Xi Jinping Publishes a Signed Article in Cambodian Media

On April 17, during his state visit to Cambodia in Phnom Penh, President Xi Jinping published a signed article titled “Moving Towards Each Other and Achieving Mutual Success: Advancing the Building of a China-Cambodia Community with a Shared Future for a New Era in a Steady and Sustainable Manner” in Cambodia’s Khmer Times, Khmer Chinese Daily, and the Fresh News website. The full text of the article is as follows:

It is a great pleasure to have been invited to the home of a dear friend on the occasion of Cambodia’s traditional New Year, and I would like to extend my warmest New Year greetings to the fraternal Cambodian people. This marks my first visit to Cambodia in nine years, and I look forward to this trip paving the way for even greater progress in building the China-Cambodia community with a shared future.

Good-neighborly friendship forms the historical foundation of the China–Cambodia community with a shared future. Geographically close, China and Cambodia have enjoyed friendly exchanges dating back nearly 2,000 years. During the Tang Dynasty, members of the Khmer royal family visited Chang’an in China and were honored as “Binhan.” Since then, the two countries have maintained close ties. Chinese porcelain and lacquerware were shipped to Cambodia along the Maritime Silk Road, while Cambodian spices and raw silk were highly prized by the Chinese people; the bas-reliefs at the Bayon Temple vividly depict the prosperous trade between the two nations in ancient times. Several eminent Cambodian monks traveled to China to propagate Buddhism, and Zhou Daguan’s “Account of the Kingdom of Champa,” written during the Yuan Dynasty, has become an important source for the study of Cambodian history. Over the long course of history, the great civilizations of China and Cambodia have illuminated one another.

A profound commitment to friendship and mutual trust is a defining feature of the China–Cambodia community with a shared future. President Mao Zedong, Premier Zhou Enlai, and other elder Chinese leaders, together with Prince Norodom Sihanouk, were the joint founders of the cause of China–Cambodia friendship. Seventy years ago, Prince Sihanouk and Premier Zhou Enlai struck an immediate rapport at the Bandung Conference; despite formidable obstacles, Cambodia established diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China in 1958, while China wholeheartedly supported Cambodia’s just struggle against foreign aggression and in defense of its national sovereignty and independence. At each other’s most critical moments of need, the two sides shared both hardships and joys, standing by one another in solidarity. Prince Sihanouk lived in China for nearly four decades, regarding China as his second homeland; his songs celebrating China–Cambodia friendship, such as “In Memory of China,” continue to be sung to this day. King Sihamoni and Queen Mother Monineath visit China every year, and I have had numerous opportunities to meet with Their Majesties and engage in cordial, informal exchanges. In 2020, I conferred upon Queen Mother Monineath the Friendship Medal of the People’s Republic of China—a weighty honor that embodies the deep affection the Chinese people hold for the Cambodian people. In the face of the pandemic of the century, then-Prime Minister Hun Sen braved wind and snow to visit China, while China dispatched multiple medical teams to lend assistance to Cambodia, and the two sides exchanged substantial supplies of medical equipment and materials. Amid a complex international and regional landscape, the two countries have supported each other in safeguarding their core interests, joined hands to uphold international fairness and justice, and thereby forged an unbreakable bond of friendship between China and Cambodia.

Equality and mutual benefit serve as a powerful driving force behind the China–Cambodia community with a shared future. For many years, China has been Cambodia’s largest trading partner and its top source of foreign investment, with cooperation between the two countries in industrial and supply chains continuously deepening. Riding on the momentum of the China–Cambodia Free Trade Agreement, high-quality Cambodian agricultural products such as bananas, mangoes, and longans have entered countless Chinese households. The Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone, jointly developed by China and Cambodia, has attracted more than 200 international enterprises, laying a solid foundation for Cambodia’s industrial modernization. Infrastructure projects supported by China—such as Cambodia’s first expressway, its first mountain-crossing elevated bridge, its largest power plant, and its biggest sports arena—have delivered tangible benefits to the Cambodian people and provided strong support for the country’s long-term development. Chinese experts have also visited provinces and cities across Cambodia to assist in formulating plans for the development of modern agriculture. The “Diamond Hexagon” cooperation between China and Cambodia has further boosted Cambodia’s development.

