The year 2018 marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Cambodia. Over the past 60 years, China-Cambodia relations have weathered the storm and still maintain a close partnership. Time has proved that the relations are marked by unbreakable friendship and mutual trust, solid socio-economic ties, and a broad and profound foundation for future development.The year 2019 is the first year of the next 60 years for China and Cambodia. At the start of the opening year, The Chinese and Cambodian governments signed the Action Plan for Building the China-Cambodia Community with a Shared Future (2019-2023) in April, designed to strengthen political, economic, trade, investment, tourism, and cultural exchanges between the two countries. By signing the plan, the Chinese government is upgrading its foreign relations and putting into practice its policy of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit, and inclusiveness in neighborhood diplomacy. This is the first document signed by the Chinese government with regard to the community with a shared future, and Cambodia has become the first country to sign an action plan with China for building the community with a shared future. The signing of the plan signifies a new stage of development in bilateral relations and demonstrates the Chinese government’s expectation to set an example for the development of China-ASEAN relations and a new partnership in Asia.Here are some key issues to discuss today: What is the China-Cambodia community with a shared future? What changes are taking place in China’s diplomatic philosophy and practice compared to the past? How to build the China-Cambodia community with a shared future? What should be the future cooperation between Chinese and Cambodian think tanks?The community with a shared future was first proposed by China as a diplomatic concept at the Boao Forum for Asia in April 2013, at which President Xi Jinping stressed that countries should firmly establish the awareness of “the community with a shared future”. Afterwards, China put forward the concept of the community with a shared future for mankind in early 2017, which was subsequently included in the United Nations resolution on February 10, 2017. It is now a term commonly used to describe the new ideal of mankind, and at the same time, it is also a new concept of Chinese diplomacy in the new era, serving as a guiding principle for China’s foreign strategy.What is the community with a shared future? No standard or unified definition is available in the literature. Yet, in general, the community with a shared future is considered as a concept, a process, and a practice. It is a relationship among actors with independent consciousness that shares common development, responsibility, and future, and it is the pursuit of external stability by two or more actors in the context of globalization. The China-Cambodia community with a shared future is a way for the two governments to build broader and deeper economic and social ties for common development in response to today’s complex and ever-changing international environment. Setting the community with a shared future as an action plan is a new breakthrough in the diplomatic history of China and also the first of its kind in the history of world diplomacy by China and Cambodia.The community with a shared future constitutes an important diplomatic concept for China in the new era and has its own connotation. First, it is an inheritance of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. In the construction of the community with a shared future, one shall not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, nor put one’s own ideas above those of other countries, nor forcibly exploit other countries. Instead, the construction is centered on broadening the concept of development, tapping the respective advantages of the two countries, broadening the space for cooperation, and conducting in-depth consultations on issues of common concerns. The construction has its boundaries and is based on the premise of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. Through the building of the community with a shared future, the economic and social ties will be drawn closer, and bilateral relations will be deepened, yet such development must respect the sovereign independence and political independence of the partner country. Second, the community with a shared future seeks a closer partnership, especially in foreign relations, and shares common goals, principles, and discourse on regional and global issues. For instance, it advocates common development and opposes winner-takes-all, it stands for peace and opposes hegemony, and it upholds multilateralism and objects to unilateralism, etc. Third, the community with a shared future entails deepening the space for global cooperation and development, especially the space for cooperation with each other. This allows economic and social development to proceed on the basis of two resources, namely internal resources and external resources, and helps a country to escape from relying mainly on internal resources for development while making insufficient use of external resources. Thus, faster and better economic and social development can be achieved.It has been some time since the China-Cambodia community with a shared future was envisioned. Following Hun Sen’s re-election as Prime Minister and the Cambodia People’s Party’s victory in the 6th National Assembly election, both Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang sent congratulatory messages to Prime Minister Hun Sen, saying, “China will, as always, continue to support Cambodia in pursuing a development path that suits its national conditions. The Chinese side is willing to work together with the Cambodian side to promote the development of the China-Cambodia comprehensive strategic partnership and jointly build the community with a shared future of strategic significance. In early 