Prime Minister Hun Sen: No one can stop China's development

亚洲联合时报 2023-03-22 17:13

On March 22, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen attended the graduation ceremony of Vanda Academy students and stated that no one can weaken China, because China is the largest market in ASEAN.

"Some people want to try to weaken China. This is impossible. China is one of the countries with the largest population in the world. Who can stop China's development?" Hun Sen said. He was once asked in Tokyo if he was worried about China's threat before China joined the World Trade Organization. He replied by asking the other party: "Who can stop China's progress?"

Hun Sen said that China has greatly benefited ASEAN countries including Cambodia in all aspects. Before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Cambodia alone received 2 million Chinese tourists per year. With the signing of the Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement, the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), China has become a huge market for ASEAN countries.

"China is a very large market." Hun Sen said that China is ASEAN's raw material supplier. 80% of the fabrics used in Cambodia's clothing industry are imported from China.

Hun Sen stated that Cambodia imports more from China than it exports to China because Cambodia needs to import raw materials from China to produce and process products, and then export the products to other countries. "China has been trying to help us," he said.

According to a report released by the General Department of Customs and Excise of Cambodia, in 2022, the trade volume between Cambodia and China exceeded US$11 billion, of which Cambodia's exports to China were approximately US$1.2 billion, and imports from China exceeded US$10 billion.