(East-West Question) Xie Monile: Friendly cooperation with China, Why is Cambodia not afraid of external "intimidation and inducement"?
China News Service Phnom Penh, October 29th: Question: Why is Cambodia not afraid of external "intimidation and inducement" for friendly cooperation with China?
- Exclusive interview with Xie Monile, President of the Cambodia-China Relations Development Society
China News Service reporter Ouyang Kaiyu
In recent years, China-Cambodia relations have continued to improve in quality and growth, and have become veritable all-weather "hardcore" friends. The current international situation is complex. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has expressed his firm attitude towards developing friendly relations with China on many occasions. He said three times within a year that "Cambodia does not rely on China, who can it rely on?". Cambodian leaders have frequently spoken out, emphasizing that the country is not afraid of external "intimidation and inducement" and will firmly maintain relations with China and insist on developing friendly cooperation with China.
Xie Monile, President of the Cambodia-China Relations Development Society, recently accepted an exclusive interview with China News Service's "East-West Question" to explain the historical origins and current situation of relations between the two countries, as well as issues such as friendly exchanges between Cambodia and China in the current international environment.
Data map: Angkor Wat in Cambodia
The interview transcript is summarized as follows:
China News Service reporter: What are the historical connections between China and Cambodia? Especially after the two countries established diplomatic relations, what kind of development process has China-Cambodia relations experienced?
Seymonil: The history of friendly exchanges between Cambodia and China can be traced back to two thousand years ago. According to official historical records, the friendly exchanges between the two countries began in the Eastern Han Dynasty and went through the Tang, Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties. Through the Maritime Silk Road, the two countries sent envoys to each other to exchange what they needed, and their good diplomatic and economic and trade relations have never been interrupted. After the two countries formally established diplomatic relations in 1958, bilateral relations achieved further development. Especially during the period of King Sihanouk, King Sihanouk forged profound friendship with three generations of Chinese leaders and regarded China as his second hometown. Prime Minister Hun Sen, the leader of the new generation, has also inherited this unbreakable friendship well.
In the past two decades, Cambodia’s economy has faced impacts and development pressures in all aspects have gradually emerged. Prime Minister Hun Sen wisely chose to follow the “China line” and stood firmly with China on major international issues, such as at the ASEAN meeting Supporting China on the South China Sea issue, and visiting Beijing in the snow during the early stages of the COVID-19 outbreak to support China. These are things that old friends and good brothers should do. Of course, China has provided countless help to Cambodia. It is no exaggeration to say that Cambodia-China relations are currently at the best period in history. I believe that this kind of exchanges will develop in depth, and the community of shared destiny jointly built by the two countries will bear more fruits.
Data map: Cambodia’s first batch of fresh mangoes exported to China arrived at Qinzhou Port. Photo by Zhai Liqiang
China News Service reporter: What are the reasons for the good development of China-Cambodia relations?
Xie Monile: One is China’s political influence. China's insistence on the path of peaceful development is exactly what developing countries need. A few Western countries such as the United States are not truly committed to promoting regional stability and development. They only use regional countries as pawns, form cliques, and even interfere in other countries' internal affairs with force, seriously affecting regional peace and development. China’s “pragmatic spirit” has been praised by other countries. For example, China has eliminated hundreds of millions of poor people in a relatively short period of time. This great feat has influenced many countries and has become a "textbook" example of poverty alleviation. Another example is the completion of the Cambodian National Stadium and the smooth advancement of the Golden Port Expressway project, which are also manifestations of China's pragmatic spirit and high execution ability. China's "responsibility as a great power" is also an important factor. China is one of the countries with the best epidemic prevention and control in the world, and is also one of the countries that provides the most foreign material assistance, fully demonstrating the demeanor of a great power. From self-confidence to giving confidence to other countries, this character is unique to China. Some so-called big and powerful countries in the West do not have this kind of courage and character.
The second is China’s economic influence. China's economic policies have benefited many countries and regions, which is why China is the largest economic partner of many countries.Cambodia and China are actively interacting economically. China's construction assistance and large-scale investment have brought great changes to Cambodia. Especially since the implementation of the "Belt and Road" initiative in Cambodia, Cambodia's Sihanoukville Economic Development Zone has become a model area for the "Belt and Road" initiative. This is based on the opening and development model of Shenzhen, China.
On this basis, Cambodia and China have carried out practical cooperation, and the relations between the two countries have continued to advance and deepen at multiple levels and in multiple fields.
Data map: On the evening of March 31, local time, the Cambodian government held a grand ceremony at Phnom Penh International Airport to welcome the second batch of COVID-19 vaccines from the Chinese government and military to Cambodia. The picture shows a Chinese military aircraft carrying vaccines. Photo by China News Service reporter Ouyang Kaiyu
China News Service reporter: Since the outbreak of the new crown epidemic, what characteristics have the relations between the two countries shown? Why do Cambodian leaders frequently emphasize that China is Cambodia’s strategic support in fighting the epidemic?
