CCC, CCPIT Shanghai boost economic ties
CCC, CCPIT Shanghai boost economic ties
The Cambodia Chamber of Commerce (CCC) and China’s Shanghai Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT Shanghai) Tuesday enhanced cooperation in trade and investment between the two countries.
The decision to strengthen the cooperation was made during a meeting between CCC’s Vice President Lim Heng and Zhou Minhai, Chairman of CCPIT Shanghai.
During the talks, Heng recalled the close ties between China and Cambodia, which have been boosted by the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The cooperation is mainly in six priority areas such as political, production capacity, agriculture, energy, security and people-to-people exchanges.
Noting that Shanghai is one of China’s major economic centres in areas such as finance, technology and manufacturing, Heng asked Chinese investors and businesses to consider investing more in Cambodia.
“Cambodia allows 100 percent foreign investment and offers many incentives for such investment. This can encourage more Chinese investors to pursue opportunities in Cambodia, a country having high economic growth,” Heng said.
China and Cambodia have also a number of cooperation frameworks such as the China-Cambodia Free Trade Agreement, the Belt and Road Initiative, the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation, the China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, bringing numerous benefits to investors, the CCC Vice President added.
Zhou supported Heng’s views and called for strengthening further the ties between Cambodia and China in all fields. This, he said, could boost direct investment and bilateral trade volume.
He also expressed interest in Cambodia’s agricultural products and sought steps to increase exports to the Shanghai market through existing mechanisms and e-commerce.
“Some Shanghai companies doing business in Cambodia are very successful, which is a good example of Shanghai-Cambodia cooperation,” Zhou said.
Investment from China topped the list of total investments of $4.92 billion in Cambodia in 2023, accounting for 66 percent.
The Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) approved 268 projects in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 44 percent. Total investments showed an increase of 22 percent from $4.03 billion a year earlier.
