Xi Jinping pays state visits to Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia

General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to Vietnam from April 14 to 15, at the invitation of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee To Lam and President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Luong Cuong. President Xi also paid state visits to Malaysia and Cambodia from April 15 to 18, at the invitation of King of Malaysia Sultan Ibrahim and King Norodom Sihamoni of Cambodia. He returned to Beijing on the afternoon of April 18.

Prior to the visits, on April 11, the Xinhua News Agency carried three articles reviewing highlights of Xi’s contributions to his country’s friendship with its three neighbours.

Beginning with Vietnam, Xinhua notes that when To Lam made his first visit to China as the leader of the Communist Party of Vietnam in August 2024, he started the trip not in Beijing but in the southern metropolis of Guangzhou – a special arrangement Chinese President Xi Jinping later hailed as “quite meaningful.” It was in Guangzhou, a century earlier, that Ho Chi Minh, the late Vietnamese leader, began his revolutionary activities in China, a period of history Xi described as “a shared red memory” between the two countries’ ruling parties.

Noting that Xi’s trip this time coincides with the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and Vietnam, two socialist neighbours that have forged an enduring bond as “comrades and brothers.”, Xinhua wrote that, “behind the metaphors lies more than a diplomatic formality. Xi sees the enduring China-Vietnam friendship as a living cause to be carried forward.”

During a state visit to Vietnam in 2017, Xi brought along a special national gift – 19 issues of the People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the CPC Central Committee.

Among the newspapers were 16 yellowed copies carrying news reports on Ho Chi Minh. “These newspapers date back to Chairman Ho’s visit to China in 1955. It took us quite some effort to find them,” Xi explained. One notable edition, dated June 26, 1955, featured a full-column front-page photograph of Ho alongside Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and other first-generation CPC leaders. Ho, who founded the Communist Party of Vietnam in Hong Kong and led Vietnam’s liberation, forged close personal ties with CPC leaders during his 12 years of revolutionary activities in China. “He was like a brother for Chairman Mao Zedong, Premier Zhou Enlai and other Chinese leaders,” Xi wrote in a signed article published by the major Vietnamese newspaper Nhân Dân ahead of the visit.

Xi once shared his personal regard for Chairman Ho while speaking with Vietnamese youth. “We call him ‘Uncle Ho’,” Xi said. He noted that in the hearts of the Chinese people of his generation, Chairman Ho is remembered as the best friend of the Chinese people.

Back in 2011, Xi, then Chinese Vice President, visited Ho’s former residence to learn more about his life. Before his departure, Xi left an inscription: “The great man’s spirit shall be honored for millennia, and the China-Vietnam friendship shall endure through the ages.”

Six years later, during the 2017 state visit, Xi once again toured Chairman Ho’s former residence. At a pond near the Ban Sao Nak, the wooden house where Ho once lived and worked, Xi learned to clap his hands before feeding fish, the same practice Ho once used to draw fish closer. While there, reflecting on bilateral ties, Xi said, “We should learn from Chairman Mao, Premier Zhou and Chairman Ho, and carry forward and develop China-Vietnam friendship for the benefit of both our peoples.”

Xinhua’s article on Xi’s friendship with Malaysia recalls that in 2012, Yong June Kong, a Malaysian young man who had studied medicine in China, donated his hematopoietic stem cells to a Chinese boy suffering from leukemia, successfully saving the seven-year-old child and making himself the first foreign stem cell donor in China.

During Xi’s 2013 visit to Malaysia, the president referenced this moving episode to highlight the deep friendship between the Chinese and Malaysian people. “We will also not forget” the story, Xi said with deep emotion.

“This encouragement has strengthened my resolve to stay in China, to continue my medical career in saving lives, to do more blood donations and other charitable activities, and to become a bridge of friendship between China and Malaysia,” Yong said.

As a Malay proverb once quoted by Xi goes: “A friend who understands your tears is much more valuable than a lot of friends who only know your smile.”

