Trade volume between Cambodia and China was valued at $1.79 billion in the first four months this year, a 42 per cent increase compared to the same period last year, according to the Chinese embassy in Cambodia.

In 2012, bilateral trade between the countries reached about $3 billion, a 16 per cent year-on-year increase.

Speaking at the promotion conference for the 114th Guangzhou Import and Export Fair in the Sofitel Hotel yesterday, Li Zhi Gong, a representative of the Chinese Embassy in Cambodia, said: “While both countries target to reach trade volume at $5 billion in 2017, more cooperation is needed to reach the goal.”

Of the 146,854 tonnes of rice Cambodia exported in the first five months of this year, 12,687 tonnes went to China.

Chen Chang Jiang, Chief Executive Officer at Bank of China in Cambodia, said that financial services in his bank have been increasing parallel to the increase in trade activity between the two countries.