Chinese President Concludes Three-nation Asia Trip

2012-04-02
Source: Xinhua

Chinese President Hu Jintao left Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, for home Monday, after a state visit to the southeast Asian nation.

During the visit, Hu met Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni, Senate President Chea Sim, National Assembly President Heng Samrin and Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Hu and Cambodian leaders discussed further development of the comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation and exchanged views on major regional issues.

The two countries also signed a host of cooperation documents, covering infrastructure, human resources, economy and tourism.

During their meeting Saturday, the Chinese president and Prime Minister Hun Sen agreed to expand all-round bilateral cooperation and double two-way trade between the two countries to 5 billion U.S. dollars by the year of 2017.

Hu said the two countries should maintain close contact and strengthen strategic communication.

Noting that the next year would be the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Cambodia, Hu suggested the year of 2013 be designated as the Year of China-Cambodia Friendship to further expand cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

The two countries should expand pragmatic cooperation to realize a win-win situation, he said.

Hu also suggested that the two countries should strengthen cooperation on security and law enforcement by jointly combating cross-border crimes such as terrorism and drug trafficking, and maintain contact between the armed forces of the two countries.

China and Cambodia should manage to make multilateral coordination closer, strengthen mutual support and boost communication, coordination and cooperation within the frameworks of the United Nations and regional cooperation mechanisms, to safeguard the common interests of the two countries and those of other developing countries, he said.

China and Cambodia established diplomatic ties in 1958 and the comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation in 2010.

In recent years, China and Cambodia maintained frequent high-level exchanges, strengthened mutual political trust and promoted cooperation in all areas.

The two-way trade between the two countries increased to 2.49 billion U.S. dollars in 2011 from 1.44 billion dollars in 2010.

Cambodia holds the presidency of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2012 and plays an important role in East Asian cooperation and China-ASEAN relations.

Before his Cambodia visit, the Chinese leader attended the Seoul Nuclear Security Summit in the South Korean capital and a leaders’ meeting of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, known as BRICS, in New Delhi.