The gesture was welcomed in Beijing with Xi saying at the time that “a friend in need is a friend indeed”.

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China helps upgrade Cambodian naval base, as nations dismiss Western fears about Beijing’s plans

China helps upgrade Cambodian naval base, as nations dismiss Western fears about Beijing’s plans

China has not confirmed Hun Sen’s visit. But in a report about his comments on Saturday, state news agency Xinhua quoted the Cambodian leader as describing relations between the two countries as “solid”. He also referred to the 65th anniversary of bilateral ties this year.

According to Cambodian media reports, Hun Sen said he would discuss a number of development projects with China during his visit, including the country’s first high-speed rail project.

Cambodia is upgrading two of its rail lines to high-speed services that will connect capital Phnom Penh with the southwestern city of Sihanoukville and the border with Thailand.

Hun Sen signalled in December that China would help fund the project, an issue that was also discussed during his meeting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at the Asean summit in November.

At that meeting, China said it had approved investment in a number of major Cambodian infrastructure projects including a US$1.6 billion expressway from Phnom Penh to its border with Vietnam.

Vannarith Chheang, a government relations strategist at the Asian Vision Institute in Phnom Penh, said Hun Sen’s trip was expected to result in a series of bilateral agreements, particularly on infrastructure.

“Cambodia is the most trustworthy partner of China in Southeast Asia,” he said.

“The visit will open a new chapter in the Cambodia-China comprehensive strategic partnership ... and mark the third anniversary of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s visit to China in February 2020 to show political support [for] and confidence in China’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.”

China, Cambodia look to boost military ties along with expanded naval base

Sin Chansereyvutha, spokesman for Cambodia’s State Secretariat of Civil Aviation, said China’s reopening was expected to increase the number of air passengers into the country to 4.6 million this year.

“For 2023, we predict that the number of air passengers will double thanks to China’s reopening,” Chinese state news agency Xinhua quoted him as saying.

Xinhua also quoted Cambodian Tourism Minister Thong Khon as saying that the country expected at least 1 million Chinese tourists in 2023, up from 110,000 last year.

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Shi Yinhong, an international relations professor at Renmin University, said China needed to be cautious in its relations with Cambodia, which has been strengthening ties with Japan and the United States in recent years.

“Cambodia’s diplomacy, from its point of view, is increasing its flexibility, aiming to gain benefits from both sides, under the current almost bipolar rivalry,” Shi said.

“China needs to adapt to such change, too.”

He said China was facing more financial difficulties and “even if you help Cambodia [with financial assistance], the trend of its strengthening relations with Japan will not change”.

Cambodia agreed last year to improve defence ties with Japan by allowing Japanese forces to make regular visits to its Ream Naval Base near the South China Sea.

And at its meeting in November, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations agreed to strengthen maritime cooperation with the US to tackle illegal fishing.