Table Of ContentSok Touch · Linggui Wang ·
Kin Phea · Jianglin Zhao ·
Jiayun Gu Editors
Cambodia-China
Comprehensive
Strategic Partnership
Towards a Community
with a Shared Future
Cambodia-China Comprehensive Strategic
Partnership Towards a Community with a Shared
Future
· · ·
Sok Touch Linggui Wang Kin Phea
·
Jianglin Zhao Jiayun Gu
Editors
Cambodia-China
Comprehensive Strategic
Partnership Towards
a Community with a Shared
Future
Editors
Sok Touch Linggui Wang
The Royal Academy of Cambodia Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
Phnom Penh, Cambodia Beijing, China
Kin Phea Jianglin Zhao
The Royal Academy of Cambodia Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
Phnom Penh, Cambodia Beijing, China
Jiayun Gu
Beijing Foreign Studies University
Beijing, China
ISBN 978-981-19-9154-7 ISBN 978-981-19-9155-4 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-9155-4
Jointly published with Social Sciences Academic Press
The print edition is not for sale in China (Mainland). Customers from China (Mainland) please order the
print book from: Social Sciences Academic Press.
ISBN of the Co-Publisher’s edition: 978-7-5201-8807-4
© Social Sciences Academic Press 2023
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether
the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse
of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and
transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar
or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication
does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant
protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publishers, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book
are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publishers nor the authors or
the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any
errors or omissions that may have been made. The publishers remain neutral with regard to jurisdictional
claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721,
Singapore
Foreword
China and Cambodia are close neighbors that enjoy a profound traditional friendship.
In modern times, similar historical sufferings and common struggles have brought
the two nations firmly together. Their bilateral relationship, which has stood the test
of international vicissitudes, is now as strong as steel. The year 2020 marks the
62nd anniversary for the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and
Cambodia. For more than 60 years, the two countries have conducted exchanges
and cooperation in all areas in an orderly manner and yielded fruitful results. Since
the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1958, China and Cambodia hold highly
aligned positions due to common needs on international affairs, regional economic
development, and people-to-people exchanges. Such partnership, characterized by
“amity, sincerity, mutual benefit, and inclusiveness”, sets an example for other
bilateral relations.
The relationship with Cambodia, which is of great importance and particularity in
China’s neighborhood diplomacy, features some unique traits not seen in its relations
with other countries. It is precisely because of these features that China–Cambodia
relations can develop to a high level. One of the notable features is the contact history
and profound traditional friendship between the two sides. Such deep bonds prevail
from the time of King Sihanouk until now and extend from leadership to civilians.
Leaders of both sides may refer to each other as “iron friends” on different occasions,
since both of them can stand up to pressure to firmly defend each other’s core interests
and major concerns at critical moments. Chinese netizens liken Cambodia to a “steel-
like country”, vividly describing that the friendship between the two countries is as
strong as steel.
China and Cambodia boast a fine tradition of mutual support and assistance. For
a long time, China has been making contributions, within its reach, to Cambodia’s
economic and social development as well as improvement of people’s well-being, and
it has already become the largest investor and top trading partner of Cambodia. Over
the past years, Cambodia has maintained an average annual economic growth rate
of about 7%, significantly improved people’s livelihood, and constantly upgraded
infrastructure, demonstrating a strong development momentum. China has been
v
vi Foreword
spoken highly by Prime Minister Hun Sen, the Cambodian government, and all
sectors of society for its role in Cambodia’s rapid and steady development.
