China and Cambodia share a deep-rooted bilateral relationship that stretches back decades, while the two countries remain committed to jointly addressing regional and global challenges, according to a Cambodian international relations expert.
The two sides first established formal diplomatic ties in 1958, and have enjoyed frequent high-level exchanges which have reinforced their strategic political trust, solidified a longstanding friendship and fostered mutual benefits.
Relations between the two countries are in the spotlight as Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh on Thursday to begin a two-day state visit at the invitation of King Norodom Sihamoni.
The close China-Cambodia connection goes back to King Sihamoni's father, the late King Norodom Sihanouk. He had lived in exile in the historical Dong Jiao Min Alley, part of the old Legation Quarter in Beijing, before heading home to lead his country to independence. He later returned to spend his final years at this location considering it as his second home, before he passed away in the Chinese capital at the age of 89 in 2012.
Kin Phea, director general of International Relations Institute at the Royal Academy of Cambodia, highlighted how this important history has laid the foundations for the ties between the two countries.
"The monarchy is very important in stabilizing our bilateral relationship. Governments may change, but the monarchy, the king is there. The most important figure in Cambodia was our late king, who laid very solid foundation for our bilateral relations," he said.
Looking ahead to possible outcomes from Xi's current visit to Cambodia, which marks his first to the country in nine years, Phea said he expects deeper cooperation across multiple fields.
"It also highlights the solidarity between the two countries and our commitment to address the regional and global challenges we face together. China has become an engine of global growth [which] protects multilateralism in trade, in governance, and development, particularly inclusive prosperity," he said.
China, Cambodia share strong legacy of diplomatic ties: expert
Khaled El-Enany, director-general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), has spoke highly of China's support for multilateralism, intercultural dialogue and global cooperation, while expressing readiness to deepen UNESCO's partnership with China in areas including digital education and peace building.
El-Enany visited China's Hangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai from May 11 to 14, his fourth time in the country and first time as the UNESCO director-general.
In an interview with the China Media Group (CMG), El-Enany spoke positively about his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on May 12, saying their discussions focused on people, intercultural dialogue, the Global South and multilateralism.
"There were the focus of our exchange -- people. We are here to serve people. Peace in the minds of women and men. Intercultural dialogue [was another topic]. We have to learn from each other and to learn, we have to dialogue. We have to listen to each other, to know each other, to accept each other, and this is the spirit of UNESCO. [We also talked about] Global South. How we can support the Global South, how can reduce the divides between people. And multilateralism that we must defend," El-Enany said.
The UNESCO chief also highlighted digital education as a key for future cooperation between China and the organization.
"[We also talked about] some fields of new partnership, mainly on the field of digital education. This is very important part because while many parts of the world are really doing an exceptional advancement in the AI use, other are still behind," said El-Enany.
Speaking about his impression of Xi, El-Enany described the meeting as warm and sincere, saying he gained a deeper understanding of the Chinese president beyond his role as a political leader.
"I knew the politician, the great leader he is. But yesterday I discovered the human being behind. It was a very warm meeting. It was a very sincere exchange. I saw that he was speaking from his heart. It's a pure conviction that we need to dialogue, that we need to learn from each other. He was very keen to defend the multilateralism. He expressed clearly his support to UNESCO, to UNESCO's mandate in peace building and to bring people together. It was a very warm meeting. I learned a lot and I'm very determined to enhance now our partnership with China based on what was discussed with his excellence, Mr. President," said the UNESCO chief.
UNESCO chief praises China's support for multilateralism, intercultural dialogue, global cooperation