Back in 1974, with strategic vision, China and Malaysia broke the ice of the Cold War and established diplomatic ties, with the latter being the first ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) member to do so. [This was before Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar became ASEAN members.] Later on, Malaysia also became the first to invite China to conduct dialogue with ASEAN and the first to host the China-ASEAN summit.

During his 2013 Malaysia trip, Xi recalled the joint fight of the two countries against the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the 2008 global economic tsunami, as well as the assistance extended by Malaysia to China in the aftermath of the devastating 8.0-magnitude Wenchuan earthquake in 2008. It was also during this visit that bilateral ties were elevated to a comprehensive strategic partnership. Xi highly regards Malaysia’s pivotal role in regional cooperation as a founding member of ASEAN and a key driver of East Asia cooperation. The Chinese president has reiterated China’s support for Malaysia’s ASEAN 2025 chairmanship and its commitment to ASEAN centrality and strategic independence.

During his 2013 visit, Xi also witnessed the signing of an agreement on establishing a Malaysian branch of Xiamen University, the first overseas campus of a Chinese higher education institute. The university has a special relationship both with Malaysia and with Xi. It was founded in 1921 by Tan Kah Kee, a patriotic overseas Chinese businessman and philanthropist, who was born in Xiamen and achieved great business success in Malaysia and Singapore.

[A chronology of Tan Kah Kee’s life, published on the website of the Tan Kah Kee Foundation, may be read here. An appreciation, published on a Singapore government website, notes:

[“His mind was also on his home country. To this end, he set up a number of funds to provide relief for flooding victims, and to render aid following the outbreak of war between China and Japan in 1937. The following year, he served as head of the South-East Asia Federation of the China Relief Fund to further support the anti-war effort… After the war, Tan returned to Singapore and launched the Nan Chiao Jit Poh, a newspaper which took on an unfavourable tone towards the ruling Kuomintang in China. The British, fearing the growing politicisation of Chinese in Malaya and Singapore, grew increasingly apprehensive about individuals such as Tan. At one point, they even considered cancelling his British citizenship. Tan left Singapore for China in 1950, and in 1957, renounced his British citizenship. In China, he dedicated his resources towards rebuilding and reconstruction efforts. When he died in Beijing, China at 87, Tan was given a state funeral by the Chinese government to honour his contributions.”

[Another Singapore-based website notes: “Interestingly, Tan Kah Kee never passed on his material wealth to any of his descendants. His philosophy towards wealth was that it should be ‘treated like fertiliser, spread around as much as possible for better effect.’ In short, wealth should not be accumulated within the family, but used extensively for the good of society.”

[In October 2024, reporting on Tan’s 150th birth anniversary, the Chinese newspaper Global Times wrote: “Born in 1874 in Xiamen, East China’s Fujian Province, Tan left a profound legacy by championing Chinese unity and providing support during critical times. Leading major fundraising efforts for Chinese flood relief and the resistance against Japanese invasion, he mobilised resources and manpower from overseas Chinese communities. Revered by Chinese leaders like Mao Zedong, Tan was hailed as the Banner of Overseas Chinese and the Glory of the Nation. His legacy endures through his contributions to education and his unyielding patriotism… According to the Xiamen Daily, local authorities have announced that starting from 2024, October 21, Tan’s birthday, has been designated as ‘Tan Kah Kee Educational Heritage Day,’ providing institutional guarantees for the protection and inheritance of Tan’s educational heritage and passing on Tan’s spirit.”]

Xinhua’s article on Cambodia begins by recalling how, back in early 2020, Hun Sen, then Cambodia’s long-serving Prime Minister, visited Beijing as China was battling the COVID-19 epidemic. He visited to show Cambodia’s staunch support for the Chinese people at a critical moment. [Hun Sen even requested to visit Wuhan, then facing the full fury of the virus, to show his solidarity with the people there.] Three years later, Hun Sen visited China again as he had promised.

Over the years, Xi has maintained frequent exchanges with Hun Sen. With Hun Manet taking over as Cambodia’s Prime Minister, the friendship has been passed on to the next generation. In September 2023, Hun Manet chose China as his first official overseas destination after assuming office, a gesture reflecting Cambodia’s diplomatic priority.

