Bright Prospects for China-Cambodia Cooperation

“Our ‘Siem Reap’ Cambodian jasmine rice has been selected as designated rice for the China-ASEAN Expo for two consecutive years，” Li Qian， president of Guangxi Guohong Development Corporation (GDC)， told China Report ASEAN at the China-Cambodia Production Capacity and Investment Cooperation Forum during the 14th China-ASEAN Expo. “This has further enhanced the reputation and influence of Cambodian rice and can be seen as the epitome of international cooperation in production capacity and investment under the Belt and Road framework.”

Production capacity and investment has become a core focus of cooperation between China and ASEAN countries in recent years. Along with the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative and the upgrade of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area， an increasing number of Chinese enterprises have expanded their operations into ASEAN markets by exploiting their advantages in production capacity.

Technology Transfer

As China’s only provincial region with both land and sea connections with Southeast Asian countries， Guangxi serves as the forefront of China-ASEAN cooperation， with agricultural cooperation playing a demonstration role. Cambodia is one of the major investment destinations of Guangxi companies for its plentiful arable land， low population， bountiful natural resources and great market potential.

“Taking advantage of Guangxi’s strength in crop plantation， agricultural product processing and farming technology， we have actively cooperated with Cambodia in terms of investment， trade， financial aid and culture，” said Li Qian. So far， according to him， GDC has invested in a Cambodian rice processing mill， assisted in the establishment of the Guangxi-Cambodia Agricultural Training School and undertaken various technical and managerial training and labor outsourcing projects for a number of large and medium-seized Cambodian companies， which has helped propel talent exchange and improve partnership with Cambodian companies.

A forerunner among Guangxi companies implementing a globalization strategy， GDC has made continuous efforts to expand agricultural cooperation with Cambodia， help Cambodia improve its agricultural production and processing technology， build a Sino-Cambodian demonstration platform for agricultural cooperation and promote agricultural upgrade in ASEAN countries. In 2010， GDC invested and established a rice processing mill with an annual capacity of 30，000 tons in Cambodia， as well as a 2，000-hectare organic fragrant rice production base， a 200-hectare seed purification and renovation base for organic fragrance rice and a 0.5-hectare comprehensive experimental field.

“Over the years since its establishment， the rice processing mill has exported an accumulated 10，000 tons of quality organic rice to China， amassing a total sales volume exceeding US$10 million，” Li said.

Through the construction of bases for rice cultivation， fruit and vegetable growing and livestock breeding， Li added， the GDC hopes to establish processing parks for agricultural products as well as cycle industrial parks for power generation， biogas production and organic fertilizer production based on byproducts of rice processing. It also aims to build a large ecological agricultural industrial park that combines farming， livestock breeding， processing and efficient utilization of agricultural waste in Cambodia.

GDC is just one example of Chinese investment in Cambodia. At the recent China-ASEAN Expo， the Guangxi Forword Agricultural Technology International Cooperation Company， the China-Cambodia Agriculture Promotion Center and the Cambodian Ministry of Agriculture， Forestry and Fisheries respectively signed a number of cooperation agreements with Chinese companies on pilot pig breeding farm construction， livestock farming and vaccine， demonstration cultivation and marketing of improved varieties and the establishment of seed gene pools.

Deepened Cooperation

Apart from the field of agriculture， accelerated formulation of policies related to the Belt and Road construction has also pushed forward the expansion of Sino-Cambodian cooperation in trade and investment， connectivity， energy resources and tourism.

“After nine years of construction， the Cambodia-China Comprehensive Investment and Development Pilot Zone in which we invest has taken shape， with transportation and other major infrastructure projects completed，” said Ken Xi， director of the Investment Promotion Center of the Union Development Group. “In addition to developing local tourism resources， we are also striving to build the pilot zone into an important platform for exporting China’s competitive production capacity.”

Covering an area of 360 square kilometers along a 90-kilometer coastline in Koh Kong Province， the Cambodia-China Comprehensive Investment and Development Pilot Zone is the largest tourism and real estate project in which a private Chinese enterprise has invested so far in Cambodia， at a scale on par with half a Singapore. Last year， the project was listed on the memorandum of China-Cambodia key projects of production capacity cooperation.

According to Xi， the pilot zone has attracted many leading enterprises engaged in the fields of tourism， agriculture， infrastructure and assembly while conducting cooperation with the Shandong Jintai Hi-tech Industrial Park. Next， it will launch construction of several key projects including an airport， wharfs and municipal roads and bridges. When completed， the airport is expected to attract more inbound tourists by providing a new option for entering Koh Kong Province beyond traditional land and sea channels.

With the implementation of a group of capacity cooperation projects， while at the same time achieving self-sustaining growth， Chinese investors have also made concrete contributions to related countries by improving infrastructure facilities， upgrading production capacity， accelerating industrial development， increasing job opportunities and improving people’s well-being.

Li explained that taking advantage of domestic advanced technologies in grain storage， rice processing and comprehensive product utilization， GDC plans to team up with the Guangxi ASEAN Technology Transfer Center， Jiangnan University and the National Polytechnic Institute of Cambodia to turn its rice processing mill in Cambodia into a demonstration project for standardized rice storage and processing and provide technology transfer and product marketing services oriented to ASEAN countries.

China has built the largest number of roads and bridges among countries that have invested in Cambodia， and 35 percent of the high-tension lines and nearly 25 percent of the rural power grid in Cambodia were constructed by Chinese companies.

At the opening ceremony of the 14th China-ASEAN Expo on Sept. 12， Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen reaffirmed Cambodia’s resolve to “actively respond to China’s Belt and Road Initiative” and expressed hopes of receiving continued support from China and further discussing with China possibilities of land， water and air connectivity， as well as improved participation in Belt and Road construction through seeking support from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.