EK SAM OI: CHINA’S EXPERIENCE WORTH LEARNING

By Wang Fengjuan

Ek Sam Ol, president of the Cambodia-China Friendship Association.

The year 2018 marks not only the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between China and Cambodia,but also the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the China-ASEAN strategic partnership.This year also coincides with the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and openingup. China and Cambodia not only enjoy political mutual trust, but have also maintained nongovernmental cooperation in multiple fields.

China Report ASEAN conducted an exclusive interview with Ek Sam Ol, president of the Cambodia- China Friendship Association (CCFA), on strategies to further strengthen cooperation and friendship between China and Cambodia.

China Report ASEAN: Can you brie fly recap the development of the CCFA and its accomplishments in recent years?

Ek Sam Ol:The CCFA was officially established in 2000 based on a proposal by Hun Sen,prime minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, and has now evolved for 18 years. I was appointed president of the CCFA in 2013.

The CCFA has persistently upheld the “One China” policy and supported exchange and cooperation projects related to China. Especially in recent years, under the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping,China’s educational industry has developed fast, and the country has emerged as the secondlargest market in the world.Currently, the Communist Party of China (CPC) and Chinese people are implementing the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020). As the president of the CCFA, I am looking forward to seeing China’s further evolution.

A three-story headquarters for the CCFA was built at a cost of 3 million yuan (US$440,000) on the site of a former temporary imperial palace of King Father Norodom Sihanouk. The CCFA is the only association for friendship with foreign countries with an office building in Cambodia.

The CCFA has long maintained friendly and cooperative relations with the China-Cambodia Friendship Association. We actively participated in “Cambodia Brightness Action,” a charity program in which China’s Hainan Province sent a medical team to Cambodia to provide eye examinations for local residents and perform cataract surgeries.The CCFA has also organized the Chinese Film Week for three consecutive years while promoting exchange of cultural delegations and youth delegations between China and Cambodia to strengthen friendship between the two peoples.

China Report ASEAN: What achievements have China and Cambodia made? What successful experiences of China are worth learning from?

Ek Sam Ol:Since 2010,diplomatic relations and cooperation between China and Cambodia have evolved from bilateral cooperation to a comprehensive strategic partnership, enabling the bilateral relations to flourish in various fields in the new era.

In recent years, under the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping, remarkable achievements have been made in the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative and the implementation of China’s 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015). China has already become the second largest economy in the world, but the country’s rapid development hasn’t threatened the interests of other countries. In fact,Cambodia has only benefited from increased cooperation with China.

From my perspective, many of China’s successful experiences are worth studying for Cambodia.First is China’s successful experience on social governance.The CPC has nearly 100 years of leadership experience. Over the years, both implementation of the 12th Five-Year Plan and comprehensively deepening reform have achieved great success.

Secondly, China has a strong sense of responsibility.President Xi Jinping proposed a philosophy of creating a community of shared future for mankind. Against the backdrop of globalization and regional integration, this philosophy is conducive to realizing winwin cooperation and respecting the common development of a cultural mosaic globally.

Third is China’s stance and foreign policy. The principles of China’s relations with other countries are peaceful coexistence, respect for independence and sovereignty and helping each other out as outlined in the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-Existence first proposed by China, which has become the norm governing international relations.

China Report ASEAN: China and Cambodia are actively working to find ways for alignment between China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Cambodia’s “Rectangular Strategy”. How do you expect China and Cambodia to further enhance cooperation?

Ek Sam Ol:I sincerely hope that China and Cambodia can further strengthen cooperation.So far, the two countries have already reached many cooperation agreements and achieved many landmark outcomes. The two countries are currently working on further cooperation projects in multiple fields.

A Cambodian saying goes“Where there is a road, there is hope.” By 2018, Cambodia has completed 24 roads with a combined length of 2,778 kilometers at a cost of US$1.3 billion and constructed eight bridges of a combined 7,766 meters worth US$233 million.The country is currently working on six roads with a combined length of 642 kilometers at a cost of US$672 million and another 1,131-meter bridge worth US$57 million.

Seven hydroelectric stations built with Chinese aid at a cost of US$2.37 billion generate 1,328 megawatts of electricity annually.In 2017, China-Cambodia bilateral trade volume exceeded US$5.577 billion and is expected to reach US$6 billion by 2020.Today, China ranks first in foreign investment in Cambodia.China built a large-scale special economic zone in Preah Sihanouk Province, which has attracted a total of 128 companies with a combined investment of more than US$333 million, creating 20,000 jobs for local residents.And a second special economic zone is planned for Kampot.

China considers Cambodia’s talent cultivation extremely important. China Friendship Foundation for Peace and Development and China Minsheng Investment Group provided a combined US$8.714 billion for Cambodia’s primary and middle schools from 2014 to 2017. China donated US$10 million to a university in Kratie and provides scholarships for Cambodia’s overseas students.

China and Cambodia should plan some new cooperation projects that allow the Belt and Road and Cambodia’s Rectangular Strategy to work in concert. In my opinion, China,Cambodia, ASEAN and other economies must join hands to defeat hegemony, protectionism and trade wars.

China Report ASEAN: What unique role does the CCFA play as a non-governmental organization in promoting people-to-people exchange between China and Cambodia?

Ek Sam Ol:The CCFA serves as a bridge and bond for exchange between the two peoples. The CCFA will sponsor various activities for the young people of China and Cambodia to pass on our deep friendship and brotherhood to the generations to come. At the same time, we encourage professionals in fields of technology, information,education, art, culture and sports to engage in exchange and cooperation to further promote people-to-people relations between the two countries.

China Report ASEAN: What are your expectations for future China-Cambodia relations?

Ek Sam Ol:I have two wishes for the future. Firstly, the CCFA needs to establish branches in each province and in some counties in Cambodia. Still, 12 provinces lack CCFA branches.Secondly, I will suggest to the Cambodian government that we incorporate Chinese language into the high school education system of public schools. There are currently about 50,000 Chinese students and 1,000 Chinese language teachers in Cambodia, but those numbers do not meet the needs of future development of China-Cambodia relations. I hope China can help Cambodia set up Chinese language courses to encourage more children and young people in Cambodia to learn Chinese.I am committed to promoting Chinese language to make it the second most popular language in Cambodia so as to promote more extensive and in-depth exchange between the two peoples.

I am convinced that friendly Sino-Cambodian relations will continue improving after withstanding the test of time and changes in the international situation.