The country, which is a major exporter of clothing and footwear to the United States, was hit with a 49% “reciprocal” tariff by U.S. President Donald Trump, one of the highest rates globally, before most duties were paused until July.
“We expect more cooperation including on infrastructure development,“ Meas Soksensan, spokesman for the Cambodian finance ministry, told Reuters on the eve of Xi's arrival in Phnom Penh.
In an article published on Thursday morning on Cambodian media, Xi urged Phnom Penh to oppose “hegemonism” and “protectionism”, repeating messages he sent earlier this week to Vietnam and Malaysia in the first two legs of his trip.
The Cambodian government has said China would pay for the Funan Techo Canal, which would run from the Mekong River, from a site near Phnom Penh, to the coast on the Gulf of Thailand, diverting water from the fragile rice-growing Mekong Delta and reducing Cambodian shipping through Vietnamese ports.
Xi's visit to Cambodia is part of a long-planned trip that has been seen as a charm offensive in Southeast Asia, one of the regions hardest hit by U.S. tariffs. He earlier visited Malaysia and Vietnam, which has expressed misgivings about the Funan Techo canal.
The drop in funding came as China reduced overall overseas investments amid domestic economic woes and concerns over unsuccessful projects.
Before Xi's arrival, Cambodia said it had deported to China a number of “Chinese criminals”, including people from Taiwan, in a move that angered Taipei.
Earlier in April, the two countries held joint military exercises at a newly expanded naval base on the Cambodian coast, a facility the United States worries could become a Chinese military outpost.
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