Trade With China to Hit $2 Billion This Year

Bilateral trade between China and Cambodia is on track to reach $2 billion by the end of this year, its highest level ever, an official at the Chinese Embassy in Phnom Penh said. Jin Yuan, economic and commercial counselor at the Chinese embassy, said during a speech in Phnom Penh on Sunday that bilateral trade between Cambodia and China reached $1.43 billion in the first eight months of 2011, up from $1.12 billion during the same period last year. “Based on the figures, we believe that the trade between China and Cambodian this year will probably hit $2 billion,” Mr Yuan said, according to state-owned Chinese media. Chan Sophal, president of the Cambodian Economic Association, said that the reason for the increase was because China had supplied Cambodia’s fast growing garment sector with more fabric and raw materials. “The boom in garment industry has led to an unprecedented increase in the export of raw material, we’ve also seen more development projects from China, and that is moving imports of Chinese materials-irrigation supplies, road development and hydropower projects-for example.” Figures breaking down Cambodian and Chinese exports were not available. Bilateral trade with Thailand has also risen in the first eight months of this year, reaching $1, 93 billion compared to $1.79 billion during the same period in 2010, according to data obtained from the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh. Imports from Thailand accounted for $1.8 billion of total trade, while Cambodian exported just $125.6 million, according to the data. Economists generally expect bilateral trade with china to overtake trade with Thailand and Vietnam in the next few years. “It’s all about competition between the countries exporting the same or similar products to Cambodia,” said Mr Sophal. “So far, Thailand and Vietnam have had the competitive advantage because of their location, but over the coming years, China will show better trade growth.”