Xi heads to Phnom Penh to buy up rice and offer aid

Phnom Penh - Chinese Premier Xi Jinping's state visit to Cambodia starting Thursday is expected to further strengthen ties between the two countries, as the small South-East Asian nation pivots towards China and away from historic allies.
While China has already committed hundreds of million dollars in aid to Cambodia this year, Xi's two-day visit is expected to coincide with yet more promises of infrastructure loans and foreign investment.

Between 30 and 40 per cent of Cambodia's budget comes from foreign donors, according to the US State Department, but historically that funding has come from the US, the European Union, and Japan -although often with strings attached.

"For Cambodia, this visit is going to further its agenda of loosening dependence on Western aid (which comes) with human rights and democracy conditions," Ou Virak, the founder of Cambodian think tank Future Forum said.

Cambodia's historic ally Vietnam is also expected to lose out from the trip, says Virak. Cambodia now publicly supports China's claims to the South China Sea for instance, over those of Vietnam.

China's scope to assist Phnom Penh dwarfs many other countries, not just because the country has the capacity to buy up Cambodian rice,which is less attractive due to its high price and irregular quality.

China recently doubled its import quota for Cambodian rice from 100,000 to 200,000 tons, but it could be raised higher. "These relatively small amounts by Chinese standards are largely symbolic. I don't think China needs the rice, but they will probably buy it simply to support Cambodia," says Matt Van Roosmalen, Cambodia manager at Emerging Market Consulting.

 "It would probably be as a means of 'offering solidarity to Cambodian farmers' or however they will choose to frame it," he added.

Following Xi's trip to Cambodia he will continue on to Bangladesh, and then the 8th annual BRICS summit in Goa, India, starting on October 15.

But before then there are documents to sign in Phnom Penh: Local media report that the two countries could sign at least 28 agreements while the Chinese contingent are in town.
- Deutsche Presse Agentur