Hun Sen wants 2 million Chinese travelers to visit to make up for lost time during height of pandemic
This picture taken on April 7, 2022 shows tourists visiting the Angkor Wat temple complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in Siem Reap province, Cambodia. (Photo: AFP)
Cambodia is set to give a red carpet welcome to 2 million visitors from China, hit by a new wave of Covid-19, despite travel restrictions being imposed by many other nations.
Announcing the arrival of 2 million Chinese visitors to Cambodia shortly, Prime Minister Hun Sen said no Covid-19 restrictions will be imposed on them, adding, “We treat all travelers from all countries equally.”
“I have noticed several nations have imposed restrictions on travelers from China, such as requiring a PCR test beforehand or performing a rapid test upon arrival,” Hun Sen told reporters after a ground-breaking ceremony for a bridge construction project across the Mekong River — the third longest river in Asia.
Hun Sen’s announcement came amid concerns that a sudden spike in Covid-19 infections in China, Asia’s largest economy and most populous nation, and the tight travel restrictions imposed by many Asian countries could pose a threat to efforts to kick-start the regional travel industry.
The United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Spain, South Korea, Taiwan, and the United States have made it mandatory for Chinese travelers to provide medical certificates, proving they have tested negative for Covid-19 at least 48 hours before leaving the country.
They have also made it compulsory for Chinese visitors to undergo medical tests upon arrival.
“However, we differ from them as we treat all travelers from all countries equally,” Hun Sen said. “I expect Chinese visitors to flood the Kingdom as they realize Cambodia does not impose any restrictions on them despite the virus status.
“If China starts to operate dozens of flights a day, we will receive 2 million Chinese tourists, the same number as before Covid-19, and the tourism sector will be better,” said Hun Sen, one of the longest-serving leaders in the world.
Quoting Wang Wentian, China’s ambassador to Cambodia, the official Agence Kampuchea Presse reported that Cambodia “will be the most important destination for the Chinese.”
China, the world’s second-largest economy, has been the backbone of the Cambodian economy over the past decade.
Beijing had been building massive infrastructure projects and sent around 2 million tourists each year before the pandemic erupted in late 2019. Since then, the Cambodian economy has been struggling.
Under 70-year-old Hun Sen, Cambodia enjoys cordial ties with China. Their bilateral trade volume hit $14.5 billion in 2022, posting a year-on-year growth of 19.1 percent.
China-Cambodia ties reached a new level with the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade pact and the China-Cambodia Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA) becoming active last year.
Their joint Covid-19 fight has undoubtedly injected fresh impetus and Cambodia is also taking part in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in a big way.
As Hun Sen declared restriction-free access to Cambodia, China Southern Airlines announced the resumption of flights to destinations across the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), including Cambodia, and major world capitals from its hub in the southern city of Shenzhen.
Its first flight, a return trip to Amsterdam, was expected to leave Shenzhen on Jan. 4, China Southern Airlines said in a statement as the foreign ministry in Beijing termed the travel restrictions imposed by other countries as unacceptable.
“Some countries have imposed entry restrictions targeting only Chinese travelers,” Mao Ning, foreign ministry spokesperson, told journalists.
“This lacks a scientific basis and some practices are unacceptable.”
She also warned that China could take countermeasures based on “the principle of reciprocity.”
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