Cambodian PM to visit China, meet Xi this week
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet will visit China this week and meet with President Xi Jinping, the Foreign Ministry announced on Monday. "At the invitation of Premier Li Qiang... Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet will pay an official visit to China from September 14th to 16th," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said in a statement. Hun Manet will also meet and hold talks with the premier and National People's Congress Standing Committee chairman Zhao Leji, she told a regular briefing. Hun Manet took over from his father, the country's longtime leader Hun Sen, in August. The visit will be one of Hun Manet's 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 on Monday. "It reflects the great importance that the new Cambodian government attaches to the development of China-Cambodia relations," she added, noting that 2023 will see the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Cambodia. Beijing, Mao said, "looks forward to using this visit to plan for the future comprehensive strategic cooperation between China and Cambodia". (AFP)