In May 2024, a road in Phnom Penh was named “Xi Jinping Boulevard” by the Royal Government of Cambodia to honor the Chinese leader’s historic contributions to the country’s development. In 1965, the late King Father Sihanouk similarly named a road after Chairman Mao Zedong.

The article goes on to note that on the very day Xi arrived in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh in 2016 for a state visit, he made a special visit to the royal palace to see Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk. The Queen Mother invited Xi to sit in a chair that was frequently used by her late husband, King Father Norodom Sihanouk. This chair had been meticulously preserved by the Cambodian royal family since the King Father’s passing – covered and untouched until Xi’s visit.

“With a warm smile, Xi spoke fondly of King Father Sihanouk, describing him as ‘a revered friend of the Chinese people and a symbol of China-Cambodia friendship.’ The King Father’s deep personal ties with Chinese leaders since the 1950s have played a pivotal role in fostering the ever-refreshing friendship between the two countries. More than once, Xi has quoted an old Chinese saying to underscore how the China-Cambodia friendship has withstood challenges and global transformations: ‘A long journey tests a horse’s strength, and a long span of time reveals a person’s heart.’”

Xi has also shown particular care for Cambodia’s royal family. “Beijing is your home. You’re more than welcome to return whenever you like,” he said while meeting King Sihamoni and Queen Mother Monineath at Beijing’s Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in 2014. He has also made thoughtful arrangements for their medical check-ups in China. Over the past decade and more, King Sihamoni and Queen Mother Monineath regularly come to China, almost twice every year.

Poverty alleviation has assumed a prominent place in the cooperation between the two countries: “In recent years, poverty reduction cooperation between the two countries has been taking concrete steps, with the establishment of poverty alleviation demonstration villages as a highlight. The Chinese side has shared with its Cambodian counterparts useful experiences in integrating modern agriculture, vocational training and rural development. Thanks to those efforts, concrete roads, canals, solar-powered lamps and clean water facilities have been built in villages. According to the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) Country Programme Document 2024-2028 released last year, Cambodia has lifted 2.8 million people, or 50 percent of the country’s total poor, out of poverty in the past seven and half years.”

The article concludes: “In Hun Sen’s eyes, Xi is a great leader and a remarkable person capable of guiding China’s development. ‘Every initiative he has proposed, such as the Belt and Road Initiative, which bridges past and present, and the Global Development Initiative and Global Security Initiative, reflects his far-reaching vision,’ said Hun Sen. ‘Tell me, which other leader possesses such foresight?’”

The following articles were originally published by the Xinhua News Agency.

Tradition, tea, and tomorrow: Xi Jinping’s stories with Vietnam

BEIJING, April 11 (Xinhua) — When To Lam made his first visit to China as Vietnam’s top leader in August last year, he started the trip not in Beijing but in the southern metropolis of Guangzhou — a special arrangement Chinese President Xi Jinping later hailed as “quite meaningful.”

It was in Guangzhou, a century earlier, that Ho Chi Minh, the late Vietnamese leader, began his revolutionary activities in China, a period of history Xi described as “a shared red memory” between the two countries’ ruling parties.

Xi will soon travel to Vietnam for a fourth state visit as general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Chinese president. The trip coincides with the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and Vietnam, two socialist neighbors that have forged an enduring bond as “comrades and brothers.”

Behind the metaphors lies more than a diplomatic formality. Xi sees the enduring China-Vietnam friendship as a living cause to be carried forward. His upcoming visit offers a moment to draw inspiration from the storied past to chart the future course of bilateral relations.

“UNCLE HO”

During a state visit to Vietnam in 2017, Xi brought along a special national gift — 19 issues of The People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the CPC Central Committee.

One notable edition, dated June 26, 1955, featured a full-column front-page photograph of Ho alongside Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and other first-generation CPC leaders.

Ho, who founded the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) in Hong Kong and led Vietnam’s liberation, forged close personal ties with CPC leaders during his 12 years of revolutionary activities in China. “He was like a brother for Chairman Mao Zedong, Premier Zhou Enlai and other Chinese leaders,” Xi wrote in a signed article published by the major Vietnamese newspaper Nhan Dan (People) ahead of the 2017 visit.

