Xi calls for efforts to inject more stability into region

President Xi Jinping said on Friday that China is willing to establish a security partnership with Cambodia, and work with the Southeast Asian nation to make sustained efforts to weed out the chronic problem of telecom fraud.

He made the remarks when meeting in Beijing with Cambodian People's Party President and Senate President Samdech Techo Hun Sen, who started a three-day official goodwill visit to China on Thursday.

Xi underlined the importance of maintaining long-term stability and security in both countries, and said that China highly commends Cambodia's determination and actions to contain telecom and online fraud.

Hun Sen said that combating telecom fraud is a current priority for Cambodia, and his country is willing to work closely with China to strengthen law enforcement cooperation to crack down on telecom fraud.

Hun Sen's visit comes amid close high-level exchanges between Cambodia and China. In April last year, Xi made a state visit to Cambodia, ushering in a new chapter in building an all-weather China-Cambodia community with a shared future in the new era.

During Friday's meeting, Xi said that amid complex and profound changes in international and regional situations, China and Cambodia should work together to uphold the right path, injecting more stability into regional peace and development.

He underlined the need to solidify the foundation of strategic mutual trust, saying that both sides should draw strength from history and elevate their level of mutual trust to new heights.

China is willing to deepen interparty exchanges with Cambodia, enhance exchanges of governance experience and jointly improve the governing capabilities of both parties, he said.

Emphasizing the importance of development and rejuvenation, Xi said that both countries should work together to make substantive progress in their cooperation on the Industrial Development Corridor and the Fish and Rice Corridor, fully unleash the potential of the China-Cambodia Free Trade Agreement, and ensure that the fruits of their practical cooperation better benefit people's well-being.

China and Cambodia are working together to set up an Industrial Development Corridor to support the transformation of the Cambodian coastal city of Sihanoukville into a model multipurpose special economic zone. They are also working to establish a Fish and Rice Corridor to develop modern ecological agriculture near the Tonle Sap Lake, the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia.

Xi called on both countries to build a model of strategic coordination, saying that China is willing to strengthen coordination and cooperation with Cambodia to better maintain the fundamentals of good-neighborliness and win-win cooperation in the region.

Hun Sen congratulated China on its remarkable development achievements, which he said have made significant contributions to the stability and development of countries around the world, especially of Global South nations, including Cambodia.

He said that regardless of how the international situation evolves, Cambodia will continue to uphold its friendly policy toward China, firmly adhere to the one-China principle, and resolutely support all efforts made by China to achieve complete national reunification and oppose any form of "Taiwan independence" separatist activities.

Cambodia is willing to strengthen the alignment of its Pentagonal Strategy with the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, and deepen cooperation with China in the fields of economy, security, defense and culture, he added.

Hun Sen also expressed Cambodia's support for the four major global initiatives proposed by Xi, saying that his country is willing to work with China to implement them to contribute to regional and global peace and prosperity.

On Friday, Premier Li Qiang also met with Hun Sen, and both sides vowed to strengthen bilateral cooperation.

caodesheng@chinadaily.com.cn