China trade fuels agricultural investment

Greater tax incentives to encourage investment have also been suggested, and Chinese-ASEAN financiers have been asked to consider investing in Cambodia's agriculture industry.

Director-general of the Institute of China Studies at the Royal Academy of Cambodia (RAC), Ky Sereyvath, delivered the following statements during the recently concluded Zhengzhou-Cambodia-ASEAN New Air Silk Road Development Forum in Zhengzhou, in the province of Henan, China.

He emphasized Cambodia's strategic location at the center of ASEAN and proposed that it might act as a major trading hub for Henan, boosting global trade by exchanging goods, capital, and services with ASEAN countries.

The commerce hub function of Cambodia may enhance Zhengzhou's commercial ties with ASEAN. The impact of trade between China and Cambodia on the two countries' economic cooperation serves as evidence of this, the speaker said.

Our goal is to process only the best mangoes, whether they are dried or turned into jam. Henan is considered to have a lot of locations that are good for farming, however, Cambodian mangoes are better in terms of flavor. With the full support of the Cambodian government, this offers Chinese investors a fantastic opportunity to import mangoes from Cambodia at a reduced price," he continued.

He also voiced the hope that China will allow favorable tariffs and lower non-tariff barriers to Cambodian exports, particularly for chemicals and pesticides.

In the first nine months of 2023, trade volume between the two countries totaled $9.099 billion. At $1.059 billion, Cambodia's exports to China represented an 18% increase over the same time in 2022. China's imports came to around $8.040 billion, up slightly over one percent from the year before, according to the Ministry of Commerce.