Chinese Embassy celebrates National Day in Phnom Penh

Both the historical alliance between Cambodia and China and the two countries’ vision of a bright future together were accentuated as the Chinese Embassy in Phnom Penh celebrated the 75th National Day of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on Friday.

National Day, officially the National Day of the PRC, is a public holiday in China celebrated annually on October 1, commemorating Mao Zedong’s formal proclamation of the establishment of the PRC on October 1, 1949. Traditionally, the festivities begin with the ceremonial raising of the Chinese national flag in Tiananmen Square in the capital city of Beijing. The flag ceremony is followed first by a large parade exhibiting the country’s military forces and then by state dinners and, finally, fireworks displays.

The celebration by the Chinese Embassy at Sokha Phnom Penh on Friday marks the first time Chinese Ambassador Wang Wenbin has presided over the event since the official commencement of his diplomatic mission in the Kingdom. It saw attendance from numerous ministers and senior military and civil officials from the Cambodian government, academia, diplomats, entrepreneurs, and members of the Chinese community in Cambodia.

The grand evening began with the playing of the national anthems of Cambodia and the PRC. It was followed by a live performance of “Nostalgie De La Chine”, a song composed by the late King Father Norodom Sihanouk about his love for China, by a group of students from Tuan Hua Chinese School.

In his opening remark, Ambassador Wang highlighted the long journey of China in the past 75 years and the countless changes that the communist country has undergone.

“75 years may sound like a short time for humanity, but for China it is a long time with many dramatic changes,” he said. “In the past 75 years, the Communist Party of China has led the nation by focussing on two priorities: developing the economy and maintaining social stability.”

“The People’s Republic of China, starting as a weak and poor country, has built itself to become the second largest economy in the world with an annual average GDP growth of 7.4% while our people’s life expectancy increased to 78.21 years. The Chinese people’s standard of living keeps improving while more and more people are climbing out of poverty.”

China’s contribution to global economic growth averaged 24.8% from 1979 to 2023, ranking top in the world, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Ambassador Wang underscored that such a success has not only been good for China but also for other countries, including Cambodia.

“President Xi Jinping has said we need to build a community with a joint destiny for humanity through China’s initiatives on the international stage, especially the worldwide prideful and popular Belt and Road Initiative Project, Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative, and Global Civilisation Initiative,” he said, adding that China is looking forward to further partnerships with nations under the concept of “Chinese-style modernisation”.

On the occasion, Ambassador Wang also pointed out the ironclad alliance forged by Cambodia and China since the two nations established modern diplomatic relations 66 years ago.

“In the past 66 years, the traditional relationship between our two countries established by our past leaders has greatly developed,” he added. “We have created a unique model characterised by equality and mutual support, although it involved two countries with different social regimes and sizes.”

He emphasised that the mutual trusts between the peoples of the two nations have been further cemented under the Kingdom’s new leadership, particularly after Prime Minister Hun Manet announced that the Cambodian government would continue to uphold the strong alliance and cooperation in all sectors with China.

“The past year saw numerous exchanges of visits between our governments’ leaders and senior officials, while our cooperation in business, law enforcement, and security also experienced great development,” Ambassador Wang said. “Many of the goods from Cambodia have been allowed to enter the Chinese market.

The launching of Phnom Penh’s Xi Jingping Boulevard in May, the Ambassador added, is another symbol of the outstanding friendship between China and Cambodia. He added that China is always ready to assist the Kingdom in its goal of becoming an upper-middle-income country by 2030 and a high-income one by 2050.

Speaking on behalf of the government, Deputy Prime Minister and Civil Service Minister Hun Many congratulated China on achieving its First Centenary Goal in 2021.

“I am optimistic that, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, with Xi Jinping at the core, China will achieve the noble success in developing the country, especially in accomplishing the Second Centenary Goal of building China into a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, and harmonious by 2049, which marks the 100th Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China,” Many said.

The Deputy Prime Minister also took the opportunity to thank China for its continual assistance to Cambodia and for playing a key role as the Kingdom’s closest partner.

“On behalf of the Royal Government of Cambodia and Cambodian people, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the Government and People of China, who have always supported Cambodia’s development path in accordance with our national conditions, through providing development assistance and various supports in many sectors, especially in developing major infrastructure such as transportation, energy, and agriculture, which have contributed significantly to Cambodia’s socio-economic development, as well as enhancing the independence and prestige of Cambodia on the international stage,” he said.

Many added that he highly values the achievements in the relations and cooperation between the two countries, which have been forged by a strategic partnership of cooperation built on a clear vision and with tangible cooperation.

“Our two countries will continue to sincerely and closely cooperate, based on the existing foundation and in accordance with the decisions of our leaders, in implementing the Diamond Hexagon Cooperation Framework and jointly building a Cambodia-China Community with a Shared Future in the New Era,” he added.

During the Bandung Conference in 1955, the late King Father Norodom Sihanouk and then Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai forged a unique bond of friendship at first acquaintance, prompting the establishment of diplomatic ties between Cambodia and China on July 19, 1958.

Currently, China is a very important trading partner for Cambodia, especially for exporting agricultural products from Cambodia to China. The bilateral trade volume between Cambodia and China amounted to more than $10 billion in the first eight months of 2024. In the tourism sector, Chinese tourists travelling to Cambodia numbered 463,980 in the first seven months of 2024.
Cr:khmertime