China News Agency, Beijing, February 11 (Xie Yanbing and Li Jingze) "I am very happy to realize the 'three-year agreement' with you, and jointly open a new era of building a China-Cambodia community with a shared future on the occasion of the New Year." On February 10, Chinese President Xi Jinping said when meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.

  Three years ago, Hun Sen made a "retrograde" visit to China despite the wind and snow, and stood firmly with the Chinese people who are fighting against the new crown epidemic.

Now, with another spring snowfall in Beijing, Hun Sen has become the first foreign leader to receive after the Chinese Lunar New Year in 2023.

  At the invitation of the Chinese side, Hun Sen will pay an official visit to China from February 9th to 11th.

Speaking of this visit, experts on international issues interviewed by reporters from China News Agency believe that Hun Sen's visit to China for the "three-year agreement" as scheduled fully reflects the high level of China-Cambodia relations and will promote the deepening of China-Cambodia comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership. development, but also convey multiple messages.

Message 1: Friendship is "Long Time", the Chinese and Cambodian people will always stand firmly together

  According to Cambodian media reports, Hun Sen stated as early as mid-January that this visit to Huawei commemorates the third anniversary of his "retrograde" visit to China.

In February 2020, China was in a difficult period of fighting the new crown epidemic. Some countries took extreme restrictive measures and suspended flights with China.

At that time, Hun Sen, who had just finished attending the World Peace Alliance Summit abroad, immediately changed his itinerary and led a delegation to Beijing on the 5th of that month, becoming the first foreign leader to visit China under the epidemic.

  Talking about this visit to China, Hun Sen said, "Whether it is the visit three years ago or this visit, I hope to convey the clear message that the Cambodian people will always stand firmly with the Chinese people."

  "If Prime Minister Hun Sen's visit to China three years ago was a 'retrograde', this year's visit is to take advantage of the spring breeze and follow the trend. It will also deepen and consolidate the 'hardcore' friendship between China and Cambodia." Research on Asia-Pacific and Global Strategy, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Xu Liping, a researcher at the Academy, commented so.

  As he said, China and Cambodia are geographically similar, culturally connected, and their friendship spans thousands of years.

In recent years, from the upgrade of the relationship between the two countries to a comprehensive strategic partnership, to Cambodia becoming the first country to sign an action plan with China to build a community of shared future, and to the entry into force of the China-Cambodia Free Trade Agreement, the bilateral relations between China and Cambodia have continuously reached new heights.

  Hun Sen's visit to China coincides with the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Cambodia and the "China-Cambodia Friendship Year". Chen Fengying, a researcher at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, believes that this visit is not only the inheritance of the friendship between the two countries, but also the "China-Cambodia Friendship Year". "New Year" brings a "good start", which fully reflects that the traditional friendship between China and Cambodia spans time and space and lasts forever.

Message 2: Build a China-Cambodia "Diamond Six Sides" Cooperation Framework

  For a period of time, from economic and trade cooperation to development cooperation, from green development to digital transformation, China-Cambodia practical cooperation has been steadily advancing.

During this visit, the Chinese side further proposed to build a "diamond six-sided" cooperation framework between China and Cambodia, which aroused the attention of the outside world.

  When meeting with Hun Sen, Xi Jinping said that China is willing to "join hands with Cambodia to build a high-quality, high-level, and high-standard China-Cambodia community with a shared future in the new era."

He clearly pointed out that the two sides can start from the six major fields of politics, production capacity, agriculture, energy, security, and humanities, and strive to build a "diamond six-sided" cooperation framework between China and Cambodia.

For example, in terms of production capacity, focus on the construction of "industrial development corridors".

In terms of agriculture, focus on building a "fish and rice corridor" and carry out agricultural cooperation near the lake.

  As for the next step of cooperation between China and Cambodia, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong summed it up in an interview with the media as "one positioning, six-party cooperation, and two major corridors", and expressed his firm belief that under the strategic guidance of the senior leaders of the two countries, China will Cambodia's "hardcore" friendship will become more unbreakable.

  "This visit has made a new plan for the medium and long-term development goals of the two countries. The metaphor of diamonds reflects the high level of cooperation between China and Cambodia, and the structure of the 'six sides' is also more stable." Chen Fengying analyzed that Cambodia has superior agricultural resources and attaches great importance to The export of agricultural products and the strengthening of China-Cambodia agricultural cooperation are highly targeted; China and Cambodia also have broad cooperation space in terms of transportation infrastructure construction, coping with extreme climate change, and combating transnational crimes. "China-Cambodia cooperation in various fields will 'fully bloom'."

Message 3: When the international situation is changing, China and Cambodia have always been "in the same boat"

  From the perspective of the outside world, the "hardcore" friendship between China and Cambodia is also reflected in the fact that in the face of the changing international situation, the two sides have always supported each other with practical actions on issues related to each other's core interests and major concerns.

  Looking back on the past, when Cambodia was waiting to be rejuvenated, China put righteousness first and fully supported and helped Cambodia's national construction.

During this visit, China emphasized that it firmly supports the Cambodian people in independently choosing a development path that suits their own national conditions, firmly supports Cambodia in safeguarding national sovereignty and security, and firmly supports Cambodia in steadily advancing major domestic political agendas and economic and social development.

On issues related to China's core interests and major concerns such as the South China Sea issue, Cambodia has always stood firmly on the moral side of China and the international community.

  Regarding some Western countries questioning and accusing China-Cambodia relations, Hun Sen made it clear, "If I don't rely on China, who do I rely on? If I don't rely on China, who can help Cambodia build roads and bridges?" Just when Hun Sen set off this time Before going to China, the Cambodian side also refuted the US media's use of the "debt trap" theory to discredit the normal exchanges between China and Cambodia.

  It can be said that "we are in the same boat through thick and thin" has become a high-frequency phrase for China-Cambodia friendship.

During this visit, the joint statement issued by China and Cambodia further pointed out that mutual support on issues concerning each other's core interests is the core essence of the China-Cambodia community of shared future.

  Xu Liping believes that Hun Sen's visit to China this time also sent a strong signal to neighboring countries and the international community, that is, any suppression to curb the development of other countries, sow discord, and engage in camp confrontation is unpopular and will ultimately fail.

  "No amount of suppression or coercion can change the general direction of China-Cambodia friendship and cooperation. This visit will not only continue to write a new sequel to the China-Cambodia friendship, but will also set a new example and inject positive energy into cooperation among countries in the region," Xu Liping said.

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