Cambodia seeks China’s financial support as Xi visits amid US tariff war
Al JazeeraAPR 17
Xi Visits Cambodia in Final Leg of 'Anti-Tariff' Tour
Above: China's President Xi Jinping shakes hands with Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet during a meeting at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on April 17, 2025. Image copyright: Agence Kampuchea Presse/Contributor/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
The Spin
Pro-China narrative
The deepening cooperation between China and Cambodia represents stability amid global uncertainty, serving as a model for regional relations and demonstrating how countries can resist economic coercion — such as U.S. tariffs — through partnership while maintaining strategic independence and mutual respect.
Anti-China narrative
U.S. tariffs on Cambodia do affect China, regardless of what the Chinese Communist Party claims. Those who take for granted that weaker U.S.-Cambodia trade ties will translate into greater Chinese dominance fail to realize that a drop in exports to the U.S. would actually reduce the need for Chinese investment and raw materials in Cambodia.