Cambodia: PM to attend Belt and Road Forum

• May 10, 2017

Prime Minister Hun Sen and several of his senior colleagues will attend a regional conference in Beijing hosted by Chinese leader Xi Jinping next weekend, joining leaders from 27 countries.

Leaders from 28 countries will attend the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing on Sunday and Monday, an event orchestrated to promote President Xi’s vision of expanding links between Asia, Africa and Europe underpinned by billions of dollars in infrastructure investment.

Although only one Group of Seven leader is due to attend, the forum will be China’s biggest diplomatic event of 2017. 

Only the Italian prime minister will attend from the G7, according to China’s foreign ministry. 

Mr Hun Sen’s group will include Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, Commerce Minister Pan Sorasak, Finance Minister Aun Pornmoniroth, and Transport Minister Sun Chanthol. 

Ambassador Yang Xiuping, secretary-general of the Beijing-based Asean-China Centre, recently said the president’s initiative would not only benefit China but all three continents represented in it. 

Following the forum, Mr Hun Sen will have one-on-one meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday with President Xi, Prime Minister Li Keqiang and the Chairman of the National People’s Political Consultative Congress, Yu Zhengsheng. 

Mr Hun Sen has also been granted a personal meeting with Erdenebat Jargaltulga, Prime Minister of Mongolia, as well as the heads of several high-level Chinese companies. 

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi recently compared the forum to a “circle of friends” open to all countries that share the same goals, rather than an exclusive club.

The official Xinhua news agency, in a commentary on the front page of the People’s Daily last month, lauded the forum as the “China solution” for the world’s economic woes. 

Zhao Lei, a professor at the influential Central Party School that trains rising officials, told the China Daily the initiative was “poised to provide more inclusivity than the Western-led elite clubs”.

Many Asian leaders think the Belt and Road Forum is something positive for proponents of globalisation, as the United States and parts of Europe retreat to more protectionist positions. 

“The uncertainly over Trump and his ‘America First’ is leading countries to realise they need to get on good terms with China,” a senior Asian diplomat told Reuters. His country will be represented by a top leader at the summit.

“It’s a great exercise in soft power for China and great timing,” he added.

Source: http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/38188/pm-to-attend-belt-and-road-forum/