China Announces Strategic Cooperative Partnership with Zambia, Cambodia

The leaders of China, Zambia, and Cambodia have announced the elevation of their relations to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, signaling China's deepening engagement with the global South.

According to Chinese media, President Xi Jinping met with the newly appointed Prime Minister of Cambodia, Hun Manet, earlier in the day. He also held talks with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro earlier in the week.

Three leaders from Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America are discussing China's growing role in those parts of the world. Chinese state-owned banks have provided funding for roads and other infrastructure projects, while Chinese companies have built factories, mines, hotels, and casinos.

China has garnered diplomatic support from many countries in the global South on contentious discussions and votes at the United Nations, as well as support from Cambodia in regional disputes between China and other Southeast Asian nations in the South China Sea.

China has attached greater geopolitical importance to its engagement with the global South as it seeks allies to counter the increasing pressure from the United States and its partners on multiple fronts.

Chinese state-run broadcaster CCTV reported online that Xi and Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema announced the partnership upgrade during a meeting at the Great Hall of the People, a massive building on one side of Tiananmen Square in Beijing.

This comes two days after China announced that it had elevated its diplomatic relations with Venezuela to a comprehensive partnership, a status granted by China to only a handful of countries, following a meeting between Xi and Maduro.

Debt-fueled development loans from China and others have burdened some countries, including Zambia, with unsustainable debt levels, leading to economic development setbacks. Over 40% of Cambodia's $10 billion external debt is owed to Chinese institutions.

Hun Manet made China his first official foreign visit after succeeding his father, Hun Sen, who ruled Cambodia for 40 years.

The United States has expressed disapproval of Hun Sen's undemocratic moves and is uneasy about the expansion of a Cambodian naval facility with Chinese assistance. Hun Sen, however, consistently denies that Cambodia has granted China the right to establish its military base in the Ream Naval Base.

Following his meetings in Beijing, Hun Manet plans to join other Southeast Asian leaders at the 20th China-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Expo in southern China over the weekend, which aims to enhance cooperation in trade, investment, and tourism.

(Note: The article has been translated from the provided Arabic text. It's important to verify the accuracy of the facts and events mentioned in the original Arabic source.)