Chinese president, Cambodian PM agree to advance ties

Chinese President Hu Jintao and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen agreed here Saturday to advance the comprehensive relations of strategic cooperation and partnership between their two countries.

In a meeting, the two leaders pledged to expand mutually beneficial cooperation in all fields and to double the annual two-way trade to 5 billion U.S. dollars by 2017.

They also witnessed the signing of a number of cooperation documents, covering infrastructure, human resources, economy and tourism.

Hu said bilateral relations have withstood the test of time and vicissitudes in the international arena since the two countries established diplomatic ties more than 50 years ago.

"As both international and regional situations are undergoing profound and complex changes, continued enrichment and development of the comprehensive relations of strategic cooperation and partnership between China and Cambodia serves the fundamental interests and common aspirations of the two peoples," he said.

China is ready to work with Cambodia to further enhance political mutual trust and strengthen friendly cooperation, Hu said.

Hu put forward a four-point proposal with a view to further advancing China-Cambodia relations:

First, the two countries should maintain close contacts and strengthen strategic communication.

The two sides should formulate and implement a program of action for bilateral comprehensive relations of strategic cooperation and partnership and should step up efforts to expand party-to-party exchanges and cooperation in human resources training.

Noting that the next year would be the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Cambodia, Hu suggested the year of 2013 be designated as the Year of China-Cambodia Friendship to further expand cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

Second, the two countries should expand pragmatic cooperation to realize a win-win situation, Hu said. The two countries should carry out overall planning for economic and trade cooperation in line with each other's advantages and development strategies.

The Chinese side encourages competent enterprises to invest in Cambodia to boost bilateral cooperation in infrastructure, civil aviation and tourism.

Third, the two countries should strengthen cooperation on security and law enforcement by jointly combating cross-border crimes such as terrorism and drug trafficking, and should maintain contacts between the armed forces of the two countries.