Xi holds dear the indelible contributions these great forerunners made to fostering the China-Vietnam friendship. During his first state visit to Vietnam in 2015, in a speech to Vietnam’s National Assembly, Xi quoted Ho’s own words: “China and Vietnam enjoy comradely and brotherly friendship.”

Back in 2011, Xi, then Chinese vice president, visited Ho’s former residence to learn more about his life. Before his departure, Xi left an inscription: “The great man’s spirit shall be honored for millennia, and the China-Vietnam friendship shall endure through the ages.”

While there, reflecting on bilateral ties, Xi said, “We should learn from Chairman Mao, Premier Zhou and Chairman Ho, and carry forward and develop China-Vietnam friendship for the benefit of both our peoples.”

TEA CHATS

During To Lam’s 2024 China tour, Xi prepared a tea gathering for him at the Great Hall of People in Beijing. The Vietnamese leader chose China as his first overseas destination only two weeks after being confirmed as general secretary of the CPV Central Committee. An editorial from Nhan Dan (People) highlighted the value both countries place on their traditional friendship.

Peng Liyuan, Xi’s wife, also invited To Lam’s wife, Ngo Phuong Ly, to a tea gathering, where they enjoyed traditional Chinese performances, including Chinese Opera.

Over the years, tea chats have evolved into a routine yet distinctive tradition during mutual visits between Chinese and Vietnamese leaders, given the two countries’ similar tea cultures. “Unlike formal talks, tea talks offer a more intimate and personal form of communication for both leaders,” said Pan Jin’e, director of the Department of International Communist Movement, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Gift-giving during tea chats has created lasting memories in bilateral interaction. During Xi’s state visit to Vietnam in 2023, then Vietnamese leader Nguyen Phu Trong, in a tea gathering with Xi in Hanoi, presented him with a gift: a painting that depicts a previous tea chat they shared in Beijing. “It might not be particularly remarkable, but the true value lies in the cherished brotherly friendship,” Trong told Xi.

Back in 2017, after a tea talk in Beijing, Xi presented Trong with a replica of Chairman Ho’s handwritten poem in Chinese entitled “Walking.” The poem is about Ho’s arduous yet determined quest for his nation’s liberation. Xi also quoted the poem in his speech to Vietnam’s National Assembly in 2015 to encourage both sides to take a far-sighted view for bilateral ties.

China and Vietnam are both socialist countries led by communist parties with similar political systems and development paths. Xi once said: “China and Vietnam have achieved what we have today because we have insisted on reform, opening up and innovation, and because we have found a development path that meets our own national conditions.”

In this era of transformation and challenges, the two neighbors have decided to set their sights higher. During Xi’s state visit to Vietnam in 2023, they pledged to build a China-Vietnam community with a shared future that carries strategic significance. Xi told Trong at the end of this trip, “we should walk along this path together.”

YOUNG FRONTRUNNERS

Also during Xi’s 2023 state visit, Trong arranged a special meeting in Hanoi for the Chinese leader. The event brought together young Chinese and Vietnamese representatives, as well as individuals who had contributed to building the friendship between the two countries.

Xi encouraged the attendees, particularly young people, to “take the lead” in promoting bilateral friendship as “frontrunners.” It was during this occasion that Le Nguyet Quynh, a Vietnamese student, met Xi for the first time.

Quynh is now a 19-year-old freshman majoring in economics at Tsinghua University, Xi’s alma mater. She described her impression of Xi: “He is kind, tall and dignified.”

Representing Vietnamese youth, Quynh gave a speech in front of Xi at the event. A picture of that moment has now become the cover image of her profile on WeChat, China’s most popular all-in-one messaging app.

“Every time a classmate added me on WeChat and saw that I had met Xi Dada, they were all curious about how it happened,” Quynh said. The affectionate term Dada refers to uncle in Chinese dialects, and was given to Xi by Chinese netizens. “It was a marvelous experience, indeed,” she said.

