A soon-to-be-signed Cambodia-China free trade agreement (FTA) will not extend Phnom Penh the economic lifeline it initially sought from Beijing and now needs more than ever in the wake of Covid-19.
Cambodia’s first-ever bilateral trade pact will by initial estimates add less than 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) to the economy and prioritize agriculture over manufacturing exports at a time Cambodia’s crucial garment industry is teetering towards collapse.
Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government is nonetheless putting a positive spin on a deal brokered with the leader’s closest ally and benefactor, both as an avenue to lessen export dependence on the West and a way to revive the flailing agricultural sector.
In full: https://asiatimes.com/2020/08/china-cambodia-trade-pact-more-form-than-substance/
