Imports from China to Cambodia have seen a remarkable surge, reaching over $13 billion in the first nine months of 2025 — a more than 30% increase over the same period last year. Meanwhile, Cambodia’s trade deficit with China has widened to nearly $12 billion.
According to the General Department of Customs and Excise (GDCE), from January to September 2025, the total trade volume between Cambodia and China reached $14.21 billion up 27.5% compared to the same period in 2024, when it was $11.15 billion.
Cambodia imported $13.03 billion worth of Chinese goods, an increase of 32%, while exports amounted to just $1.18 billion, a 7.7% decrease.
The Kingdom’s trade deficit with China stood at $11.85 billion, up from the $8.59 billion recorded during the same nine-month period last year.
Chinese goods made up 52.93% of Cambodia’s total import spending — which totalled $24.61 billion during the first nine months of 2025.
Hong Vanak, an economist at the Royal Academy of Cambodia, told The Post on October 30 that as a developing country, Cambodia imports large quantities of raw materials and components from China to supply its manufacturing and processing industries, before exporting finished products to international markets. He expected that the volume of trade, especially imports from China, will likely continue to grow as the global economy improves.
He explained that most of the raw materials used in Cambodia’s garment industry — such as fabrics, cotton and thread — are almost entirely imported from China.
Regarding the trade imbalance, Vanak asserted that it does not pose a problem for Cambodia’s economy because most Chinese imports are used as inputs for further processing before being re-exported to international markets as finished products.
GDCE data showed that in the whole of 2024, trade between Cambodia and China reached $15.19 billion, an increase of 23.8% over 2023. Imports China accounted for $13.44 billion (up 24.6%), while exports totalled $1.75 billion (up 18.4%).
