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China, Cambodia bolster ties as Xi meets Hun Sen

PHNOM PENH — Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Cambodia for a two-day visit yesterday, praising the close ties that have seen Cambodia back China’s position on the South China Sea, and looking to forge dozens of economic agreements.

PHNOM PENH — Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Cambodia for a two-day visit yesterday, praising the close ties that have seen Cambodia back China’s position on the South China Sea, and looking to forge dozens of economic agreements.

About 2,000 school students holding portraits of Mr Xi and Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni lined the road from Phnom Penh airport into the city to greet the Chinese leader. It is Mr Xi’s first visit to Phnom Penh since he became President in 2013.

Cambodia has shielded China from criticism by the Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean) over the South China Sea. Asean members Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei are in disputes with China over rival claims to the waters.

Last month, Cambodia was able to veto an Asean statement referring to a ruling at an international tribunal that largely denied Beijing’s claims.

China and Cambodia were “good neighbours, real friends who are loyal to each other”, wrote Mr Xi in a front-page commentary in Cambodia’s biggest Khmer-language newspaper, Rasmei Kampuchea.

Mr Xi said bilateral trade reached US$4.4 billion (S$6.1 billion) last year and was set to reach US$5 billion next year. Chinese investment in Cambodia was valued at US$864 million last year and a total of US$9.1 billion has been pledged since 1994, according to the Council for the Development of Cambodia. This year, China has pledged US$600 million in aid to Cambodia over the next three years.

At least 28 agreements are expected to be signed when Mr Xi meets Prime Minister Hun Sen, mostly on exports of Cambodian agricultural products to China.

China has become Cambodia’s closest ally, while relations between Cambodia and Western powers, including the United States and European Union, are frequently strained by differences over human rights.

When Mr Xi visited Cambodia in 2009 as vice-president, the two countries signed 14 bilateral agreements worth US$1.2 billion to Cambodia.

Mr Hun Sen regularly praises Beijing’s “no-strings-attached” aid, compared to help from the US and EU, which is often accompanied by calls to address human rights in his country.

Mr Miguel Chanco, regional lead analyst for the Economist Intelligence Unit, said: “China’s continued support of Cambodia ... will mean the Hun Sen regime is unlikely to soften its heavy-handedness any time soon.” AGENCIES

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