Chinese President Xi Jinping said Thursday that Cambodia’s Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk is both a witness to and a promoter of the friendship between China and Cambodia.
In his meeting with the Queen Mother at the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, the Cambodian capital, Xi said she has special friendly feelings towards the Chinese people, and she is well-deserved to be awarded the Friendship Medal of the People's Republic of China. Xi also said that China is her second home, adding that she is welcome to come to China at any time.
Cambodia's King Father Norodom Sihanouk was a banner of the China-Cambodia friendship, said Xi, adding that together with the elder generation of Chinese leaders, he personally forged an unbreakable ironclad friendship between China and Cambodia.
"We will always remember the historic contributions he made," Xi added.
For her part, the Queen Mother said Xi is the greatest friend of Cambodia, and it is a great pleasure to see that the Cambodia-China friendship forged by the elder generation of leaders of the two countries has been continuously consolidated and developed.
The Queen Mother said she believes that the ironclad friendship between the two countries will grow even deeper and more unbreakable.
Xi arrived in Phnom Penh earlier on Thursday for a state visit to Cambodia. Cambodia is the last leg of Xi's five-day, three-nation Southeast Asia tour, which also included state visits to Vietnam and Malaysia.
Xi hails Queen Mother Monineath as promoter of China-Cambodia friendship