Inclusiveness and mutual learning constitute the profound foundation of the China–Cambodia community with a shared future. Over nearly three decades, China has dispatched numerous experts in archaeology, geological surveying, cultural history, architectural art, and other fields to take root in Cambodia, undertaking restoration projects at sites such as Preah Vihear Temple, Phnom Krom, and the Angkor Royal Palace, thereby restoring the splendor of the Angkor ruins—a treasure of human civilization. An increasing number of Chinese tourists are visiting Cambodia to experience its rich historical and cultural heritage, while more and more Cambodian friends are studying Chinese, seeking to appreciate the charm of ancient Chinese civilization and the allure of Chinese modernization. Over the years, China has built “roads of friendship” and tapped “springs of happiness” in Cambodia, establishing model villages for poverty alleviation through China–Cambodia friendship. Traditional Chinese medicine teams sent to Cambodia have enabled a deaf girl to utter her first word—“Mom”—and helped patients who had long relied on wheelchairs to stand up again.

Over the past nearly half-century, Asia has generally enjoyed peace and stability and experienced rapid economic growth, giving rise to the “Asian miracle” in the history of global development. Today, as the world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century at an accelerating pace, Asia stands at a new starting point for achieving comprehensive revitalization. China will continue to uphold the principles of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit, and inclusiveness, as well as the policy of treating neighbors as friends and partners, deepen friendly cooperation with neighboring countries, ensure that the fruits of Chinese modernization benefit our neighbors more broadly, jointly safeguard regional peace and stability, and work together to advance the process of Asian modernization.

As important members of the Asian family, China and Cambodia must align with the historical trend, respond to the aspirations of our peoples, pursue mutual engagement and achieve common success, serve as pioneers and role models in implementing the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative, and advance the building of a China-Cambodia community with a shared future for the new era in a steady and sustainable manner.

— Deepen political mutual trust at a higher level. Maintain close high-level exchanges and, from a strategic perspective, jointly chart the blueprint for building a China-Cambodia community with a shared future for the new era. China firmly supports Cambodia in independently choosing a development path that suits its national conditions, safeguarding its sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity, and playing a greater role on the international stage. The two sides should strengthen strategic communication in such areas as diplomacy and defense, resolutely oppose external forces’ interference in internal affairs, incitement of division, and sabotage of China-Cambodia friendship, and jointly uphold political security.

— We must expand higher-quality, mutually beneficial cooperation. Upholding the priority of development and putting people first, we will leverage the mechanism of the China-Cambodia Intergovernmental Coordination Committee to align the Belt and Road Initiative with Cambodia’s Five-Point Strategy, and deepen the development of the Industrial Development Corridor and the Fish-and-Rice Corridor. Together, we will safeguard the multilateral trading system, promote cooperation across industrial and supply chains, and strengthen collaboration in such areas as advanced manufacturing, green development, and the digital economy, thereby making the “Diamond Hexagon” cooperation even more vibrant and resilient and supporting each country’s modernization process.

—We must build a higher-level security guarantee. We will strengthen exchanges and cooperation on countering interference and separatism and on preventing and resisting “color revolutions”; deepen collaboration on joint exercises and training, security for Belt and Road Initiative projects, and emergency management; and crack down with force on criminal activities such as telecom and online fraud, thereby creating a secure environment for the development of both countries. We will uphold the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security, actively promote alignment of security concepts, and jointly advance peace and stability in the region and the world.

— We should conduct more frequent people-to-people and cultural exchanges. Upholding the principles of solidarity, mutual assistance, harmony, and coexistence, we will strengthen dialogue among civilizations, deepen the exchange of governance experience, and carry out diverse forms of cooperation in cultural tourism, heritage preservation and restoration, youth exchanges, and other areas, so as to enhance mutual understanding and affinity between our peoples and jointly promote Asian values and the common values of all humanity.

—We must strengthen strategic cooperation at a higher standard. Drawing wisdom from the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and the Bandung Spirit, we will accelerate the building of a Lancang-Mekong community with a shared future oriented toward peace and prosperity, and work together to create an Asian home that is peaceful and stable, prosperous and beautiful, and characterized by friendly coexistence. We will jointly oppose hegemonism, power politics, and bloc confrontation; safeguard the common interests of our two countries and other developing countries; champion a world that is multipolar in an equal and orderly manner and an economic globalization that is inclusive and benefits all; commit ourselves to upholding world peace and stability as well as international fairness and justice; and jointly resist protectionism while preserving an international environment of open cooperation.

“Ancient Jiaozuo is like pure gold—its luster remains unyielding, no matter how often it is refined.” I am firmly convinced that, with the joint efforts of both sides, the ironclad China-Cambodia friendship, having stood the test of time and weathered countless trials, will remain as steadfast as ever and shine with unwavering brilliance. China stands ready to work together with Cambodia to uphold peace, pursue common development, and create shared prosperity, steadily advancing the building of a China-Cambodia community with a shared future for the new era, thereby injecting greater stability and certainty into a world beset by turmoil and uncertainty.