Hun Sen Has Confidence in China

Cambodia has confidence in China, says prime minister

Phnom Penh - Cambodia sees China's booming economy as a benefit, not a threat, and the kingdom is anticipating 1 million Chinese tourists a year as Chinese became richer, Prime Minister Hun Sen said Wednesday.
'Some people say China's economic growth is a threat to the world economy but some say it is good for the region and the world,' Hun Sen told a conference on investment and trade in the capital.
'I believe when China becomes rich it is good for Cambodia. When we receive Chinese tourists it is even better than Chinese investment. We want 1 million Chinese tourists per year.'
Hun Sen said he was inclined to trust in China's continued economic growth, and questioned the effect the burgeoning current account deficit of the US would have on exports for Cambodia and other regional economies in the not-so distant future.
'This could be a danger for the world economy. The US is like the locomotive engine of the train. When the engine stops, we all slow down,' he said.
According to the Ministry of Tourism third quarter statistics for 2007, mainland Chinese tourist arrivals to Cambodia ranked a distant sixth of all nationalities, but the 82,915 Chinese tourists still represented an increase of more than 47 per cent from last year.
China has rapidly become Cambodia's most important source of foreign direct investment, and is also a major donor.