Phnom penh (Cambodia), Apr 17 (AP) Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Cambodia on Thursday for a two-day state visit that serves as an opportunity to further strengthen China's already robust relations with its closest ally in Southeast Asia.

The visit, Xi's first since 2016, concludes a three-nation tour that included stops in Vietnam and Malaysia. China has been increasing its influence in the region over the past decade, largely by exercising its substantial economic leverage.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet recently described Beijing as “an important and indispensable friend of Cambodia that has helped support the country's economic and social development.” Xi was welcomed at the airport in Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh by King Norodom Sihamoni, who later granted him a royal audience. Xi also met later with Prime Minister Hun Manet and Senate President Hun Sen, who is Hun Manet's father and predecessor as prime minister.

In a statement at the airport after his arrival on his presidential aircraft, an American-made Air China Boeing 747, Xi declared “Cambodia is a priority in China's neighborhood diplomacy." "China will unswervingly support Cambodia in upholding strategic autonomy and in pursuing a development path suited to its national conditions,” he said, according to a transcript distributed by the Chinese embassy.

Trade was likely a major topic of Xi's discussions in Cambodia, which faces among the highest tariff rates proposed by Washington. In addition to Trump's universal 10% tariff, the country faces the threat of a 49% tax on exports to the US once his 90-day pause expires.

Xi's tour was organised before Trump announced his global “reciprocal” tariffs on April 2.

In Vietnam and Malaysia, Xi emphasized strengthening ties, particularly in trade and investment, amid global economic uncertainties and the backdrop of trade tensions with the United States. He underscored the need to oppose unilateralism and protectionism and uphold the multilateral trading system.

China is presenting itself as a source of stability and certainty as Southeast Asia; where Trump's tariffs threaten the region's export-oriented economies whose largest markets are generally the United States.

“The timing of the visit is extraordinarily auspicious for China, falling just in the wake of the announcement of Trump's tariffs that have caused managed consternation in Cambodia and Vietnam,” while also causing “upset” in Malaysia, which faces lower rates, Astrid Norén-Nilsson, a senior lecturer in the Study of Contemporary South-East Asia at Sweden's Lund University, commented in an email interview.

“Xi Jinping can now carry out the tour equipped with the moral authority and goodwill of a singularly constant friend and reliable trading partner.” In addition to discussing bilateral ties and regional and international issues, Hun Manet said on the Telegram social and messaging app that he and Xi presided over the signing of 37 documents covering investment, trade, education, finance, information, youth work, agriculture, health, water resources, tourism, women's affairs and other subjects.

Xi's visit came on the 50th anniversary of the April 17, 1975 takeover of Cambodia by the communist Khmer Rouge, who imposed a reign of terror with Maoist-inspired policies that saw an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians die of starvation, overwork or executions.

Beijing was the main foreign backer of the Khmer Rouge and supported the group in carrying on a guerrilla war even after it was ousted from power in 1979 by an invasion from Vietnam, though such history is rarely discussed by either country.

Cambodia's rapid growth in recent decades has been fuelled largely by Beijing.

In Hun Manet's remarks earlier this month at the inauguration of a Chinese-funded road, he called China “a first-class partner country,” pointing to achievements like the inauguration of the Chinese-named Angkor Siem Reap Airport and a Phnom Penh ring road named after Xi as evidence of continued strong relations and gratitude, and noted China's continued ranking as the top investor in Cambodia in 2024.

China is Cambodia's largest trading partner, surpassing $15 billion in 2024 and representing nearly 30% of Cambodia's total trade volume, though greatly in Beijing's favor.

Beijing also helped fund an expansion of the Ream Naval Base on Cambodia's southern coast, raising worries it could become a strategic outpost for the Chinese navy in the Gulf of Thailand. Cambodia has repeatedly denied any agreement granting China special privileges or the establishment of a foreign military base.

Cambodia has stated that warships from all friendly countries are welcome to dock at its new pier, provided they comply with certain conditions. Japan announced on Tuesday that two of its minesweepers will visit the Ream base this weekend in the first foreign navy visit since the expansion project was completed. (AP) ZH ZH