They hailed their bilateral relations, which have been lifted from a “comprehensive cooperation” to an “ironclad friendship” and a “community of common destiny” underpinned by mutual cooperation.

Xi and Hun Sen pledged to promote the building of a “community of common destiny”, with a focus in six priority areas: politics and diplomacy; textiles and production; agriculture; energy; security; and improvements in the Cambodian health sector as well as people-to-people relations.

Xi voiced support for Cambodia’s stance and policy on its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and expressed interest in agricultural and aquacultural development in the environs of the Tonle Sap Lake.

Hun Sen welcomed Xi’s initiative to establish a “Fish and Rice Corridor” in northwestern Cambodia, commenting that the region was earmarked as an additional “economic pole”.

The prime minister asked the president to encourage more Chinese tourists to fearlessly travel to Cambodia, adding that the leaders agreed to foster cooperation on electricity generation, particularly on projects with an eco-friendly focus.

Hun Sen largely credited Cambodia’s economic recovery to China’s vaccine donations, reflecting on the potential tragedy that may have occurred otherwise, after the Kingdom “reopened” on November 1, with the government moving to allow for the resumption of economic activity.

Hun Sen said Xi “praised China’s special cooperation with Cambodia and vowed to make the relationship even stronger.”

Additionally, the prime minister said, the two nations signed several smaller deals that would see China provide Cambodia with a highway from Sihanoukville to Phnom Penh, a clean water initiative, and a bodyguard compound to protect the Council of Ministers in the capital, as well as restore several temples in Cambodia and rebuild its National Route 7, which was damaged in recent floods.

A statement from China’s Foreign Ministry said Xi had called for greater cooperation bilaterally, and increased coordination at the United Nations and the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN)—several member nations of which are embroiled in disputes with China over territorial claims in the South China Sea.

EU TARIFFS

Last week, the EU reintroduced tariffs on rice from Cambodia for three years after a probe found that Cambodian rice imports had nearly doubled since 2013 while prices dropped, hurting local producers. A statement from the European Commission announcing the decision said it had been made separate from deliberations over the EBA scheme.

Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan has said the rice tariffs will not affect Cambodia, which will encourage exports to alternative markets, such as the Philippines, and will continue to rely on demand in China.

Trade volume between Cambodia and China was valued at U.S. $5.8 billion in 2017, up 22 percent from U.S. $4.76 billion dollars a year earlier, while China is currently Cambodia’s largest investor, and has poured U.S. $12.6 billion into the Southeast Asian nation from 1994 to 2017.