China’s top diplomat in Cambodia has said that the Hong Kong leader’s visit to the Southeast Asian country is “particularly meaningful” in highlighting the city’s key role in promoting relations between Beijing and Phnom Penh.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu also promoted the city to business leaders in Cambodia at a dinner event on Tuesday, after leaving Laos for Phnom Penh to kick off the second part of his three-nation tour.
The city leader was received at the airport by Chinese ambassador Wang Wenbin, who was posted to Cambodia about four weeks ago and is better known for his former role as a spokesman for the foreign ministry in Beijing.
“We believe that the chief executive’s visit to Cambodia will definitely promote mutually beneficial cooperation between Cambodia and Hong Kong, and will also play a favourable role in further promoting the China-Cambodia relations,” Wang said at a reception held at his official residence.
China’s relationship with Cambodia remains one of the closest in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). There are no territorial disputes between the two countries, and Phnom Penh is heavily dependent on Chinese trade and investment.
Wang said the day also marked a “particularly meaningful moment” because Lee arrived in Phnom Penh merely hours after the departure of Leung Chun-ying, Hong Kong’s former chief executive and now vice-chairman of China’s top political advisory body.
Leung, a founder of the Hong Kong-based charity GX Foundation, was in the country to commemorate the elimination of cataract blindness backlog cases in Prey Veng province through the NGO’s efforts, and sign new projects on eye operations and dengue prevention.
“[The back-to-back visits] show that Hong Kong attaches great importance to fostering friendly cooperation with Cambodia and promoting China-Cambodia relations,” Wang told the city leader.
Lee expressed his gratitude for the ambassador’s support during his visit to Cambodia, adding that the government’s role was to “open the doors” and lay a friendly foundation to help Hong Kong businesses enter the country.
The chief executive later paid a visit to Canadia Integrated Group, which owns the country’s largest bank, Canadia Bank.
Pung Kheav Se, the group’s chairman, praised Hong Kong’s vitality in his welcome speech and expressed confidence that the two places would see “leaping developments” in terms of economic ties.
Trade between Hong Kong and Cambodia stood at US$894 million in 2023, making the country the city’s seventh-largest trade partner among Asean’s 10 member states.
Lee spoke at the dinner event at the Raffles Hotel in Phnom Penh, where he promoted Hong Kong to about two dozen local business leaders.
Hong Kong’s leader said the audience included “wise minds in investments and doing business”, as he highlighted the city’s emerging family office sector, low tax regime and capital investment entrant scheme.
He also offered to share lessons from Hong Kong’s transition from a manufacturing centre to a service industry powerhouse, noting Cambodia was seeking to shift from a focus on textiles and move into “high-value-added” sectors, such as innovation and green technology.
“Hong Kong and Cambodia, though distinct in many ways, share a common vision of economic prosperity. That is collaboration,” he said.
“I believe Hong Kong, as a global finance and professional services hub, can provide a useful reference. We are keen to share Hong Kong’s experience of its economic transformation with our friends here in Cambodia.”
Lee is expected to meet top Cambodian government officials and attend a lunch on Wednesday before proceeding to Hanoi in Vietnam, followed by Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday and then heading back to Hong Kong on Friday.
A number of memorandums of understanding are also expected to be signed by Hong Kong and Cambodia during the trip.
