China-Cambodia Economic and Trade Cooperation Ushers in Broader Development Prospects

In 2021, China-Cambodia economic and trade cooperation will achieve fruitful results, and practical cooperation in various fields will continue to advance. In 2022, the cooperation between the two countries will usher in new opportunities. With the entry into force of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) on January 1, 6 ASEAN member states including Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam and 4 non-ASEAN countries including China, Japan, New Zealand and Australia The member states officially began to implement the agreement; on the same day, the Free Trade Agreement between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Royal Government of Cambodia (hereinafter referred to as the China-Cambodia Free Trade Agreement) also came into effect. Experts interviewed said that RCEP and the China-Cambodia Free Trade Agreement complement each other, and China-Cambodia economic and trade cooperation will usher in a broader development prospect.

“RCEP and the China-Cambodia Free Trade Agreement complement each other, which is conducive to expanding Cambodia’s export access to China and attracting Chinese investment in Cambodia.” In Wang Zi’s view, the implementation of RCEP is generally beneficial to Cambodia: first It expands access to the export market of Cambodian products; secondly, RCEP’s measures to reduce non-tariff barriers directly address the concerns of Cambodian agricultural exporters, such as quarantine and technical barriers; thirdly, the principle of origin will guide foreign direct investment to flow into the country with lower labor costs. Low countries, such as Cambodia’s textile industry; fourth, RCEP also provides developing countries with special treatment in terms of implementation flexibility. Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar are required to have a zero-tariff tariff rate of 30%, while other member states are required to be up to 65%.

In the future, in order to further deepen China-Cambodia economic and trade cooperation, Wang Zi believes that my country’s investment and trade in Cambodia should pay more attention to enhancing the diversity and modernization of industries. We can start with the modernization of Cambodia’s agriculture. Cambodia’s agricultural technology development level is still quite low, which limits its agricultural production capacity and export competitiveness. my country can increase its support and investment in the processing of its agricultural products. For new economic models such as the digital economy that are interested in Cambodia, my country can intensify cooperation in the field of e-commerce between the two sides, increase investment in its talent training, and help it improve policy planning.