China’s leader concludes visit to Cambodia at the end of a 3-nation Southeast Asia tour

PHNOM PENH – Chinese President Xi Jinping connected Friday completed a two-day authorities sojourn to Cambodia, capping a three-nation tour that included stops successful Vietnam and Malaysia astatine a clip erstwhile each 3 Southeast Asian countries are facing economical challenges from U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff proposals.

China has been powerfully expanding its power successful the portion implicit the past decade, mostly by exercising its important economical leverage. Beijing is present presenting itself arsenic a root of stableness and certainty arsenic Trump’s tariffs endanger the region’s export-oriented economies whose largest marketplace is mostly the United States.

Cambodia faces among the highest reciprocal tariff rates projected by Washington. In summation to Trump’s cosmopolitan 10% tariff, it faces the menace of a 49% tariff connected exports to the U.S. erstwhile his 90-day intermission expires. For Vietnam, the tariff would beryllium 46%, and for Malaysia, 24%.

“The timing of the sojourn is extraordinarily auspicious for China, falling conscionable successful the aftermath of the announcement of Trump’s tariffs that person caused managed consternation successful Cambodia and Vietnam ... and upset successful Malaysia," Astrid Norén-Nilsson, a elder lecturer successful the Study of Contemporary South-East Asia astatine Sweden’s Lund University, commented successful an email interrogation connected Thursday.

“Xi Jinping tin present transportation retired the circuit equipped with the motivation authorization and goodwill of a singularly changeless person and reliable trading partner.”

A summary of the sojourn issued Friday by Cambodia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry hardly mentioned the commercialized crisis, focusing alternatively connected bilateral relations.

“This milestone sojourn not lone reaffirmed the unwavering committedness to the iron-clad relationship betwixt Cambodia and China, but besides further strengthened and deepened the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and win-win practice betwixt the 2 countries,” said the statement.

During his stay, Xi was granted a royal assemblage by King Norodom Sihamoni, and held meetings with Prime Minister Hun Manet and Senate President Hun Sen, who is Hun Manet’s begetter and predecessor arsenic premier minister. The sojourn was Xi’s archetypal to Cambodia since 2016.

Xi and Hun Manet besides presided implicit the signing of 37 documents covering investment, trade, education, finance, information, younker work, agriculture, health, h2o resources, tourism, women’s affairs and different subjects.

Cambodia’s accelerated maturation successful caller decades has been fueled mostly by Beijing.

China has been Cambodia’s largest trading spouse for 13 consecutive years, with two-way commercialized successful 2024 reaching $17.83 billion, though greatly successful China’s favor. It has besides been Cambodia’s largest root of overseas concern for 13 consecutive years, arsenic good arsenic a large assistance donor.

Beijing’s beardown enactment allows Cambodia to mostly disregard Western criticisms regarding its government’s quality rights grounds and suppression of governmental opposition. Cambodia for its portion mostly supports China’s stance connected its wide disputed territorial claims successful the South China Sea and different arguable issues.

“The Cambodian broadside reiterated its resolute adherence to the one-China argumentation and that Taiwan is an inalienable portion of China’s territory,” said the Cambodian Foreign Ministry statement. “Cambodia besides expressed absorption to immoderate attempts of interference successful the interior affairs of China” — a notation to Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Referring to societal and improvement issues, the connection implicitly made a opposition to positions held by the United States, saying “both sides acknowledged the planetary menace posed by clime alteration and committed to strengthening biology extortion (and) advancing cleanable vigor collaboration.”

It mentioned arsenic good China’s assistance successful dealing with Cambodia’s occupation of clearing onshore mines near implicit from equipped conflicts decades ago, and practice successful the wellness sector. The Trump administration’s overseas assistance cuts person affected those and different sectors.

The connection besides declared that “both sides agreed to further fortify the practice mechanics betwixt the equipped forces of the 2 countries.”

Beijing helped money an enlargement of the Ream Naval Base connected Cambodia’s confederate coast, raising worries it could go a strategical outpost for the Chinese navy successful the Gulf of Thailand.

The connection did not notation the basal issue. Cambodia has repeatedly denied immoderate statement granting China peculiar privileges oregon the constitution of a overseas subject base.

Cambodia has stated that warships from each affable countries are invited to dock astatine its caller pier, provided they comply with definite conditions. Japan announced connected Tuesday that 2 of its minesweepers volition sojourn the Ream basal this play successful the archetypal overseas navy sojourn since the enlargement task was completed.

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Peck reported from Bangkok.

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