Economically, Chinese-funded agencies have increased economic and trade
investment in Cambodia, providing Cambodians with more employment opportu-
nities. By the end of 2018, Chinese investment in Cambodia had hit US$20 billion;
Chinese-funded companies accounted for 70% of Cambodia’s garment and shoe-
making business—a leading industry in the country, and created hundreds of thou-
sands of jobs, with the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone alone hiring more than
20,000 local people. Also, China helps a lot in Cambodia’s electric power sector,
effectively clearing the way for local people to use electricity. Chinese power corpo-
rations have laid a total of more than 8,000 kilometers of power lines in Cambodia,
and the power stations invested and built by them contribute 80% of Cambodia’s
total power generation. Consequently, Cambodians have been enjoying practical
benefits: less living expenses and lower production costs of companies. In addition,
China has kept increasing assistance to improve the living conditions of Cambo-
dians. For example, Chinese corporations have paved more than 3,000 kilometers of
high-grade highways, built eight long-span across-river bridges, and completed irri-
gation projects covering 456,000 hectares of farmland. Last but not least, China has
assisted Cambodia in constructing large hospitals such as Cambodia–China Friend-
ship Preah Kossamak Hospital and Thboung Khmum Cambodia–China Friendship
Hospital, paving roads, digging wells and ditches, and renovating school buildings
in rural and remote areas, which have considerably improved local infrastructure and
made local people’s lives easier.
Fruitful economic achievements and significant progress made in people-to-
people exchanges have, through mutual promotion, laid a solid foundation for China
and Cambodia to carry on all-round cooperation. For example, recent years have seen
their bilateral cooperation in full swing in the fields of culture, tourism, and educa-
tion. During the year 2017 alone, more than 1.2 million Chinese visited Cambodia, up
46% year-on-year, making China the largest source of foreign tourists to Cambodia.
It is foreseeable in the future that the two countries will further promote cultural
exchanges, expand their cooperation not only in tourism but also in education by
increasing student exchange and personnel training programs, and deepen the mutual
understanding and affection between the two peoples.
The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), the top and comprehensive
national think tank in China under the State Council, holds a pivotal position in basic
and applied research in the fields of philosophy and social sciences. As early as
2011, CASS signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Royal Academy of
Cambodia. The two institutions have since then carried out extensive exchanges and
cooperation in different research fields, thereby promoting cultural exchanges and
strengthening people-to-people ties.
A series of changes have been taking place in the global political and economic
pattern in the twenty-first century. In parallel, there is a rise in trade protectionism,
isolationism, populism, and other anti-globalization trends. Facing both opportunities
and challenges amid this complex international situation, it is all the more necessary
for all of us to join hands, forge ahead and jointly address them. We should strengthen
Foreword vii
policy communication and coordination, clear up doubts and confusion, enhance
mutual understanding, strengthen cooperation, and tackle challenges together. The
leaders in China and Cambodia proposed to take a lead in building a strategic China–
Cambodia Community of Shared Future, which is a strategic decision grounded
on the comprehensive promotion of the sound and stable development of bilateral
relations and is of great significance and far-reaching impact. It is conducive to
the continuous consolidation and development of China–Cambodia comprehensive
strategic partnership, and to the building of strong bilateral relations on an equal
footing and for mutual benefit. Also, it can set an important model in the neigh-
borhood and play a pioneering role in building the China–ASEAN community of a
shared future and the Asian community of a shared future.
As practice has proved, an important guarantee for advancing the bilateral rela-
tions between countries is to strengthen communication, facilitate the docking of
development strategies and plans, pinpoint common directions of action, estab-
lish smooth channels and mechanisms for exchanges, dialogues, and consultations
through project cooperation in various fields such as infrastructure, economy and
trade, investment, finance, and humanities, improve coordination of relevant execu-
tive agencies, and promptly resolve problems and difficulties in the implementation
of plans and projects. I expect that the think tanks in China and Cambodia could
play a role in promoting the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative
(BRI) and the construction of the Asian community of a shared future.
We are convinced that the forum is an opportunity for the two sides to further
understand each other, build consensus, and combine our efforts to promote common
development in future cooperation. Together, we will explore new ideas, open up
new channels and develop new approaches to advance our bilateral relations to a
higher level, contribute to the BRI for high-quality development and facilitate the
construction of the Asian community of a shared future.