Quynh, whose hometown is Vietnam’s Nghe An province, the birthplace of Ho Chi Minh, started learning Chinese in junior high. After stumbling upon a video report of Xi’s visit to his alma mater, she set her sights on attending Tsinghua University, her dream school.

Like Quynh, many Vietnamese students have chosen to pursue higher education in China. Around 20,000 Vietnamese students studied in China during the 2023-2024 academic year. The number of Chinese students in Vietnam is also on the rise.

Xi’s belief that amity between nations lies in the affinity between their peoples really strikes a chord with Quynh. “No matter where you go, if people from two countries can get along well, they’ll naturally start sharing elements of their own cultures with each other,” she said. “And that’s how friendships grow and last.”

“And when it comes to maintaining the friendship between our two nations,” Quynh said, “it’s indeed us the youth who should carry that responsibility forward.”

“Flowing water cannot be severed” — How Xi Jinping promotes China-Malaysia friendship

BEIJING, April 11 (Xinhua) — Over three decades ago, when Xi Jinping, then the top official of China’s southeastern city of Fuzhou, visited Malaysia on an investment promotion trip, he found himself deeply impressed by two symbolic sites.

One is the Poh San Teng Temple, a long-standing homage to renowned Chinese navigator Zheng He (1371-1433) of the Ming Dynasty. The other is the city of Sibu, which became known as “New Fuzhou” after Wong Nai Siong, a Fuzhou native, migrated to Malaysia with over 1,000 Chinese people more than a century ago.

Both places testify to the millennium-old China-Malaysia friendship, a bond Xi has repeatedly pledged to inherit and cement as China’s head of state. During a 2013 visit to Malaysia, he quoted a local proverb to illustrate the commitment: “Flowing water cannot be severed.”

It was also during that Southeast Asia tour to Indonesia and Malaysia that Xi invoked again the legacy of Zheng He and put forward the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, an essential component of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Now as Xi travels to Malaysia for a new state visit, the two nations are poised to further build on their time-honored friendship and fruitful cooperation, and steer bilateral relations toward a more promising shared future in the new era.

COOPERATION ON FAST TRACK

On a hillside overlooking the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project in Malaysia’s eastern state of Pahang, a string of bold Chinese and Malay characters stand out against the landscape: “Extensive consultation, joint contribution, shared benefits — building a better future.”

The phrase, concise and resonant, is the main tenet of the BRI, which has now become a leading global infrastructure and development framework and fostered a host of flourishing partnerships across continents.

As a vital node along the ancient Maritime Silk Road, Malaysia is among the first to participate in Belt and Road cooperation. Thanks to joint efforts and Xi’s steadfast push, bilateral collaboration within the BRI framework has borne rich fruit.

A notable example is the ECRL, a 665-km railway whose construction is in full swing. In a sign of the importance Xi attaches to the flagship project, he dispatched a special envoy to its launch in 2017. During his meeting with Malaysia’s King Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar in Beijing last September, Xi once again called for concerted efforts to ensure its success.

The railway, once completed, will bridge Malaysia’s less-developed east coast with its economic powerhouse on the west coast, enhancing connectivity and fostering balanced growth. It will also potentially link up with the China-Laos and China-Thailand rail networks, all part of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, a vital international trade route.

“If that were to materialize, the ECRL would be able to tap into Thailand’s entire rail network and link with Kunming in southwestern China, via Laos, achieving greater free flow of goods and passengers within the region,” said Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook.

Beyond the rail project, China-Malaysia collaboration is expanding across the horizon. China has remained Malaysia’s largest trading partner for 16 consecutive years, with the volume hitting an all-time high of 212.04 billion U.S. dollars in 2024. In recent years, Malaysia’s tropical fruits such as durian, mangosteen and jackfruit have become increasingly popular among Chinese consumers.

In his meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim last year in Beijing, Xi encouraged Malaysia to bring more Malaysian quality and specialty products to the Chinese market, and urged closer cooperation in such new areas as digital economy, artificial intelligence and new energy.

