The friendly and close cooperation between China and Cambodia has become a model for building a community with a shared future for mankind and a new type of international relations as well, Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wenbin has said.

Under the strategic guidance of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Cambodian leaders, the building of a China-Cambodia community with a shared future has entered a new era of high quality, high level and high standard, Wang said in a written interview with Xinhua.

China and Cambodia established diplomatic relations in 1958, and their traditional friendship fostered by successive generations of Chinese and Cambodian leaders has been continuously advanced, becoming a model of mutual respect and equal treatment between countries with different social systems and different sizes, he said.

Recent years have seen steady growth in their friendly and practical cooperation under the strategic guidance of the top leaders of the two countries, said the Chinese ambassador.

The two sides, he said, have been working to implement a new action plan on building the China-Cambodia community with a shared future, not least by promoting the synergy between the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Cambodia's Pentagonal Strategy, enriching the dimensions of the Diamond Hexagon cooperation framework and accelerating the building of the "industrial development corridor" and the "fish and rice corridor."

The efforts have yielded fruitful results, Wang said.

First, two-way trade has expanded remarkably thanks to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) free trade deal and the China-Cambodia Free Trade Agreement (FTA). China has been Cambodia's largest trading partner for 13 consecutive years. And in 2024, two-way trade reached 17.83 billion U.S. dollars, up by 20.7 percent year-on-year.

The approval for high-quality Cambodian agricultural and fishery products such as rice, bananas, mangoes, longans, coconuts and basa fish to enter the Chinese market has not only graced the dining tables of Chinese consumers but also boosted the incomes of Cambodian people.

Second, investment cooperation has continued to deepen. China has remained Cambodia's largest source of foreign investment for 13 consecutive years, with investments spanning a wide range of sectors, including transportation, power, agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, special economic zones, as well as information and communications technology, characterized by extensive coverage, large scale and strong results.

Take the power sector. By the end of 2024, Chinese companies had completed and put into operation 10 hydropower plants and two thermal power plants in Cambodia, with a total installed capacity accounting for over 60 percent of the country's total. This has provided a robust guarantee for Cambodians to "access electricity" and "enjoy reliable electricity."

Third, mutually beneficial cooperation has improved people's livelihoods. Major China-Cambodia landmark projects of Belt and Road cooperation, such as the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone, the Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway and the Siem Reap Angkor International Airport, have become key drivers of Cambodia's economic and social development, creating tens of thousands of local jobs.

Additionally, China has helped Cambodia build or upgrade approximately 4,000 km of roads and construct over 10 mega bridges, and implemented multiple "small yet smart" public wellbeing projects, including rural roads and water supply systems, significantly improving the living conditions of local residents.

Wang said that China-Cambodia people-to-people exchanges, as a key pillar of China-Cambodia friendship and cooperation, were boosted by the China-Cambodia People-to-People Exchange Year 2024. Over the years, the medical cooperation programs including "Love Heart Journey," "Bright Journey" and "Smile Journey" have provided quality health care service to grassroots populations in more than 20 Cambodian provinces and cities.

The envoy said he expects people-to-people exchanges to continue to expand under the guidance of the China-proposed Global Civilization Initiative, which, according to him, will benefit areas ranging from culture, youth, media, think tanks, tourism and technology, to healthcare and cultural relics restoration.

As history and reality have both proven, he said, China and Cambodia are good neighbors, good brothers, good friends and good partners who share weal and woe and stand together through thick and thin.

The friendship between the two countries is not a transactional relationship, nor a stopgap measure, still less a bloc confrontation, he said.

Rather, it is rooted in the practical needs of our respective national development and rejuvenation, serves the common interests of both nations and peoples, and aligns with the historical trend of solidarity, self-strengthening and shared development among Global South countries, Wang said.

Facing an international landscape of turbulence and transformation along with ever-emerging global challenges, both China and Cambodia are committed to advancing peace, development and progress in the world, he said.

China will continue working hand in hand with Cambodia to carry forward their everlasting friendship, enhance strategic mutual trust and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation so as to elevate their traditional friendship to new heights and make fresh contributions to promoting peace, stability, development and prosperity both regionally and globally, Wang added.