ARTICLES

15 Sep 2026

How Cambodia Can Maintain Strategic Trust with China

Chheang Vannarith

As Sino-US competition intensifies, Cambodia’s room for manoeuvre is shrinking. Phnom Penh needs to step up in its communications and engagement.

25 Oct 2024

Charting Its Discourse: Cambodia’s Naval Vessel Acquisitions from China

Vithoureakborndidh Chou

Rather than look a gift horse in the mouth, observers should consider Cambodian agency instead of assuming Cambodia is a pliant recipient of Chinese military aid.

Cambodia Cambodia-China Relations China

20 Sep 2024

Cambodia Has Not Tilted Away from China

Bunthorn Khath|Chanrith Ngin

Cambodia’s perceived tilt towards the West has not come at the expense of its relations with Beijing. The country has maintained its diversified foreign policy position.

Cambodia Cambodia-China Relations China-Cambodia Relations

4 Jun 2024

How Cambodia’s Relationship with the US Can Stop Being “One-Sided Love”

Chhay Lim|Melinda Martinus

Instead of punishing Cambodia for its domestic record and closeness to China, the US has a chance to work with Phnom Penh’s new leaders as they seek to diversify their economy and foreign policy.

Cambodia Cambodia-China Relations International Relations US

3 May 2024

Cambodia’s Outreach to the West Does Not Change China’s Centrality

Lye Liang Fook

The view that Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet is recharting foreign policy — by reaching out to Western countries and relying less on China — is overblown. China remains Cambodia’s closest friend due to its inside track to the Cambodian elite and its pervasive influence in Cambodia’s economy.

Cambodia Cambodia-China Relations China International Relations Southeast Asia

20 Sep 2023

Cambodia’s Political Transition

Sophal Ear

In this episode, Dr William Choong, Managing Editor of Fulcrum, and Dr Jayant Menon, Senior Fellow at ISEAS, talk to Prof Sophal Ear, Associate Professor at the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University, about the political transition in Cambodia.

Cambodia Cambodia-China Relations Dialogues at Fulcrum

4 Jul 2023

Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement: A Cambodian Perspective

Chheang Vannarith

This Long Read examines the Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA), which came into force in January 2022. It argues that in order to promote industrialisation and export diversification, developing countries need to adopt an integrated industrial-trade-investment strategy. China, as a global trading power, can play a significant role in this process.

Cambodia Cambodia-China Relations

22 May 2023

Cambodia Has Benefited From BRI projects, but Must be More Strategic Going Forward

Jayant Menon

Cambodia’s participation in the Belt and Road Initiative has strengthened relations with China and brought net benefits, but also highlighted the risks of over-reliance on one country and the need for a more comprehensive framework for evaluating new investments.

Belt and Road Initiative Cambodia Cambodia-China Relations

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang holds a welcoming ceremony for Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia Hun Sen ahead of their talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on February 10, 2023. (photo: Wang Wenbin Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson / Facebook)

14 Mar 2023

Can Cambodia’s Future Foreign Policy Diverge from China?

Melinda Martinus|Chhay Lim

Whether Cambodia can truly forge a foreign policy that stands apart from China will impact the next generation of Cambodian leaders at home and abroad.

Cambodia Cambodia-China Relations Cambodia-Russia relations

16 Jun 2022

Having it Both Ways? Cambodia’s Superpower Balancing Act

Chanrith Ngin

The Cambodian People’s Party needs China, Cambodia’s top donor and investor, to sustain economic growth and reduce poverty to win the next election, which is vital to its legitimacy.

Cambodia Cambodia-China Relations International Relations