“The flourishing economic ties between Malaysia and China demonstrate the resilience and mutual benefits of our bilateral relationship,” said Samirul Ariff Othman, an economist at Malaysia’s Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS. “The continued expansion of investments in high-value sectors such as technology, green energy and manufacturing will further deepen our cooperation.”

FRIENDS IN NEED

In 2012, Yong June Kong, a Malaysian young man who had studied medicine in China, donated his hematopoietic stem cells to a Chinese boy suffering from leukemia, successfully saving the 7-year-old child and making himself the first foreign stem cell donor in China.

“I never imagined that such a simple act would receive such high-level recognition,” Yong, now a doctor at Renji Hospital in Shanghai, told Xinhua. “I couldn’t sleep the whole night after learning that the Chinese president had spoken of me,” he recalled.

Xi’s recognition was not only a personal honor but also a tribute to the spirit of mutual support between the nations, Yong added.

As a Malay proverb once quoted by Xi goes: “A friend who understands your tears is much more valuable than a lot of friends who only know your smile.” In his eyes, the two countries are good friends who can get along well, and trust and rely on each other.

Back in 1974, with strategic vision, China and Malaysia broke the ice of the Cold War and established diplomatic ties, with the latter being the first ASEAN member to do so. Later on, Malaysia also became the first to invite China to conduct dialogue with ASEAN and the first to host the China-ASEAN summit.

A decade later, Xi and Anwar reached a consensus in Beijing on jointly building a China-Malaysia community with a shared future, opening a new chapter in bilateral relations.

At a broader level, Xi highly regards Malaysia’s pivotal role in regional cooperation as a founding member of ASEAN and a key driver of East Asia cooperation. The Chinese president has reiterated China’s support for Malaysia’s ASEAN 2025 chairmanship and its commitment to ASEAN centrality and strategic independence.

“Malaysia-China relations have grown from strength to strength in recent decades,” said Othman. “Today, this partnership is more dynamic than ever, underpinned by deep economic collaboration and strong people-to-people exchanges.”

COMMUNICATION BETWEEN CULTURES

As China and Malaysia celebrated the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties last year, Tan Lak Hon, along with 86 other Malaysian students at Tianjin University in China, wrote a letter to Xi, expressing their commitment to serving as messengers and promoters of Chinese-Malaysian friendship, and aspiration to help build the China-Malaysia community with a shared future.

In a message sent later that year to King Sultan Ibrahim marking the historical occasion, Xi expressed his delight in hearing from those students. “I am gratified that the cause of friendship between the two countries will be carried forward,” Xi said.

Greatly encouraged, Tan plans to create a social media account to share his study and travel experiences in China with friends back in Malaysia. “I will actively serve as an advocate for our friendship, and help foster meaningful communication between students from our two countries,” he said.

Xi himself has been a staunch champion of stronger cultural and people-to-people exchanges between the two nations. He has repeatedly stressed that amity between the people holds the key to sound state-to-state relations.

During his 2013 visit to Malaysia, Xi witnessed the signing of an agreement on establishing a Malaysian branch of Xiamen University, the first overseas campus of a Chinese higher education institute. Xiamen, like Fuzhou, is a major city in China’s Fujian province.

The university has a special relationship both with Malaysia and with Xi. It was founded in 1921 by Tan Kah Kee, a patriotic overseas Chinese businessman and philanthropist, who was born in Xiamen and achieved great business success in Malaysia and Singapore. When Xi worked in Xiamen, he developed a profound bond with the university.

Today, the Malaysian branch of Xiamen University has 10 faculties and over 9,100 students from dozens of countries and regions. So far, more than 6,300 students have graduated from that campus, making it a shining example of China-Malaysia education cooperation and a key platform to boost mutual understanding between different civilizations.

Many of those graduates share Tan’s determination to promote intercultural communication and people-to-people friendship, a theme that features prominently in Xi’s approach to international relations.

“You name it. Which other leader articulates the vision for the future while trying to understand civilization, values and culture,” Anwar once noted. “That is why I feel certainly comfortable in exchanges with the president for his foresight and vision.”

