CCFTA, RCEP ties fueling Cambodia-China trade growth

CCFTA, RCEP ties fueling Cambodia-China trade growth

Strong ties between the Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA), and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) have boosted Cambodia’s trade and investment, said a senior official.

The two countries have seen a steady rise in bilateral trade volume since the Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) entered into force simultaneously on January 1, 2022, said Penn Sovicheat, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Commerce.

“Through these trade pacts, coupled with strong bilateral relations, the two countries are expected to continue rising this year and beyond,” Sovicheat said at a forum on Cambodia-China relations in the new context, on Monday in Phnom Penh.

The spokesman also spoke highly of the Belt and Road Initiative, several Chinese-invested mega-projects, including the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone, the Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway, and the Siem Reap Angkor International Airport, which contributed to the country’s economic development.

According to a report from the Ministry of Commerce, the two-way trade volume reached $15.18 billion last year, a year-on-year increase of 16.9 percent. In which, Cambodia exported products worth $1.75 billion to China.

Pen Bona, Chief of the Royal Government Spokesperson Unit, said that the bilateral relationship between Cambodia and China, upgraded to a comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation in 2010, has seen active collaboration.

He noted the ongoing work to deepen the Cambodia-China ‘Diamond Cooperation Framework’ and establish a community with a shared future, and stressed China’s crucial role in Cambodia’s development.

China is the sourcing market of raw materials for manufacturing in Cambodia for processing and producing final products for exports to the US, EU, and RCEP countries, said Lim Heng, Vice-President of the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce.

“The CCFTA and RCEP have provided a great impetus in terms of trade activities between Cambodia and China and with RCEP’s signatories,” Heng said.

Coming into effect in 2022, the RCEP comprises 15 Asia-Pacific countries, including 10 ASEAN member states—Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam—and their five trading partners, namely China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand.

At the inauguration ceremony of a flyover in Phnom Penh, Prime Minister Hun Manet said he will promote potential investment from China and urge to boost bilateral trade when he meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month.

khmertimeskh