PHNOM PENH, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Joint COVID-19 fight has injected a fresh impetus into the building of China-Cambodia community of shared future, senior officials and academics from both countries said here Wednesday.
They made the remarks during the second Cambodia-China Think Tank High-Level Forum via video link, which was co-hosted by the Royal Academy of Cambodia (RAC) and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).
Huang Kunming, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, said the joint pandemic fight had further elevated the bilateral ties to a new high.
"We can say that in the fight against COVID-19, China and Cambodia have stood together through thick and thin, and our joint pandemic fight clearly demonstrates profound friendship between our two peoples," he said during the forum's opening session.
Cambodia's Standing Deputy Prime Minister and Cabinet Minister Bin Chhin highly spoke of China's support for Cambodia's fight against COVID-19, expressing his gratitude to China for providing COVID-19 vaccines to Cambodia regularly and timely.
"At the present, the bilateral relationship between Cambodia and China is the best-ever, and it has become a role model for cooperation between countries," he said. "I believe that China will also play a very important role in helping restore Cambodia's economy in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era."
Kin Phea, director general of the International Relations Institute of Cambodia, said China has played a leading role in helping Cambodia and other developing countries to battle against the pandemic.
"The joint COVID-19 fight has not only highlighted the special bond of friendship between Cambodia and China, but also injected a fresh impetus to the building of the Cambodia-China community of shared future," he told Xinhua.
RAC's President Sok Touch said the current relations between Cambodia and China are at the all-time high in the history, particularly in political, economic, social and cultural aspects.
"The Sino-Cambodian ties have become a model of friendly coexistence and close cooperation among countries," he said.
Looking forwards to the future, Touch said there was no doubt that the bilateral ties would continue to grow stronger and closer in all domains.
CASS's President Xie Fuzhan said mutual help in the fight against the pandemic had greatly contributed to building the China-Cambodia community of shared future.
"Our joint pandemic fight is a testament to the unbreakable ironclad friendship and close cooperation between our two countries," he said.
In the economic front, Xie said the recently-signed China-Cambodia Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) free trade pact will be a key driver to boost bilateral trade and investment volumes in the post-pandemic era.
Cambodian Ministry of Commerce's Secretary of State Sok Sopheak said China is the kingdom's key trading partner and the bilateral trade volume was valued at almost 5 billion U.S. dollars in the first six months of 2021, up 31 percent year-on-year.
"Cambodia's export to China increases an average of 6 to 10 percent per annum," he said.
Sopheak agreed that the CCFTA and RCEP, when they enter into force, will generate tremendous development opportunities for all countries involved. Enditem
