China and Cambodia have always maintained a deep friendship, and China has provided a lot of assistance in the process of Cambodia's domestic construction, including the construction of infrastructure.
However, there have been recent reports that the Cambodian side is "demanding" donations from China in the form of moral kidnapping.
The friendship between China and Cambodia has a long history and has gone through hardships and hardships. Cambodia has suffered from colonial oppression and invasion by external forces, but China has always been its staunch supporter and selfless helper.
The friendship between China and Cambodia can be traced back to economic exchanges in the 13th century, and now the friendship between the two countries is even deeper and has become an important force in international relations.
China's assistance and support have been indispensable to Cambodia's development. However, the development of friendship between the two countries has not been smooth sailing, mainly because of the intervention of the United States.
For a long time, the United States has put pressure on Cambodia in an attempt to interfere in its internal affairs and even control the entire country. Thankfully, Cambodia was aware of the U.S. intentions and decisively rejected them.
Cambodia regards China as a reliable partner, and China has not failed to live up to its trust, and while China's economic development is booming, it has not forgotten Cambodia. As an important participant in the Belt and Road Initiative, China and Cambodia have close cooperation, and the vigorous development of tourism has injected vitality into Cambodia's economic development.
To this end, Cambodia has vigorously developed tourism and related industries, but it is difficult to achieve the goal on its own. At this time, China reached out and provided support to Cambodia.
As we all know, China has a wealth of experience in infrastructure construction. Through the cooperation between the two sides, China has built a large amount of infrastructure for Cambodia's tourism industry, which has strongly promoted the development of Cambodia's tourism industry.
The numbers are even more convincing: China has provided nearly $3 billion in low-interest loans to Cambodia, accounting for 40% of all foreign loans in Cambodia. At present, China remains Cambodia's largest creditor.
In Cambodia, 29 roads and 9 sea-crossing bridges were built with the help of China, and China's selfless dedication has greatly improved the traffic situation and transportation situation in Cambodia.
In addition to economic and infrastructure aid to Cambodia, China has also provided military support, including the purchase of Chinese rocket artillery and the construction of the Ream naval base.
China is deeply grateful for its contribution to Cambodia, which was also one of the early supporters of the Belt and Road Initiative and the AIIB, and has publicly supported China internationally.
For example, Hun Sen, chairman of the Cambodian People's Party, has repeatedly stressed that "Taiwan belongs to China" and has supported China in other matters.
While Hun Sen showed affection for China in some ways, he showed a greedy side in his speech in June. Although he began his speech by expressing his gratitude to China and saying that he would strengthen cooperation between the two countries and hope that the friendship between the two countries would last forever, his tone seemed to reveal some resentment and greed.
Admittedly, the first is just some kind words, and the next is Hun Sen's heart:'Cambodia is building a bridge across the Mekong River and needs 2$300 million in funding.
We would be honored if China** was willing to provide $50 million or $100 million in aid. Please do not stop aid because Cambodia can afford to build its own bridges.
We hope that China will continue to support us. Regardless of the ally, Cambodia will embrace it, and we will not refuse any assistance. '"It turned out that Cambodia planned to build a bridge, which would take a total of 2$300 million investment.
Despite the rapid economic development in Cambodia in recent years, $200 million is still needed, so we very much welcome any form of assistance.
Cambodia hopes that China will provide assistance to build bridges, and Hun Sen said that all donor countries are welcome and stressed that they are not enemies of money. While aid may need to be repaid, direct donations don't have to worry about follow-ups, and you can get bridges and peace of mind at the same time.
Hun Sen's remarks caused a strong reaction in China and sparked heated discussions among netizens. On the whole, netizens are divided into two factions: one group is opposed, believing that Cambodia should rely on its own strength to build, and should not regard China as an "ATM", and China's wealth is hard-won and should be prioritized for its own construction; The other faction is understanding, believing that Cambodia is relatively backward and that China should provide appropriate assistance from the perspective of mutual assistance, but it should not be excessive.
In the 80s of the last century, China and Cambodia had a common enemy, Vietnam, which kept the Sino-Vietnamese border in a state of tension. At the same time, Cambodia also faced a long-term threat from Vietnam, and the contradictions between the two countries deepened.
In 1998, Hun Sen became Cambodia's leader, and he was determined to lead the country out of its predicament.
At that time, Cambodia was in a state of extreme poverty, with a weak industrial base, a sluggish economy, and low living standards. Perhaps it is precisely because of the recognition that "if you want to get rich, you must first build roads", Hun Sen decided to improve the country's transportation and infrastructure first.
However, the construction of roads, bridges and other projects requires funds, and Cambodia does not have sufficient financial resources, and many countries are not optimistic about Cambodia's future and are reluctant to invest in it.
When Cambodia was ravaged by floods, China stepped in to help, not only by investing but also by helping to build roads, bridges and infrastructure. In fact, China has been present in Cambodia's infrastructure projects over the past few decades.
China has been very generous and will do everything it can to help Hun Sen whenever he asks. Moreover, China is well aware of the principle that "it is better to teach people to fish than to teach them to fish", and that simply providing economic assistance will not help Cambodia get rid of poverty, and only by allowing Cambodia to learn to develop itself can it truly become strong.
Our country has specially dispatched technical personnel to Cambodia to provide guidance in many aspects, not only at the technical level, but also at the economic and political levels. With the support of a strong transportation system, Cambodia's transportation and tourism industry has developed rapidly, and tourism has become one of the country's pillar industries.
Hun Sen's choice of path was supported by the people, and he only announced his resignation this year. Hun Sen's eldest son, Hun Manet, has already been chosen as Cambodia's next leader.
One is to provide opportunities for Hun Manet to exercise, and the other is to build closer relations with leaders of various countries. In the past six months, Hun Manet has actively participated in international activities, met and exchanged views with leaders of various countries, and strived to enhance his influence.
Hun Sen said that although he has stepped down, he will continue to use his influence in politics to contribute to the construction of Cambodia.
Although Hun Manet may be influenced by Hun Sen to remain friendly in his attitude towards China, China is not an "inexhaustible treasury". We are willing to selflessly help other countries develop and build, and when other countries encounter difficulties, our country is also willing to be the first to lend a helping hand.
But that doesn't mean we can be bullied, and we can't tolerate excessive demands from other countries. Exchanges between countries should be based on mutual trust, and if they just blindly take and not give, they will only harm their own interests in the end.