【ASEAN Line】(The 20th East Expo) Cambodian Prime Minister Hong Manai: Trade should not be used as a "weapon" to undermine global economic security
Nanning, 9 Sep (ZXS) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hong Manai said in Nanning, Guangxi, on 17 September that trade plays an important role in coping with global challenges such as rising commodity prices, food security and the impact of climate change, and ASEAN and China are playing an important role in showing the world the benefits of strengthening multilateral cooperation, and "trade should not be used as a 'weapon' to undermine global economic security."
On September 9, the 17th China-ASEAN Expo and China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit opened in Nanning, Guangxi, and Cambodian Prime Minister Hong Manai attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech. Photo by Yu Jing, reporter of the China News Agency
Hong Manai attended the opening ceremony of the 20th China-ASEAN Expo and the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit and delivered a speech. He pointed out that in the uncertain global environment, the 20th China-ASEAN Expo is crucial to building closer and harmonious regional relations and promoting sustainable development.
Human activity slowed down when the pandemic hit the world, but trade continued, according to Honmanai. In 2021 and 2022, global trade in goods even exceeded pre-pandemic levels, demonstrating the important role of trade in ensuring people's lives and socio-economic security.
Hong Manai pointed out that ASEAN and China have carried out good cooperation through the Free Trade Agreement and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. Among these frameworks, the China-ASEAN Expo is a pragmatic platform that can promote the coordinated development of ASEAN-China trade and expand in scale.
Hong Manai called on ASEAN and China to further strengthen cooperation and interdependence in the future by further opening their markets, strengthening connectivity, enhancing supply chain resilience, strengthening capacity and supply docking, strengthening trade facilitation, and jointly promoting mutual investment activities. In addition, the two sides ensured that developing countries truly benefited from open markets and multilateral trading mechanisms, including in terms of market access and market demand.
Hong Manai said that the new Cambodian government will continue to work hard to improve the business and investment environment, improve production efficiency by reducing costs, improving transportation and logistics efficiency, and meeting the needs of investors from all walks of life, and is committed to strengthening all-round cooperation with governments and the private sector in the region. (End)