China and Cambodian on Tuesday singed a package of agreements aiming to further strengthen economic cooperation and trade between the two countries.  

At a ceremony attended by visiting Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, the two sides signed in Phnom Penh nine cooperation documents, including five exchanges of notes, three Memorandums of Understanding and an agreement.

Under the agreement, the two countries decided to strengthen their economic and technical cooperation.

Under the exchanges of notes, the Chinese side will provide a grant of two million yuan (US$241,800) for goods for King Norodom Sihanouk, and 400 sets of police motorcycles for the Cambodian government. It will also conduct preliminary technical study of the missing link section of the trans-Asia railway network in Cambodia, launch human resources training programs in the country, and make a study of the rehabilitation of the office buildings and library of Cambodia's Senate.

The Chinese government also agreed to have a feasibility study of Kirirom III hydropower project and to cooperate on Sihanoukville Textile Industrial Park project.

"For the last five years, Chinese investment has been increasing," said Jimmy Gao, president of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia.

Trade between China and Cambodia yielded a total of more than US$320 million in 2003, up 16.1 percent compared to 2002. China has become one of Cambodia's major foreign investment countries.

Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi arrived in Cambodia on Friday, starting her five-day official visit to the nation at the invitation of Cambodia's Deputy Prime Minister Sar Kheng. She will leave here Tuesday afternoon for Myanmar to continue her 4-nation Asian tour. Cambodia is her second leg of the tour following a visit to Laos.

(Xinhua News Agency March 23, 2004)