Cambodia-China sister cities conference held to deepen friendship, practical cooperation

SIEM REAP, Cambodia, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- A Cambodia-China Sister Cities Conference was held here in northwest Cambodia's Siem Reap province on Monday, aiming at deepening friendship and practical cooperation between the two countries.

Themed "Cambodia and China jointly write a new chapter of a community with a shared future," the conference brought together more than 200 delegates from sister cities and provinces between Cambodia and China.

The event was attended by Cambodian Minister of Tourism Huot Hak, Ek Sam Ol, president of the Cambodia-China Friendship Association, and Yang Wanming, president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, as well as Siem Reap Provincial Governor Prak Sophoan.

Huot Hak said the event was one of the joint activities to celebrate the Cambodia-China People-to-People Exchange Year 2024.

"This conference will inject fresh impetus into building a high-quality, high-level, and high-standard Cambodia-China community with a shared future in the new era," he said. "Also, it will contribute to deepening bilateral cooperation in the frameworks of the comprehensive strategic partnership and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)."

Meanwhile, the minister said China is one of the key sources of international tourists to Cambodia and that the kingdom recorded 607,542 Chinese visitors during the January-September period of 2024, accounting for 12.6 percent of the total 4.8 million international tourist arrivals.

Ek Sam Ol said the conference not only deepened the bond of friendship among sister cities and provinces between Cambodia and China, but also contributed to promoting culture, tradition and tourism potential of both countries.

Cambodia and China are "unbreakable" ironclad friends, he said, adding that China's assistance is crucial to Cambodia's development.

Yang Wanming said the conference was a vital platform for promoting mutual understanding, trust and friendship between the local governments of China and Cambodia, and an important window for deepening exchanges and cooperation for mutual benefit and win-win results.

He added that people-to-people exchange has played a crucial role in helping build a China-Cambodia community with a shared future in the new era.

Prak Sophoan said the conference not only promoted Cambodia-China pragmatic cooperation, but also deepened friendship among delegates from all sister cities and provinces.