KUNMING: China is prepared to provide humanitarian supplies to Cambodia to help resettle people displaced in border regions, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Sunday in Yuxi City, southwest China’s Yunnan Province.
Wang, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the statement during a meeting with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn.
After a joint statement was signed agreeing to a ceasefire, the foreign ministers of Cambodia and Thailand are leading delegations to Yunnan for talks from Dec. 28 to 29 at Wang’s invitation.
Wang said China has been closely monitoring the tense situation along the Cambodia-Thailand border and remains committed to promoting peace through dialogue. He congratulated both sides on reaching the ceasefire agreement.
Describing the ceasefire as the first step toward peacebuilding, Wang urged both countries to advance in a phased and prudent manner to achieve a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire, restore normal exchanges, rebuild mutual trust, improve bilateral relations, and safeguard regional peace and stability.
He noted that the meeting provides an opportunity for diplomatic and military representatives from both sides to engage in direct, flexible dialogue, deepen mutual understanding, and strengthen trust.
China supports ASEAN in fulfilling its role and is willing to assist the ASEAN observation mission in monitoring the ceasefire, Wang said.
He also expressed hope that Cambodia will continue to strengthen protection for Chinese citizens and projects within the country.
Sokhonn, for his part, said Cambodia highly values China’s constructive role in mediating the conflict, including the meeting among the foreign ministers of Cambodia, China and Thailand, as well as shuttle diplomacy by the Chinese special envoy.
With the support of China and other parties, Cambodia and Thailand held a General Border Committee meeting and their militaries signed a ceasefire agreement, he said.
Looking ahead, Sokhonn said Cambodia is ready to work with Thailand to fully implement the ceasefire, make effective use of dialogue mechanisms, and steadily build trust between the two countries and their armed forces. Cambodia hopes for an early arrival of lasting peace and expects the trilateral meeting to contribute to that goal.
On bilateral ties, both sides agreed that under the strategic guidance of the two countries’ leaders, progress has been made in building an all-weather China-Cambodia community with a shared future in the new era. Cambodia thanked China for its support and assistance to national development, calling China its most reliable and trustworthy partner. Sokhonn said Cambodia will firmly uphold the one-China principle, oppose “Taiwan independence,” and support China’s reunification.
