Cambodia-China trade continues strong growth in first 5 months

PHNOM PENH, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia-China trade has continued strong growth in the first five months of 2024, thanks to regional and bilateral free trade agreements, officials said.

The two-way trade volume reached 5.99 billion U.S. dollars during the January-May period this year, a significant rise of 18 percent from 5.07 billion dollars over the same period last year, said a Cambodian Ministry of Commerce's report released on Wednesday.

China remained the top trading partner of Cambodia, followed by Vietnam, the United States, Thailand and Japan, the report said.

Cambodian Ministry of Commerce's Secretary of State and Spokesperson Penn Sovicheat said the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement and the Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA), both took effect in 2022, had given a boost to this trade growth.

"Under the two trade pacts, our products, especially high-quality agricultural produce such as milled rice, yellow bananas, mangoes, longans, cassava and pepper, have been exported to China with preferential tariffs," he told Xinhua.

Thong Mengdavid, a lecturer at the Institute for International Studies and Public Policy, a school of Royal University of Phnom Penh, said China stands as Cambodia's largest foreign investor and trading partner, reflecting a high level of mutual trust and collaboration between the two countries.

"Apart from strong trade ties, China's assistance has significantly reshaped Cambodia's socio-economic landscape, improving infrastructure, education and livelihoods, while fostering agricultural and industrial partnerships," he told Xinhua.