China is boosting investment in Cambodia significantly as economic ties between the two countries continue to grow. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen is setting off for a four-day trip to China, where he will meet his counterpart Xi Jinping. The two are expected to discuss economic and trade issues.
China has long provided Cambodia with a sense of economic security by way of significant investment and trade relations. Cambodia, for its part, is seeking to strengthen ties with China amid punitive measures by the US and EU over human rights concerns. Cambodia has a low $1300 annual per capita income, and the punitive economic measures imposed by the EU and US have left the developing country struggling. As one of the fastest growing economies in ASEAN, Cambodia is in need of a steady supply of foreign investment, and improving ties with and receiving investment from China is expected to offset much of the economic effect of the western measures, which are expected to harm Cambodian exports in particular.
Chinese investment into Cambodia will focus on a development zone in Sihanoukville, a seaside resort town popular with tourists, as well as Chinese businesses. Money will also go to infrastructure projects, which are a part of China’s Belt and Road initiative. China currently takes about a fifth of Cambodia’s exports.
