The first Cambodia–China Public–Private Sector Dialogue was held on February 9, with the aim of improving the investment climate and bilateral trade, at a time when Chinese investors continue to lead as the largest source of investment in Cambodia.
The dialogue took place at the headquarters of the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), under Sun Chanthol, first vice-chairman of the CDC, and Wang Wenbin, Chinese ambassador to Cambodia.
It was attended by representatives from 80 members of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia, as well as government institutions.
Chanthol announced that the forum demonstrated the strong commitment of the Cambodian government to providing opportunities for Chinese investors operating in Cambodia. The dialogue provided a platform for Chinese investors to raise various challenges in order to seek appropriate solutions, with the aim of strengthening and promoting economic, trade and investment cooperation, as well as building confidence within the Chinese business community.
“This dialogue will be held regularly every six months to follow up on the resolution of challenges, while emphasising that China is Cambodia’s largest investor and trading partner,” he said.
Wang expressed his pleasure at the success of the event, noting that its purpose was to review and discuss joint efforts to improve the investment and business environment in Cambodia. It would also help strengthen and expand the presence of Chinese enterprises investing in Cambodia.
“This dialogue is important because it can help investors address various obstacles. Chinese investment has created more than one million jobs, made significant contributions to sustainable economic growth, and expanded trade between Cambodia and China as well as with other countries,” he explained.
Key topics discussed included taxation, customs, logistics, energy, agriculture, agro-industry and labour, among others.
In 2025 trade between Cambodia and China amounted to $19.73 billion, an increase of 29.9 per cent over 2014. Cambodia exported $1.69 billion worth of goods to China, down 3.6 per cent, while imports totalled 18.04 billion, up 34.3 per cent.
Chinese investors are also the largest source of capital in Cambodia. Of the total $10 billion in investment approved by the CDC last year, approximately 54.25 per cent came from China. In the tourism sector, around 1.2 million Chinese tourists visited Cambodia in 2025, an increase of 41.5 percent.
Lor Vichet, vice-president of the Cambodia Chinese Commerce Association, told The Post that strong diplomatic ties have led to a steady increase in trade volume, with China becoming a major supplier of raw materials for factories and enterprises in Cambodia.
He added that, in addition to raw materials, Cambodia has also imported many new machines from China, improving production efficiency, increasing output and enhancing product quality. Chinese machinery has played a significant role in boosting Cambodia’s production capacity.
“Chinese imports will continue to increase in the future, because as more Chinese investors establish businesses in Cambodia, imports of raw materials or components from China to Cambodia will also rise,” he said.
Vichet urged the Cambodian government and private sector to continue developing their own potential sectors — especially agriculture — to further strengthen export capacity to the Chinese market.
