On the afternoon of 26 June, Premier Li Qiang of the State Council met with Cambodian People's Party President and Senate President Hun Sen at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Li Qiang stated that China and Cambodia are ironclad friends who share weal and woe, and China has always made Cambodia a priority in its neighbourhood diplomacy, firmly supporting the smooth governance of the Cambodian government. China is willing to strengthen strategic communication with Cambodia, take the implementation of the action plan for building a China-Cambodia community with a shared future in the new era as the main line, continuously enrich the 'Diamond Hexagon' cooperation framework, accelerate the construction of the 'Industrial Development Corridor' and the 'Fish and Rice Corridor', enhance the scale and quality of bilateral trade, and deepen cooperation in infrastructure, agriculture, clean energy, digital economy, artificial intelligence, and other fields.

Hun Sen stated that Cambodia-China relations have entered a new phase of building an all-weather community with a shared future in the new era. Cambodia appreciates China's long-term support, which has helped Cambodia's economic and social development and strengthened its confidence in maintaining political independence. China is the most important pillar for Cambodia's economic development.

Cambodia is willing to strengthen development strategy alignment, deepen cooperation in trade, agriculture, infrastructure construction, high-quality investment, and other fields, and tap into cooperation potential in digitalisation, green transformation, blue economy, supply chains, and finance. It welcomes more Chinese enterprises to invest in Cambodia. The two sides also agreed to strengthen collaboration in multilateral mechanisms.

State Councillor Wu Zhenglong attended the meeting.

For New Zealand small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) owners, this news may appear to be about China-Cambodia bilateral relations, but in fact it reflects the new direction of China's foreign cooperation strategy. Firstly, China is accelerating its deep engagement with Southeast Asian countries, exporting infrastructure, agricultural, and digital technology through frameworks such as the 'Diamond Hexagon' and 'Industrial Development Corridor'. For New Zealand businesses that have already established a presence in Cambodia or plan to enter, this may mean more developed infrastructure (e.g. railways, ports) and a more favourable investment environment, but they will also face strong competition from Chinese companies in these areas.

Secondly, China's positioning of Cambodia as a 'priority in neighbourhood diplomacy' suggests resource concentration, which could squeeze New Zealand's traditional agricultural and dairy export markets in Southeast Asia—Cambodia and neighbouring countries may be more inclined to source Chinese products rather than New Zealand ones.

Keywords: Li Qiang, Hun Sen, China-Cambodia relations, Diamond Hexagon, Industrial Development Corridor, Fish and Rice Corridor, cooperation, strategic alignment, ironclad friends, Cambodia

6月26日下午，国务院总理李强在北京人民大会堂会见柬埔寨人民党主席、参议院主席洪森。李强表示，中柬是同甘共苦的铁杆朋友，中方始终把柬埔寨作为周边外交重点方向，坚定支持柬埔寨政府顺利施政。中方愿同柬方加强战略沟通，以落实构建新时代中柬命运共同体行动计划为主线，持续充实“钻石六边”合作架构，加快推进“工业发展走廊”和“鱼米走廊”建设，提升双边贸易规模和质效，深化基础设施、农业、清洁能源、数字经济、人工智能等领域合作。

洪森表示，柬中关系已进入构建新时代全天候命运共同体新阶段，柬方感谢中方长期支持，中国的支持助力柬经济社会发展并增强其保持政治独立的底气，中国是柬经济发展最重要的依靠。柬方愿加强发展战略对接，深化经贸、农业、基础设施建设、高质量投资等领域合作，挖掘数字化、绿色转型、蓝色经济、供应链、金融等合作潜力，欢迎更多中国企业来柬投资。双方还同意加强多边机制协作。

国务委员吴政隆参加会见。

对新西兰中小企业主而言，这条新闻看似与中国-柬埔寨双边关系相关，实则折射出中国对外合作战略的新动向。首先，中国正加速推动与东南亚国家的深度绑定，通过‘钻石六边’、‘工业发展走廊’等框架输出基建、农业、数字经济技术。对于在柬埔寨已布局或计划进入的新西兰企业，这可能意味着更完善的基础设施（如铁路、港口）和更优惠的投资环境，但同时也面临中国企业在这些领域的强力竞争。

其次，中国将柬埔寨定位为‘周边外交重点’，暗示其资源倾斜，可能导致新西兰在东南亚的传统农业、乳制品出口市场受到挤压——柬埔寨及周边国家可能更倾向于采购中国产品而非新西兰的。

关键词: 李强, 洪森, 中柬关系, 钻石六边, 工业发展走廊, 鱼米走廊, 合作, 战略对接, 铁杆朋友, 柬埔寨

AI illustration on MiDeer Observer

Source: China.org.cn