New Book Examines China's Policy Toward Cambodia

Sophie Richardson

Sihanouk and Chou En Lai
Sihanouk and Mao Zedong
Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk, right, arrives with Chinese President Hu Jintao, at a reception marking the 55th anniversary of the founding of communist China, in Beijing's Great Hall of the People Thursday, Sept. 30, 2004. (Photo: AP)
Hun Xen and Hu Jintao
Sihamini and Hu Jintao

Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer
Washington, DC Tuesday, 24 August 2010

“If Sihanouk got nothing else, in terms of his relationship with the Chinese government, his very early support and very public support for the one-China policy and for the PRC regaining the Chinese seat at the UN made an enormous difference.”

China's foreign policy follows five principles in dealing with other countries, including Cambodia, with which it has had ties since the 1950s. But changes in China's policy have at times had direct political effects on Cambodia.

In a new book "China, Cambodia, and the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence," author Sophie Richardson examines how China's foreign policy has influenced Cambodia.

“I think the Chinese government deals very conscientiously with all different kinds of countries and governments in pretty much the same way,” Richardson said a recent launch for her new title, in Washington. “It is not nicer to communist governments than it is to non-communist ones. It is not tougher on democracy than it is on dictatorship.”
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