Cambodian Prime Minister said Sunday that China has decided to provide the Southeast Asian Nation with the aid of Grants of 1.75 billion yuan (US $ 272 million), announcing assistance during a visit Minister of External Chinese Relations Wang Yi.
Wang met Hun Sen and other bilateral negotiations on the fight against COVID19, issues of commerce and investment, education and security. The Cambodia Ministry of Foreign Affairs said earlier that Wang and Monday meetings also included discussions on regional and international issues of common interest.
China is the largest investor in Cambodia and the nearest political partner whose assistance is fully undergoing the economy of Southeast Asia. Hun Sen will not detail what Beijing's help would be used.
Hun Sen was speaking on a live television broadcast in which he praised China for its assistance in the handover ceremony for a new 60,000-seat stadium built on the outskirts of the capital Phnom Penh. Cambodian state news agency AKP reported that Tourism Minister Thong Khon said the Chinese government has provided $ 160 million in funding for the project.
"In the past, we could not have imagined that Cambodia would have such a big stadium here, but China helped us achieve it," AKP said quoting Hun Sen at the ceremony. . He called the stadium "the fruit of the strong friendship between Cambodia and China".
Speaking to the press after a private meeting with Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, Wang also made a similar remark, saying, "May the friendship of China be stronger than iron."
Hun Sen mentions further support from China to build more than 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) of roads and seven major bridges spanning the Mekong, Tonle Sap and Bassac rivers. He also noted that the vaccines sold by China and the aid have helped Cambodia fight the pandemic.
However, Hun Sen added that Cambodia not only depends on China, but befriends all countries in the world and welcomes their development assistance. The United States has also donated a COVID19 vaccine to Cambodia.
Washington's relations with Hun Sen's government turn frosty, as Beijing's backing allows Cambodia to ignore Western concerns about its poor human rights and human rights record, and come Cambodia in turn generally supports Beijing's geopolitical stance on issues such as its territorial claims in the South China Sea.
In recent months, the United States has expressed concern over its relationship and called on Cambodian leaders to maintain an independent and balanced foreign policy in the best interests of the people.
Part of the concern centers on China's construction of new facilities at Ream Naval Base in Cambodia and the possibility that its military will have future base rights there.
Ream faces the Gulf of Thailand, which borders the South China Sea. Holding basic rights in Cambodia would greatly expand Beijing's strategic military profile.
Concluding a visit to neighboring Vietnam on Saturday, Wang said China planned to donate 3 million doses of the vaccine to that country, which is under embargo to contain a wave of COVID19.
Ref: Here
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