Xi Jinping Publishes a Signed Article in Cambodian Media

4 month 17 On [date], during his state visit to Cambodia in Phnom Penh, President Xi Jinping published a signed article titled “Mutual Pursuit and Mutual Achievement: Steadfastly Advancing the Building of a China-Cambodia Community with a Shared Future for the New Era” in Cambodia’s Khmer Times, Khmer Chinese Daily, and the Fresh News website. The full text of the article is as follows:

I am delighted 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 is my first visit in a long time... 9 This year, we are once again visiting Cambodia, and we look forward to this visit paving the way for further progress in building the China-Cambodia community with a shared future.

Good-neighborly friendship is the historical foundation of the China-Cambodia community with a shared future. China and Cambodia are geographically close, and their friendly exchanges can be traced back to nearly 2000 In the years leading up to the Common Era, during the Tang Dynasty in China, members of the Khmer royal family visited Chang’an and were honored as “Binhan.” Since then, the two countries have maintained close exchanges. Chinese porcelain and lacquerware were shipped to Cambodia via the Maritime Silk Road, while Cambodian spices and raw silk—among other local specialties—were greatly cherished by the Chinese people. The bas-reliefs at the Bayon Temple vividly depict the prosperous trade that once flourished between the two nations. Several eminent Cambodian monks also traveled to China to propagate Buddhism and teach the Dharma, and Zhou Daguan’s “Account of the Kingdom of Champa,” written during the Yuan Dynasty, has become an important historical source for studying 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. 70 Before the New Year, Prince Norodom Sihanouk and Premier Zhou Enlai hit it off at the Bandung Conference, and Cambodia, despite numerous obstacles, 1958 Since the establishment of diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China, China has wholeheartedly supported Cambodia’s just struggle against foreign aggression and in defense of its national sovereignty and independence. At times when each side was in greatest need of assistance, the two countries shared weal and woe and stood by one another. Prince Norodom Sihanouk lived in China for nearly 40 Over the years, he has regarded China as his second home, and his songs celebrating China-Cambodia friendship, such as “Nostalgia for China,” continue to be sung to this day. King Sihamoni and Queen Mother Monineath visit China every year, and I have had the pleasure of meeting with Their Majesties on numerous occasions, engaging in warm, informal conversations. 2020 In that year, I conferred the “Friendship Medal” of the People’s Republic of China upon Her Majesty Queen Mother Norodom Monineath. This weighty medal embodies the profound friendship between the Chinese people and the Cambodian people. In the face of the pandemic that has swept the globe, then-Prime Minister Hun Sen braved snow and cold 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 biggest source of 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 200 The establishment of numerous international enterprises has laid a solid foundation for the modernization of Cambodia’s industrial sector. 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 robust support for the country’s long-term development. Chinese experts have also conducted extensive field visits across Cambodia’s provinces and cities, assisting in the formulation of plans for the development of modern agriculture. The China–Cambodia “Diamond Hexagon” cooperation has further propelled Cambodia’s development.

Inclusiveness and mutual learning constitute the profound foundation of the China–Cambodia community with a shared future. China has dispatched numerous experts in archaeology, geological surveying, cultural history, architectural art, and other fields to take root in Cambodia for nearly 30 Over the years, restoration projects have been carried out one after another at the Preah Vihear Temple, Phnom Kulen Temple, and the Angkor Royal Palace site, restoring the splendor of the Angkor archaeological complex—a true treasure of human civilization. An increasing number of Chinese tourists are visiting Cambodia to experience its profound history and culture, while more and more Cambodian friends are learning Chinese, eager to appreciate the charm of ancient Chinese civilization and the allure of China’s path to modernization. In recent years, China has built “Roads of Friendship” in Cambodia, tapped “Fountains of Happiness,” and established model villages for poverty alleviation through China-Cambodia friendship. Traditional Chinese medicine teams dispatched 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 being good neighbors 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 national 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 characterized by multipolarity based on equality and order, as well as economic globalization that is inclusive and benefits all; commit ourselves to upholding world peace and stability and international fairness and justice; and jointly resist protectionism, thereby 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 and injecting greater stability and certainty into a world beset by turmoil and uncertainty.