluster interest. Next, the Hong Manai government may expand cooperation with Japan and South Korea to obtain more investment and assistance. However, the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Cambodia will not be affected as a result.

"Some members of the new Cambodian government have American and Western study abroad backgrounds and hold important positions, which will help the new government improve its relationship with the West, which is also beneficial for Cambodia." Xu Liping said, but this potential improvement does not mean that it will create a hedge, constraint, or challenge to the relationship between China and Cambodia. Because the steel like friendship between China and Cambodia itself is not aimed at third parties, but is built on the basis of practical cooperation between both sides, which is in line with the interests of both countries and their peoples. The same goes for cooperation between China and other ASEAN countries.