PM: Cambodians not to fear economically strong China

Cambodia should view China's economic prosperity as an opportunity but not a threat, national media Wednesday quoted Prime Minister Hun Sen as telling the two-day Fourth Asia Economic Forum Phnom Penh Tuesday.

"Don't wish that China should be poor. We should wish that China should be rich. It isn't a threat. It will help us ... (China's ) neighbor Cambodia and ASEAN will receive benefits," English-Khmer language newspaper the Cambodia Daily quoted him the president as saying.

In addition, the premier said that China could help deal with the current global financial crisis because China still has a large amount of foreign-exchange reserves and potential of economic growth".

According to the Chinese Embassy, the bilateral trade volume between China and Cambodia increased from 12.95 million U.S. dollars in 1992 to 933 million U.S. dollars in 2007.

China is currently the second largest investing country and the fourth largest donor country for Cambodia.

Source:Xinhua