PHNOM PENH: The Secretary of State of the Ministry of Commerce of Cambodia announced that the country is committed to boosting bilateral trade with China to more than $12 billion by 2023.

The senior official announced the opening ceremony of the “Cambodia-Hong Kong Expo” in Phnom Penh. He said that the two countries have a long history of diplomatic ties and have been deep and strategic partners since 2010.

The official added that the two countries have recently signed a bilateral free trade agreement and an ASEAN-Hong Kong free trade agreement, which have helped to increase trade between them.

In 2022, the total trade volume between Cambodia and China reached $11.686 billion, an increase of about 5% from the previous year. In the same year, the trade volume between Cambodia and Hong Kong reached $1 billion.

The official said that the benefits of the bilateral free trade agreement have led to a steady increase in exports from Cambodia to China. In the first quarter of 2023, Cambodia exported more than 50,000 tons of rice to China, an increase of 49.8% from the same period in 2021.

Cambodia's total trade volume decreased by 15.6% in the first 7 months of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022, reaching $27 billion. However, trade between Cambodia and China continued to grow, reaching more than $7 billion, an increase of 18%.

Cambodia's exports to China increased by 16.2% to $814 million in the first 7 months of 2023, while imports from China increased by 0.14% to $6.27 million.

The official also said that China has invested in 186 projects in Cambodia worth a total of about $4 billion. He called on the event organizer to bring together more Hong Kong businessmen, companies, and enterprises from other parts of China to participate in the other exhibition events in Cambodia.