2018, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen during his visit to Cambodia and proposed to “join hands to build the community with a shared future of strategic significance,” positioning the relationship at the highest level among China’s relations with all its neighbors. Then in January 2019, Joint Press Release Between the People’s Republic of China and the Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia puts that in the new historical period, the two sides should further strengthen comprehensive strategic cooperation, develop action plans for building the community with a shared future of strategic significance for China and Cambodia, focus on strengthening cooperation in four major fields, namely politics, economy, security, and people-to-people, and boost bilateral relations to greater development in the next 60 years.What is the foundation for China and Cambodia to build the community with a shared future?First and foremost, the two countries stand on solid political ties. Cambodia is a friendly neighbor to China, and the two countries have been maintaining a “partner + brother” relationship. The long-standing friendly exchanges between several generations of Chinese leaders and the late King Norodom Sihanouk contributed to the strong friendship between the two peoples. The Cambodian government always supports China firmly on major issues of concern, and is a reliable strategic partner. On December 13, 2010, China and Cambodia declared to establish a “comprehensive strategic partnership”, and in 2016, the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Mechanism was launched, providing a platform and mechanism for both countries to further deepen bilateral economic and trade cooperation. In October 2016, Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a successful state visit to Cambodia, elevating the traditional China-Cambodia friendship and the comprehensive strategic partnership of the two countries to a new historical height once again. With extensive consensus on expanding and deepening practical cooperation between the two countries in various fields, President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Hun Sen witnessed the signing of 31 cooperation documents, including the Memorandum of Understanding on China-Cambodia Cooperation in Production Capacity and Investment. PM Hun Sen has led delegations 11 times to attend the China-ASEAN Expos, which has been held for 15 sessions, being the ASEAN leader who has attended the most times. For two consecutive years, the Cambodian government sent a high-profile delegation to attend the China International Import Expo to display Cambodia’s national image and national characteristics and showcase the quality products of Cambodian enterprises.Second, the two countries enjoy a fast-growing economic tie. China is now Cambodia’s largest trading partner, the largest source of foreign investment, the largest provider of development assistance, and the largest source of tourists. The bilateral trade volume, according to the Chinese side, hit $7.39 billion in 2018, up by 27.6%, and reached $6.88 billion from January to September 2019, up by 28.8% year-on-year. China firmly secures its position as Cambodia’s largest trading partner. According to Cambodian data, China ranks first with a cumulative investment of $7.9 billion in Cambodia from 2016 to August 2019, accounting for 35% of total foreign investment in Cambodia. The Cambodian side counted that China is its largest trading partner, the largest source of imports, and the largest export market of rice. The vast market of China provides great development space for Cambodia to export its advantageous agricultural products; and the machines, equipment, and raw materials of China strongly support the development of Cambodia’s manufacturing industry. A batch of key investment projects make positive progress and attain mutual benefit and a win-win situation. Phase I of the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone is completed with a total area of 5 square kilometers. More than 130 manufacturing enterprises are settled in the zone, providing more than 20,000 jobs for the local community, and the industrial output contributes to more than 50% of the economy of Sihanoukville province. Among them, Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone (SSEZ) and Cambodia-China Integrated Investment and Development Pilot Zone (CIIDZ) are the most significant achievements. SSEZ is a pioneer project of the Belt and Road Initiative in Cambodia. It is an international economic and trade cooperation zone led by Hodo Group and jointly developed by Chinese and Cambodian enterprises. The SSEZ has developed rapidly under the BRI and is considered as an iconic project of the BRI in Cambodia, which has been highly recognized by the senior leaders of China and Cambodia. On the eve of his visit to Cambodia in October 2016, Chinese President Xi Jinping published an op-ed entitled “China and Cambodia: Good Neighbors and Trusted Friends” in the Rasmei Kampuchea Daily Newspaper, Cambodia’s largest Khmer-language newspaper, suggesting that the SSEZ has become a model for pragmatic cooperation between China and Cambodia. CIIDZ is a comprehensive development zone, including an economic, industrial cooperation zone, leisure tourism resort, ecological agricultural plantation zone, marine industry zone, and so on. The project further comprises transportation infrastructure supporting projects such as airports, wharves, high-speed rail, and highways. And upon its construction, it is expected to contribute to the local economic and social development and job opportunities in Cambodia and will also attract foreign tourists to Cambodia as a key destination. The Chinese enterprises have invested in the construction of 10 hydropower stations and one thermal power station in Cambodia, whose total installed power accounts for 93% of the conventional installed power in the country. In 2018, its