Phnom Penh: Phnom Penh Municipal Governor H.E. Khuong Sreng met with H.E. Yin Li, Member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, at Phnom Penh City Hall this afternoon to discuss bilateral cooperation.

According to Agence Kampuchea Presse, during the meeting, H.E. Governor Khuong Sreng highlighted Phnom Penh’s transformation from a war-torn ‘ghost city’ into a rapidly developing metropolis following Cambodia’s liberation, led by Samdech Techo Hun Sen. He credited China’s strong support as a key driver of the city’s progress across various sectors. Despite its rapid growth, Phnom Penh still faces challenges such as traffic congestion and solid waste management, which remain priorities for the city administration.

H.E. Khuong Sreng also emphasized the deep-rooted Cambodia-China friendship, describing it as an ‘iron-clad partnership’ forged by former Prime Minister and current President of the Senate Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen and strengthened under the leadership of Prime Minister Samdech Moha Borvor Thipadei Hun Manet. He noted that Cambodia is committed to fostering even stronger ties with China, particularly by encouraging younger generations to continue this close relationship.

The governor further stated that Phnom Penh has established sister-city relations with nine Chinese cities, including Chinese Capital Beijing, which formally became a sister city in 2018, before the COVID-19 pandemic. He acknowledged Beijing’s support during the pandemic, particularly in providing medical supplies and equipment.

For his part, H.E. Yin Li praised Phnom Penh’s rapid development and reaffirmed China’s commitment to deepening cooperation with Cambodia. He underlined that China and Cambodia share a ‘community with a shared future,’ standing together in both prosperity and hardship. He also noted that Phnom Penh has a higher population density than Beijing-Beijing spans approximately 16,000 square kilometres with a population of 22 million (about 3,000 people per square kilometre), whereas Phnom Penh covers 695.2 square kilometres with a population of over 2.5 million (around 3,600 people per square kilometre).

H.E. Yin Li stated that the purpose of his visit was to further implement agreements made by the two countries’ top leaders and to expand Beijing’s cooperation with Phnom Penh. He expressed Beijing’s strong desire to enhance collaboration in economic development, trade, investment, digital technology, arts, culture, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges.

In addition to the main objectives discussed, H.E. Yin Li has proposed four additional areas of collaboration between Phnom Penh and Beijing: strengthening bilateral ties by promoting cooperation in key potential areas between the two cities; boosting trade and investment by expanding economic cooperation in line with the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and the China-Cambodia Free Trade Agreement, which includes collaboration in agricultural markets, the digital economy, and support for enterprises; deepening people-to-people exchanges by promoting cultural, tourism, healthcare, and youth interactions, as well as fostering closer ties between educators, students, and professional associations; and sharing urban development expertise by facilitating knowledge exchange on city management, urban planning, smart city initiatives, infrastructure, and enterprise cooperation.