China promises Cambodia $600 million aid at PM visit

China has promised four billion yuan ($588 million) in aid to Cambodia, the Southeast Asian country’s Prime Minister Hun Sen said yesterday on a visit to Beijing. The largest investor in Cambodia, China has pumped billions of yuan into the economy and has written off debt while sweeping aside questions about Phnom Penh’s abysmal rights record.

The four billion yuan grant will run from 2019 to 2021, Hun Sen said in a post on his official Facebook page, accompanied by pictures of his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping from the day before. Xi has also pledged to import 400,000 tonnes of rice from Cambodia this year, increase bilateral trade to $10 billion by 2023 and encourage more Chinese investment into the country, the prime minister’s post said.

The pledge comes just days after the European Union resumed tariffs on rice imports from Cambodia, following intensive lobbying by Italy, who said cheap imports were damaging its farmers. On Tuesday, Hun Sen was welcomed at the cavernous Great Hall of The People by Premier Li Keqiang as part of his three-day visit.

The two witnessed the signing of six agreements, including on increasing cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative and Cambodia’s southwestern seaport of Sihanoukville. Hun Sen’s visit comes amid speculation Beijing is seeking support to build a naval base off the Cambodian coast, claims the premier has vehemently denied.