Feature: Xi Jinping and his “ironclad friends” from Cambodia

BEIJING, April 11 (Xinhua) — In February 2023, Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted then Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen at the Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing, an appointment between the two old friends.

Back in early 2020, Hun Sen visited Beijing as China was battling the COVID-19 epidemic. He visited to show Cambodia’s staunch support for the Chinese people at a critical moment. Three years later, Hun Sen visited China again as promised.

At their 2023 meeting, Xi recalled the prime minister’s trip to China during a heavy snowfall, saying he was happy to fulfill this “three-year appointment” with the visiting leader.

The warm and sturdy friendship between Xi and Hun Sen serves as a faithful reflection of the close bond between China and Cambodia, carefully nurtured by generations of leaders of both sides over the decades. And this relationship, described by Xi as “ironclad,” will surely be renewed as the Chinese leader is set to embark on his second state visit to the Southeast Asian country.

A CHAIR OF UNIQUE FRIENDSHIP

On the very day Xi arrived in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh in 2016 for a state visit, he made a special visit to the royal palace to see Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk. The queen mother invited Xi to sit in a chair that was frequently used by her late husband, King Father Norodom Sihanouk.

This chair had been meticulously preserved by the Cambodian royal family since the king father’s passing — covered and untouched, until Xi’s visit.

“This is a privilege reserved only for the most esteemed and dearest friends,” explained Princess Norodom Arunrasmy, who was present.

With a warm smile, Xi spoke fondly of King Father Sihanouk, describing him as “a revered friend of the Chinese people and a symbol of China-Cambodia friendship.” The king father’s deep personal ties with Chinese leaders since the 1950s have played a pivotal role in fostering the ever-refreshing friendship between the two countries.

More than once, Xi has quoted an old Chinese saying to underscore how the China-Cambodia friendship has withstood challenges and global transformations: “A long journey tests a horse’s strength, and a long span of time reveals a person’s heart.”

In Xi’s signed article published by Cambodian media prior to his 2016 visit to the country, he noted that China will never forget Cambodia’s role as one of the first nations to recognize the People’s Republic of China and a champion of China’s rightful seat at the United Nations.

The friendship between the two close neighbors has always been mutual. China has been a steadfast partner of Cambodia, supporting its national independence and economic development, including the construction of Cambodia’s first cement plant and thermal power station.

To honor the friendship, Xi awarded a Friendship Medal to the queen mother at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in November 2020. “This weighty ‘Friendship Medal’ represents the deep respect of the Chinese people for Queen Mother Monineath and the profound friendship between China and Cambodia,” he said.

Over the years, Xi has also maintained frequent exchanges with Hun Sen. With Hun Manet taking over as Cambodia’s prime minister, the friendship has been passed on to the next generation.

In September 2023, Hun Manet chose China as his first official overseas destination after assuming office, a gesture reflecting Cambodia’s diplomatic priority. During his meeting with Xi, Hun Manet pledged to further carry forward the ironclad friendship between Cambodia and China.

Ek Sam Ol, president of the Cambodia-China Friendship Association, said the relationship between China and Cambodia has not only set an example for big and small countries to get along with mutual respect, equality and win-win cooperation, but also contributed to regional peace and stability, which has brought great benefits to the people of the two countries.

A ROAD TO HOPE

A Cambodian proverb says, “Where there is a road, there is hope.” In May 2024, a road in Phnom Penh was named “Xi Jinping Boulevard” by the Royal Government of Cambodia to honor the Chinese leader’s historic contributions to the country’s development. In 1965, the late King Father Sihanouk similarly named a road after Chairman Mao Zedong.

At the naming ceremony, Hun Manet highlighted that, under the leadership and joint efforts of Xi and Cambodian leaders, bilateral ties have entered their best period in history.

Since 2013, the China-Cambodia comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership has continued to strengthen thanks to flourishing practical cooperation across various fields. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), proposed by Xi, has played a significant role in fostering common development and shared benefits for both sides.

