China and Cambodia agreed on Sunday
that the South China Sea issue should not be a stumbling block for relations
between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
The agreement was reached during
talks between visiting Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and his Cambodian counterpart
Hun Sen.
According to Foreign Ministry
spokesman Qin Gang, broad agreement was also reached on the issue during talks,
also on Sunday, between Wen and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.
Qin said Asean countries reached
consensus that the South China Sea issue should not be internationalised or be
a barrier between China and Asean, adding consultations with Asean nations were
ongoing.
Wen is currently visiting
Cambodia ahead of a series of meetings with East Asian leaders. These meetings,
the 15th summit between China and Asean, as well as the 15th summit between
Asean, China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, will start on Monday and Wen
will also attend the seventh East Asia Summit, which will be also attended by
the US President Barack Obama.
Cambodia holds the Asean chair
this year.
Wen and Hun Sen also witnessed
the signing of a number of economic deals, aimed at boosting Cambodia's
infrastructure.
Analysts said China's aid is not
only beneficial to the economic development of Cambodia, but also conducive to
narrowing the development gap within Asean.
The two leaders pledged to expand
cooperation in all fields and to double trade to US$5 billion by 2017.
Before to the talks, Wen paid
tribute to former Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk at the capital's Royal
Palace. Sihanouk passed away at the age of 90 in Beijing last month.
Wen also held talks with
Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni and Queen Mother Norodom Monineath.
Fu Xuezhang, a former Chinese ambassador
to Cambodia, said the death of Sihanouk will not change the direction of
relations as both countries share similar policies at home and abroad -
developing their domestic economies and maintaining diplomatic independence.
"Cambodia, which has suffered from conflict for decades, always
prioritises development and stability, while cooperation with China has been
helping it to achieve these goals," he said.
China is now Cambodia's largest
foreign investor. In 2011, trade was around US$2.5 billion, a 73.5 per cent
surge on the previous year. However, the number is dwarfed by the value of
trade of other Southeast Asian countries with China.
Gong Yingchun, an associate
professor with the Beijing-based China Foreign Affairs University said Asia is
experiencing downward pressure, and for those Southeast Asian countries
cooperation with China is inevitable and is even on the top of their agendas.
Qin Jize and Zhao
Shengnan
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