Phnom Penh (FN), Nov. 15 – Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen and Chinese premier Li Keqiang announced that Cambodia-China free trade agreement will come into force in January 2022.

This announcement was made during a meeting between the two leaders via video conference on Monday.

The agreement was signed on 12 October 2020, but it has not yet been implemented.

Premier’s personal assistant Eang Sophalleth confirmed that the two premiers agreed to boost the two countries' trade volume to USD 10 billion.

In this regard, premier Li Keqiang called for discussions on China's rice and agricultural import quotas. He wanted to see all kinds of Cambodia's agricultural products exported directly to China.

According to secretary of state at the Ministry of Commerce Sok Sopheak, after Cambodia-China signed the Free Trade Agreement (FTA), 95 percent of Cambodia's 340 export items will be exempted from tariff.

"Among the 340 commodities in the Cambodia-China FTA, 95 percent of them will be on tariff-free list,” Sopheak said.

Most of the products are in agriculture and agro-processing, which include pepper, chillies, pineapples, vegetables, fruit, fish, meat, grain, seafood and a variety of canned products, according to Sok Sopheak.

The commodities, which are still taxed, are rice, rubber, tobacco, sugar, powders and paper products.

It is worth noting that China is the largest source of foreign direct investment and also Cambodia's most key trading partner. Trade volume between the two countries continued to grow significantly despite the COVID19 pandemic.

Sopheak added that in the first six months of 2021, the trade volume between Cambodia and China reached nearly USD 5 billion, an increase of 31 percent.

Cambodia’s exports to China always grow at an average rate of 6-10% per year.

In general, Cambodia exports to China garments, shoes, leather, fur, machinery, pistons, rice, rubber, bananas, cassava, cashew nuts, shoes, suitcases, etc.

Exports from China include products for investment and production, such as textiles, cotton, steel, machinery, construction materials, electronics and electronics, plastics, aluminum, furniture and paper and cardboard.
=FRESH NEWS