Situated along the ancient Maritime Silk Road, Cambodia was among the first countries to join Belt and Road cooperation. Its leaders have attended in China all three editions of Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in recent years.

Over the years, key BRI projects in Cambodia have reaped fruitful results: the Sihanoukville Special Economy Zone (SSEZ) has attracted over 200 international enterprises and institutions, generating 32,000 jobs; Cambodia’s first expressway, the Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway, has reduced travel time between the two cities from over five hours to less than two; the Siem Reap Angkor International Airport has helped Cambodia’s tourism to take off, operating 17 routes by the end of last year.

“The SSEZ, along with other flagship BRI projects, has played a crucial role in helping Cambodia achieve its ambitious targets of becoming an upper-middle-income country by 2030 and a high-income nation by 2050,” said Neak Chandarith, director of the Cambodia 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Research Center.

Bilateral trade and commerce have also thrived. China has been Cambodia’s largest foreign investor and trading partner for several consecutive years. Over the past decade, bilateral trade has nearly quadrupled, official data show. The Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership have facilitated exports of Cambodian products like rice, bananas, longans and Basa fish to Chinese markets.

Xi advocates for a comprehensive approach to China-Cambodia cooperation. This is why he has repeatedly emphasized the importance of the bilateral “Diamond Hexagon” cooperation framework, which covers six major areas: politics, production capacity, agriculture, energy, security and people-to-people exchanges.

These efforts have provided new impetus for building a high-quality, high-level and high-standard Cambodia-China community with a shared future in the new era, a vision pledged by both nations’ leaders, noted Thong Mengdavid, a lecturer at the Institute for International Studies and Public Policy at the Royal University of Phnom Penh.

A BOOK SHARING VALUABLE INSIGHTS

In April 2017, the Khmer edition of the first volume of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China was released in Cambodia, with Hun Sen attending the launching ceremony.

First published in 2014, this 18-chapter book compiles 79 speeches, talks, addresses, interviews, instructions and congratulatory messages by Xi from November 2012 to June 2014. The book series, which now has four volumes, serves as a key venue for readers worldwide to understand Xi’s philosophies in running a major country like China.

Speaking before an audience of more than 700 attendees, Hun Sen expressed hope that Cambodian officials, scholars and students could gain valuable insights from the book and apply them to Cambodia’s unique conditions, thereby contributing to more effective governance.

Chea Munyrith, president of the Cambodian Chinese Evolution Researcher Association, led the translation team. In his view, Cambodia’s recent development is closely linked to learning from China’s experience and ideas, many of which are reflected in Xi’s book.

One article in the book focuses on poverty alleviation and wealth creation in impoverished areas. Under Xi’s leadership, China eliminated absolute poverty in 2020. This achievement enabled China to meet the poverty eradication target in the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10 years ahead of schedule.

“Cambodian officials particularly focus on poverty alleviation and closely follow China’s governance experience in this area,” said Munyrith.

In recent years, poverty reduction cooperation between the two countries has been taking concrete steps, with the establishment of poverty alleviation demonstration villages as a highlight. The Chinese side has shared with its Cambodian counterparts useful experiences in integrating modern agriculture, vocational training and rural development.

Thanks to those efforts, concrete roads, canals, solar-powered lamps and clean water facilities have been built in villages. According to the UNDP Country Programme Document 2024-2028 released last year, Cambodia has lifted 2.8 million people, or 50 percent of the country’s total poor, out of poverty in the past seven and half years.

Xi has supported Cambodia in searching for a development path suited to its unique national conditions. This principle has been central to China’s accomplishment of twin miracles: rapid economic growth and enduring social stability.

With his repeated proposal, China and Cambodia are deepening cooperation in aligning the BRI with Cambodia’s “Pentagonal Strategy” for national development.

In Hun Sen’s eyes, Xi is a great leader and a remarkable person capable of guiding China’s development.

“Every initiative he has proposed, such as the Belt and Road Initiative, which bridges past and present, and the Global Development Initiative and Global Security Initiative, reflects his far-reaching vision,” said Hun Sen. “Tell me, which other leader possesses such foresight?”