Cambodian experts: 70 years on, China's prestige flies higher in intl arena

2019-09-23
Xinhua

PHNOM PENH — Seventy years on, China has played a greater role in boosting global growth and maintaining security and stability in the region and the world, Cambodian experts have said.

Kin Phea, director-general of the International Relations Institute of the Royal Academy of Cambodia, said the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC) 70 years ago started a new chapter of the history of China and the Chinese people.

With its progress and peaceful rise, China has played a critical role in the establishment of a new multi-polar world, and has extended its influence in world economy and politics, he told Xinhua.

Ek Tha, a spokesman for the Council of Ministers, said the founding of the PRC in 1949 meant a lot, not only to the Chinese people themselves, but also to the world.

"In this sense, when it comes to domestically speaking, it shows China's internal unity and solidarity," he told Xinhua.

He said such a great move enabled China to improve its friendly relationship with other countries near and far, and that China continued to win the hearts of the people from different parts of the world through multilateral trade, investment, cultural exchanges and tourism.

"We therefore have seen many Chinatowns in many parts of the world. Such a prime example can explain an increasingly significant Chinese cultural influence from time to time," Ek Tha said.

He said China is playing a greater role in international diplomacy that brings about peace, stability and prosperity in the region and the world.

Chheang Vannarith, president of the Asian Vision Institute, said the founding of the PRC was the birth of a new and independent China.

"It is also a significant event in human history in which human dignity and civilization was restored," he told Xinhua.

Joseph Matthews, a senior professor at the Beltei International University, said 70 years ago, the Communist Party of China succeeded in establishing a new China in the ruins of an old semi-colonial and semi-feudal society, thus achieving national independence and liberation of the Chinese people.

"New China's appearance on the world's map in 1949 was historically significant event which has changed and influenced geopolitical trends in Asia particularly and in the world generally," he said.

Speaking of China's reform and opening-up since 1978, Kin Phea said China's economic development is the most impressive achievement.

"The Chinese economy is on a path of increasing with other major world powers," he said, noting that from a centrally planned economy system to a socialist market one, China is now the world's second largest economy by nominal GDP.

Kin Phea said China would boost rapid economic growth and inclusive development in the region and in the world, and that intra-regional and inter-regional connectivity would be improved by the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative.

"BRI (Belt and Road Initiative) is a new global force of peace, stability, prosperity and harmony. Every country shares an equal say in collectively designing and implementing BRI's projects," he said.

Ek Tha said he had no doubts that China's prestige will continue to fly high on the international stage.

"Nothing can hinder China from developing in all fields," he said, adding that "I foresee that China's development will benefit not only the Chinese people, but also the countries that participate in China's Belt and Road Initiative."