From November 2 to 4, a delegation from Changsha, led by Wu Guiying, a member of the Standing Committee of the Hunan Provincial Committee and Secretary of the Changsha Municipal Committee, visited Cambodia. The visit included meetings with local political figures, witnessing the signing of projects, promoting cultural tourism, and strengthening sister-city exchanges. This initiative aimed to further the development of the China-Cambodia community with a shared future in the new era.
During the visit, Wu met with several key figures, including Khuong Sreng, the acting Mayor of Phnom Penh; Liu Qiaoling, Deputy Minister of Commerce of Cambodia; Chhay Sivlin, Secretary of State of the Cambodian Ministry of Tourism; and Yun Min, Deputy Governor of Siem Reap Province. These meetings served not only to deepen mutual friendships but also to effectively promote Changsha and achieve multiple consensuses.
On November 2, Wu Guiying met with Khuong Sreng, the acting Mayor of Phnom Penh.
Wu remarked that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road initiative, as well as the 65th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and Cambodia, highlighting a long history of friendship and extensive cooperation potential between the two. She expressed a sincere desire for Changsha and Cambodia to expand cooperative ventures in modern agriculture, engineering machinery, cultural tourism, education, and technology under the Belt and Road framework, thus contributing more to the Sino-Cambodian friendship.
The Cambodian side valued their traditional friendship with China and expressed a wish to leverage each other’s strengths to push the friendly cooperation forward and yield more fruitful outcomes.
On November 3, Wu Guiying’s delegation attended the China (Changsha) – Cambodia Economic and Trade Exchange Promotion Conference held in Phnom Penh. Wu stated in her address that Chinese President Xi Jinping has referred to the Sino-Cambodian friendship with a Cambodian proverb: “Trust is like a tree.” Over the years, the “ironclad friendship” between China and Cambodia has remained steadfast, with the “tree of trust” evergreen. Wu conveyed Changsha’s commitment to integrating into the Belt and Road initiative, seizing the significant opportunities presented by the full implementation of RCEP, and aiding in the enhancement and efficiency of Cambodia’s manufacturing industry. During the conference, nine projects were signed with a total contract value of 660 million USD, encompassing various industries including engineering machinery, biomedicine, and modern agriculture.
On November 4, the “Happy Changsha · Flavorful Star City” Chinese Cultural and Tourism Promotion Conference was held in Siem Reap. Wu delivered a speech and witnessed the signing of strategic cooperation agreements between Changsha and Siem Reap’s tourism departments, as well as multiple agreements between travel agencies. Wu emphasized that Changsha would integrate cultural tourism to enhance the city’s reputation, highlighting its distinctive advantages, optimizing service offerings, and promoting joint market development, mutual tourist referrals, shared information, and mutual benefits with places like Siem Reap.
In addition, the delegation visited the Chinese Embassy in Cambodia and discussed with Wang Wentian, the Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia, ways to deepen Changsha-Cambodia exchanges and cooperation in economic, cultural, and tourism exchanges, as well as sister-city interactions.