Seymonil: Cambodia-China relations are deepening as the two countries jointly fight the epidemic. During this outbreak, Cambodia followed China's footsteps and adopted a "Chinese-style" anti-epidemic model. Many specific measures were based on China's anti-epidemic strategy. China has also sent medical teams to Cambodia many times to provide guidance, which shows that Cambodia-China relations are extraordinary. Due to the sudden outbreak of the epidemic, in April this year, the day before the Cambodian New Year, the government decided to "lock down the city" to effectively control the spread of the epidemic.
In the early days of the epidemic, Cambodia was one of the fastest countries to assist China, and mobilized the whole country to send masks to China. After the epidemic was brought under control in China, China provided dozens or hundreds of times of material feedback to Cambodia. Now more than 90% of the vaccines in Cambodia are provided by China, and the Cambodian people are deeply moved. When every batch of Chinese vaccines arrives in Cambodia, newspapers and TV stations give extensive reports. Seeing the current speed of arrival of anti-epidemic supplies and Cambodia's high vaccination rate, it is not difficult to understand what Prime Minister Hun Sen said, "If we don't rely on China, who else can we rely on?"
The Cambodian people are becoming more and more favorable to China. Come higher and higher. The development of Cambodia-China relations is not only reflected at the official level, but also at the people-to-people level. Cambodia's neighboring countries, such as , Vietnam, , and Thailand, also believe that the Cambodian government is very wise and there will be nothing wrong in following China's footsteps in many things.
Data map: Visiting the “Ship of Friendship” between China and Cambodia-Cambodia National Stadium. Photo by China News Service reporter Ouyang Kaiyu
China News Service reporter: In recent years, China’s aid to Cambodia has achieved fruitful results. How do you evaluate China’s achievements in assisting Cambodia in the fields of infrastructure construction, economy and investment? How is this different from the approach in some Western countries?
Xie Monile: China’s great achievements in aiding Cambodia are of great significance. First of all, this further deepens the iron and steel friendship between Cambodia and China. For example, when Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Cambodia not long ago, he said that the completion of the Cambodian National Stadium is another fruitful fruit of the friendship between the two countries. Secondly, we should effectively improve the lives of the Cambodian people. The construction of more than 3,000 kilometers of roads and bridges not only creates more convenient transportation conditions, but also creates local employment and greatly promotes the economic development of provinces and cities along the way. Finally, it enhances the belief that Cambodia and China will further expand areas of cooperation in the future. The "Belt and Road" construction projects in Cambodia have been carried out smoothly, and the results are obvious to all. These demonstration zones and economic and trade zones have allowed the Cambodian people to feel China's strong and efficient execution, making them more confident in the future.
There is a saying in the Chinese Analects of Confucius called "do what you say first", which means doing it first and then saying it. China's actions reflect the wisdom of this statement. It is precisely because of this character that many countries and people in the world have trust in China.
On the other hand, some countries in the West engage in regional parochialism and unilateralism for their own interests, coerce and induce other developing countries, and only "draw a bigger pie" without honoring their commitments. As far as fighting the epidemic is concerned, some so-called big countries can't even manage their own countries well, and they treat the life and death of their own citizens like this. How can we expect them to be good to the people of developing countries?
Data map: Scene near the Independence Monument.Photo by China News Service reporter Ouyang Kaiyu
China News Service reporter: What do Cambodian leaders refer to by external “intimidation and inducement”? Why has Cambodia repeatedly expressed its firm attitude?
Semonil: Some foreign forces have repeatedly violated diplomatic principles, grossly interfered in Cambodia's internal affairs, made unreasonable accusations against the normal cooperation between Cambodia and China, judged others by themselves, and imposed their hegemonic ideas on others. These external forces have repeatedly stirred up trouble and tried to undermine the friendly relations between Cambodia and China. The Cambodian government adheres to the principle of seeking truth from facts and is very clear about what is right and what is wrong. China's help to Cambodia is in front of our eyes, and no one can ignore or destroy it.
China News Service reporter: In a complex international environment, how should the relationship between Cambodia and China develop?
Shemonil: In recent years, the Cambodian government and people have gradually formed a consensus, that is, to move closer to China, follow China's example, seize opportunities, follow the development path with Cambodian characteristics, and maintain and expand the relationship between Cambodia and China. The results of friendly exchanges and cooperation. In international affairs, Cambodia will support China’s basic principles of peace and development and the construction of the “One Belt, One Road” initiative. No matter how the big powers compete, Cambodia will always stand with China to build a beautiful Cambodia-China community with a shared future and jointly seek benefits for the two peoples. (End)
Brief introduction of the interviewee:
Xie Monile, president of the Cambodia-China Relations Development Society and project director of the Social Organization Alliance Forum of the Cabinet Office of Cambodia. Doctor of Philosophy, graduated from the Royal Academy of Cambodia, and served as a member of the Royal Academy of Cambodia and a consultant to the Cambodian Senate. He has visited China many times and has long been committed to research in the fields of regional economic cooperation, ASEAN , and Cambodia-China relations.
Source: China News Network
