Cambodia's new Prime Minister Hun Manet visiting close ally China on his first official trip abroad

BEIJING (AP) — Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet arrived in Beijing on Thursday on his first official trip abroad since taking office last month. The visit is a demonstration of his country's warm relations with China, its closest political and economic ally.

He is expected to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping and other officials in the capital and then attend a trade and investment expo this weekend in southern China, according to Cambodia’s Foreign Ministry. A statement said the two countries’ leaders will discuss tightening relations for a shared future with the building of a “Cambodia-China Community,” strategic directions for their bilateral relations and regional and international matters.

Photos posted on Chinese social media by state broadcaster CGTN showed Manet and his wife Pich Chanmony walking down the stairs from the plane to a red carpet on the tarmac, where they were greeted by two children, a Chinese official and others. Manet later laid a wreath at a monument in Beijing's Tiananmen Square that honors those who died fighting foreign invaders and in the protests and battles that brought China's ruling Communist Party to power in 1949.

Cambodia is a key Chinese diplomatic partner and supporter in regional and international forums. It helps dampen criticism of Beijing within the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, several of whose members are engaged in territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea.

China has gained important influence in Cambodian politics and its economy, as seen in the numerous Chinese-funded projects, hotels and casinos in the capital Phnom Penh and elsewhere around the country. China’s state banks have financed airports, roads and other infrastructure built with Chinese loans. More than 40% of Cambodia’s $10 billion in foreign debt is owed to China.

After his meetings in Beijing, Manet will go to the 20th ASEAN-China Expo in Nanning, a regional capital in southern China not far from the border with Vietnam, the Cambodian Foreign Ministry said.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang will also attend the expo, along with the prime ministers of Malaysia, Vietnam and Laos and senior government officials from Indonesia and Thailand, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said. The expo promotes cooperation between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in trade, investment and tourism.

Cambodia’s close relations with Beijing were cultivated by Hun Manet’s father, Hun Sen, who stepped down last month as prime minister after almost four decades. His Cambodia People’s Party has had a stranglehold on power, fostered by Hun Sen’s autocratic rule and adroit political maneuvers that crippled any effective opposition.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi had visited Cambodia to reaffirm his country’s commitment to its ally shortly after Hun Sen announced his retirement plan.

Hun Manet, Hun Sen’s eldest son, had been army commander before succeeding his father. He was educated at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, but is widely expected to maintain arms-length relations with Washington.

The U.S. has shown disapproval of Hun Sen's undemocratic moves and is also uneasy over the expansion of a Gulf of Thailand naval port Cambodia and China started last year. Hun Sen consistently denied that Cambodia had granted China the right to set up its own military base at Ream Naval Base.

China’s Defense Ministry announced Thursday that the military would hold an annual joint exercise in Cambodia from mid- to late September to enhance their coordinated action and emergency response capabilities in medical services.

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This story has been corrected by removing a reference in the second paragraph to a state visit. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet's trip is an official visit, not a state visit.

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Sopheng Cheang reported from Phnom Penh, Cambodia.