AFP – Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet will visit China this week and meet with President Xi Jinping, Beijing’s Foreign Ministry announced yesterday.
“At the invitation of Premier Li Qiang… Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet will pay an official visit to China from September 14 to 16,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said in a statement.
“President Xi Jinping will meet with Prime Minister Hun Manet,” she told a regular briefing, adding he will also meet and hold talks with Premier Li Qiang and Standing Committee Chairman Zhao Leji.
Cambodia has become one of China’s strongest allies in Asia, receiving huge sums of Chinese investment.
Hun Manet took over from his father, the country’s longtime leader Hun Sen, in August.
The visit will be one of his first abroad since becoming prime minister, after he attended the summit of ASEAN leaders in Jakarta last week.
“This will be Prime Minister Hun Manet’s first official visit since taking office,” Mao said yesterday.
“It reflects the great importance that the new Cambodian government attaches to the development of China-Cambodia relations,” she added.
