Cambodian PM Hun Sen has urged China to consider entering a free trade agreement with the Cambodia to spur trade and investment between the two nations. This will help Cambodia diversify its export market, currently dominated by the European Union and the United States. As a member of ASEAN, Cambodia benefits from FTAs signed between the regional organisation and other countries and regions, including Australia and New Zealand, and Hong Kong.

Trade between Cambodia and China reached $5.6 billion last year, a 12 per cent increase from 2017’s $5 billion. However, China’s share of the Kingdom’s export market is still small compared to those of the EU and the US, who jointly account for more than 70 percent of Cambodian exports.

From 1994 to 2016, China invested $14.7 billion in the Kingdom, mostly on four sectors – agriculture and agro-industry, manufacturing, infrastructure, and services and tourism, according to the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC). China also funded the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone, which cost $3 billion and now hosts 108 enterprises and companies. In the tourism sector, China recently invested in two big projects, an international resort in Koh Kong province and a five-star hotel and resort in Preah Sihanouk.

Moreover, of the 23 companies investing in the mining industry, 10 are from China. China is also the largest foreign investor in the energy sector in Cambodia, with more than $7.5 billion invested in hydropower plants and about $4 billion in coal-fired power plants.