The iron-clad friendship between China and Cambodia has withstood the test of time, gained renewed vigor, and is brimming with vitality, offering broad prospects that cannot be disrupted or damaged by any force, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said in Beijing on Thursday.
Guo Jiakun, the spokesman, made the statement at a press conference in Beijing in response to groundless remarks posted recently by a small number of west-media accounts alleging that Cambodian leaders are choosing sides between China and the U.S. and that major cooperation projects between China and Cambodia are stalling, pointing out that such remarks are purely groundless smears and deliberate vilification. "China and Cambodia are iron-clad friends supporting each other and sharing weal and woe. This time-honored friendship was cultivated by the older generation of leaders of both countries, and has stood the test of the changing international landscape. It serves the fundamental interests of both countries and peoples, is of great vigor and vitality and promising prospects of development, and can never be weakened or undermined by any force. China and Cambodia see each other as the most trustworthy friends and most reliable partners, and always firmly support each other's core interests. This is the defining feature of China-Cambodia relations and also serves as the foundation of the time-tested friendship between the two countries," Guo said.
"The endeavor of building a China-Cambodia community with a shared future has delivered tangible benefits to the two peoples. China has remained Cambodia’s biggest source of foreign investment and biggest trading partner for many years running. Bilateral trade has soared by nearly four times over the past decade. Cambodian leaders publicly on many occasions that China is Cambodia's most trusted friend, and friendship with China is a firm political consensus within the Cambodian government and the governing political party and among the Cambodian people," said the spokesman.
"At present, China and Cambodia are guiding high-quality development of bilateral relations with high-level mutual trust, keep enriching the 'Diamond Hexagon' cooperation framework, have formulated cooperation plans for building the Industrial Development Corridor and the 'Fish and Rice Corridor,' have advanced the implementation of priority cooperation projects, and have boosted each other's modernization process, in the greater interest of the two peoples, and in injecting greater stability and certainty into the efforts to address international and regional challenges," he said.
"We firmly believe that the iron-clad friendship between China and Cambodia will steer clear of disruptions. We will not allow any deliberate vilification against our friendship and any rumor-monger shall bear legal responsibility and consequences," Guo stressed.
China-Cambodia ironclad friendship keeps flourishing, not disturbed by any force: spokesman
