China commerce

Bilateral trade between Cambodia and China reached US$498 million in the first quarter, soaring 216 percent from the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

Cambodia exported $42 million worth of goods to China between January and March, an increase of 342 percent from the same quarter a year ago. Meanwhile, the Kingdom’s imports from China jumped 208 percent to $456 million for the period, the statistics show.

Government officials highlighted close ties between the two nations as main drivers of growth in trade.

“The sharp rise comes thanks to the economic recovery and closer economic and social ties between the two countries,” said Kong Putheara, Director at the Commerce Ministry’s Statistics Department.

Cambodia’s main imports from China were garment raw materials, machinery, food and electronics, while China imported agricultural products, rubber, timber and garments from the Kingdom.

Total trade between the two countries in 2010 registered at $1.4 billion. Officials from the two governments pledged to boost total bilateral trade to $2.5 billion by 2012 during a meeting in Phnom Penh last month.