Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Hor Namhong (2nd L) and Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Xiong Bo (2nd R) attend a reception hosted by the Chinese Embassy in Cambodia to celebrate the 67th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sept. 29, 2016. (Xinhua/Sovannara)
PHNOM PENH, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Embassy in Cambodia hosted a reception on Thursday evening to mark the 67th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China which falls on Oct. 1.
The event was attended by Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Hor Namhong and Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Xiong Bo as well as some 300 guests including Cambodian government officials, royal members, senior military officers, politicians, foreign diplomats and Chinese business people.
In his welcoming speech, Xiong said over the past 67 years, China had made remarkable achievements, becoming the second largest economy and the largest trading nation in the world.
"China remains a major engine of global economic growth," he said. "On Oct. 1, the Chinese yuan will officially join the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Special Drawing Right basket."
Speaking about Sino-Cambodian relations, the ambassador said the ties, jointly forged and carefully nurtured by King Father Norodom Sihanouk and older generations of Chinese leaders, has withstood the test of time and international vicissitudes and grown stronger and deeper in both peoples' hearts.
"The two sides have become friendly neighbors, amicable brothers, good friends and partners who share weal and woe," he said. "China will firmly support the Cambodia's effort in upholding sovereignty and independence, pursuing a development path that suits its national conditions, promoting growth and improving people's livelihood."
Xiong also highlighted fruitful results of economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.
He said China is the largest source of foreign direct investment in Cambodia with the accumulated investment of 12 billion U.S. dollars from 1994 to June 2016.
On the trade front, in the first half of 2016, the two-way trade reached 2.34 billion U.S. dollars, a 10.2 percent growth year-on-year.
"We are confident to achieve the target of 5-billion-U.S.-dollar bilateral trade volume by 2017," the ambassador said.
On the tourism side, Xiong said from January to July this year, some 444,900 Chinese tourists visited Cambodia, up 12.4 percent year-on-year. There are 35 direct flights to-and-fro between the two countries every day.
Addressing to the guests at the reception, Hor Namhong congratulated China on the 67th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
"Although China has been experiencing slower economic growth in recent years, it remains, as the second largest economy in the world, a major engine of global economic growth," he said.
He said the visionary China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank will not only strengthen economy, trade and investment, connectivity and people-to-people exchanges between the Southeast Asian nations and China, but also benefit the Central Asian, African and European countries.
Commenting on the bilateral relations, Hor Namhong, who is the ex-foreign minister, said that Cambodia was proud of the remarkable development of bilateral cooperation with China in all fields, particularly in politics, economy, culture and people-to-people exchanges.
"I am in firm belief that in the spirit of mutual understanding, respect and equality, the close and friendly relations between Cambodia and China will be further enhanced," he said.
