Cambodia-China trade continues to rise in Jan.-April
Cambodia-China trade continues to rise in Jan.-April
A commerce official said that Cambodia-China trade has continued to grow in the first four months of 2024, thanks to regional and bilateral free trade agreements.
A report released on Friday by Cambodia’s General Department of Customs and Excise (GDCE) showed that the bilateral trade volume hit $4.48 billion during the January-April period this year, an increase of 15.1 percent from $3.89 billion over the same period last year.
The report said China remained Cambodia’s top trading partner, followed by Vietnam, the United States, Thailand, and Japan.
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement and the Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA), both in effect since 2022, have played a pivotal role in driving this trade growth, according to Penn Sovicheat, the Cambodian Ministry of Commerce’s Secretary of State and Spokesperson.
“Thanks to the preferential tariffs under these two trade pacts, our products, particularly high-quality agricultural produce like milled rice, yellow bananas, mangoes, longans, cassava, and pepper, have found a lucrative market in China,” Sovicheat shared with Xinhua.
Sovicheat also attributed the growth to excellent ties and close cooperation between the two countries and to the arrangements of trade promotional events such as expos and business forums.
Kin Phea, director-general of the International Relations Institute of Cambodia, said the growth reflected strong economic and trade relations between the two countries.
“This rising trade volume has provided greater benefits to the two countries and peoples, injecting stronger impetus into building a Cambodia-China community with a shared future,” he told Xinhua.