Beijing, China Gao Peiyong
March 2020 Vice President, Chinese Academy
of Social Sciences
Contents
Cambodia-China Relations at a New Height ......................... 1
Sok Touch
Building the China–Cambodia Community with a Shared Future:
China–Cambodia Relations Toward a New Era ...................... 5
Linggui Wang
Perspective on Cambodia–China Relations ........................... 15
Chhiv Yiseang
Cambodia–China Toward a Community with a Shared Future:
We Grow Together ................................................ 19
Kin Phea
Cambodia-China Political and Security Cooperation
Cambodia–China: Deepening Political Cooperation .................. 27
Lim Menghour
Cambodia–China Political and Security Cooperation in the BRI
Era: A Neoclassical Realist Perspective .............................. 35
Ruhanie Ahmad
Cambodia–China: True Friends .................................... 43
Sun Kim
China–Cambodia Non-traditional Security Cooperation:
Opportunities, Challenges, and Prospects ............................ 51
Liping Xu
Cambodia–China Relations: An Indonesian Perspective ............... 59
Christine Susanna Tjhin
ix
x Contents
Tapping Potential for Cooperation and Deepening
China–Cambodia Comprehensive Strategic
Partnership ....................................................... 69
Weiwei Zhu
Cambodia-China Economic Cooperation
Taking China–Cambodia Economic and Trade Cooperation
to a Higher Level in the New Era .................................... 77
Bo Yuan
Cambodia–China Economic Relations in the Context of BRI .......... 85
Nguyen Huy Hoang
Cambodia–China Economic Cooperation in the Context of BRI:
Connectivity for Mutual Prosperity and Sustainable Growth .......... 91
Pich Charadine
Insight into China–Cambodia Economic and Trade Cooperation:
The Value Chain Perspective ....................................... 99
Minghui Shen and Haifeng Li
Inclusive Development and Chinese Direct: Investments
in Cambodia ...................................................... 113
Chan Sophal
Advantages and Disadvantages of the Phnom Penh Special
Economic Zone and the Sihanoukvilleville Special Economic Zone
from a Comparative Perspective .................................... 123
Shulan Zhao
Cambodia-China Socio-Cultural Cooperation in the BRI Context
Cultural Relations Between Cambodia and China .................... 141
Phon Kaseka
Cambodia–China Relations: Socio-Cultural Aspects .................. 153
Chan Bunny
Developing Friendship Through Lancang-Mekong Cooperation ....... 171
Chuanbo Xu
Cambodia–China Socio-Cultural Cooperation and Connectivity ....... 175
Somchith Souksavath
List of Contributors
Ruhanie Ahmad East Asian International Relations (EAIR) Caucus, National
University of Malaysia (UKM), Bangi, Malaysia
Yuan Bo Institute of Asian Studies, Chinese Academy of International Trade and
Economic Cooperation, Ministry of Finance of the People’s Republic of China,
Beijing, China
Chan Bunny China Study Center, Royal Academy of Cambodia, Phnom Penh,
Cambodia
Pich Charadine Deputy Executive Director, Cambodian Institute for Cooperation
and Peace, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Xu Chuanbo Institute of Regional and National Studies, Peking University,
Beijing, China
Li Haifeng University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing, China
Nguyen Huy Hoang Institute for Southeast Asian Studies, Vietnam Academy of
Social Sciences, Hanoi, Vietnam
Phon Kaseka Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, Royal Academy of
Cambodia, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Sun Kim Faculty of Social Sciences and International Relations, Pañña¯sa¯stra
University of Cambodia, Phnom Penh, Cambodia;
Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace Phnom Penh, Phnom Penh,
Cambodia
Xu Liping National Institute of International Strategy, Chinese Academy of Social
Sciences, Beijing, China
Lim Menghour Mekong Center for Strategic Studies (MCSS) of Asian Vision
Institute (AVI), Phnom Penh, Cambodia
xi
