Phnom Penh is a close partner of China, which has invested billions of dollars in projects including roads and airports, and is the country’s largest creditor.

Cambodia is betting on more financial support from China, including for infrastructure, as President Xi Jinping visits the country on Thursday at the end of a three-nation trip in Southeast Asia, a Cambodian government spokesman said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday arrived in Cambodia for a two-day state visit. The visit, Xi’s first since 2016, concludes a three-nation Southeast Asian tour that included stops in Vietnam and Malaysia. Xi was formally greeted at the airport in Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh, by Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni.