Continuing a trend that began before Prime Minister Jiang Zemin visited Cambodia in November, another delegation from China is in Phnom Penh this week seeking to strengthen ties between the two countries.
Henry Ying-Tung, deputy president of the National Commission for the Political Council of the Chinese Assembly, is leading a delegation on a three-day visit highlighted by a meeting Friday with Prime Minister Hun Sen at the Council of Ministers.
The delegation also would visit Laos and Vietnam. Chinese Embassy officials Tuesday would not discuss details of the trip except to say it was designed to share ideas between the two countries’ legislatures.
“The changing experiences of the two countries will be a topic of the meetings, because the legislative bodies of China and Cambodia use some of the same systems,” said Um Sarith, secretary general of Cambodia’s Senate.
Um Sarith said discussion of the proposed Khmer Rouge tribunal is not on the agenda.
A delegation of Cambodian legislators was scheduled to visit Beijing last fall, but the visit was canceled when Senate President Chea Sim suffered a minor stroke on the eve of the flight.
The Chinese visitors will meet with King Norodom Sihanouk, Prince Norodom Ranariddh and Chea Sim during their visit.
There has also been a meeting between CPP and Chinese Communist Party leaders in the past three months.
, along with various discussions between Cambodian government and economic officials and their Chinese counterparts.