electric capacity to access the grid accounted for 90% of the national total, an increase of 31.6% year-on-year. In particular, the Lower Sesan 2 (LS2) Hydropower Project by Huaneng was officially put into operation in 2018. With an installed capacity of 400,000 kilowatts, it is the largest hydropower plant in Cambodia. Prime Minister Hun Sen attended the commencement ceremony and spoke at the site in December 2018, fully acknowledging the contribution made by Chinese enterprises to help Cambodia’s power development. China offers great support and assistance to infrastructure improvements such as airports, roads, and ports in Cambodia. China has supported and helped Cambodia to build two new airports in Phnom Penh, and Siem Reap by providing interest-free or preferential loans, assisted in the construction of the Cambodia-Laos power transmission line, and also helped Cambodia to build a highway from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville Port. In 2018, China and Cambodia started or put into operation a lot of cooperation projects in the field of roads, bridges, and other transportation infrastructure, and Prime Minister Hun Sen attended many relevant events and witnessed the cooperation and achievements of China and Cambodia in the field of interconnection under the framework of BRI. More and more Chinese enterprises are investing in Cambodia, clearly indicating that Chinese investors are optimistic about Cambodia’s economic development and the prospect of China-Cambodian economic and trade cooperation. In March 2019, a grand opening ceremony was held for the Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway, and the project will be the first expressway in Cambodia upon completion. All the work of the Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport (IATA: REP) project is under active progress. Under the BRI, many fruits have been attained in the capacity cooperation between China and Cambodia in the fields of infrastructure, building materials, agriculture, tourism and garment industry, etc. In May 2019, 100 tons of Cambodian bananas were exported to China, marking the first time Cambodian fruits exports to China. Also, China has raised its quota for importing Cambodian rice to 400,000 tons, making it the largest buyer of Cambodian rice. China is now the largest source of tourists in Cambodia. Nearly 400 flights are operated between China and Cambodia every week. Tourism is the second pillar industry of Cambodia. To attract more Chinese tourists, the Cambodian government released the Strategy to Attract Chinese Tourists 2016-2020 and a white paper titled China For Ready. In 2018, the number of Chinese tourists to Cambodia exceeded 2 million, and that of Cambodia to China exceeded 100,000, both with year-on-year growth of more than 60%. From January to July 2019, the number of Chinese tourists to Cambodia reached 1.511 million, an increase of 37% year-on-year, accounting for 39% of international tourists received by Cambodia.Furthermore, China and Cambodia are based on a profound people-to-people relationship. As recorded in literature and history, exchanges between China and Cambodia dated back to the first year of the Eastern Han Dynasty Emperor Yuanhe (84 AD) at the end of the 1st century AD. Back then, Cambodia sent an envoy to China and presented raw rhinoceroses and white pheasants. During 244-251 A.D., the Kingdom of Eastern Wu sent an envoy to Funan, which was the first time that a Chinese envoy visited Cambodia and also the first time that China sent an envoy to visit the China South Sea countries. It was very significant. Upon his return to China, the envoy Kang Tai wrote Record of Fu Nan, which is probably the earliest work on Cambodia in the Chinese and world archives. For decades after the founding of the PRC, the leaders of the two countries exchanged frequent visits like “relatives”. Norodom Sihanouk regarded China as his “second motherland”. The exchanges in science and education are innumerable. The Chinese government has received more than 2,000 Cambodian students through scholarship, trained more than 200 talents of all kinds for Cambodia every year, and sent nearly 200 Chinese teachers to Cambodia for Chinese language education. The Ministry of Commerce of China, for example, has sponsored a training course on the digitalization of education in Cambodia to provide professional training for the education industry and teachers. Chinese heritage experts are stationed in Cambodia on a long-term basis to help protect and restore Cambodian cultural relics, including the restoration of the ruins of the Royal Palace at Angkor. China has also sent many medical experts to Cambodia on voluntary medical tours and performed cataract surgery for the people. China has also assisted Cambodia in establishing mobile clinics so as to provide medical services for people in remote areas. Regarding Chinese language learning, the Confucius Institute, jointly run by Jiujiang University and the Royal Academy of Cambodia, is well underway and has trained more than 80,000 Cambodian students from all fields and levels. It has established 27 teaching centers, including three Confucius Classrooms, in 12 provinces and cities of Cambodia and many institutions. Over the recent years, China and Cambodia have also witnessed a growing number of sister cities, such as Phnom Penh with Beijing and Chongqing, and Siem Reap Province with Macau. Cumulatively, the Chinese government scholarship program has accepted more than 2,000 Cambodian students. The large-scale cultural tourism performance, “Smile of Angkor”, is very popular. While developing themselves, Chinese enterprises in Cambodia are also taking the initiative to integrate into the local society, consciously fulfilling their social responsibilities and actively participating in various social welfare activities. They have been recognized and welcomed by the local people and have contributed to “people-to-people” exchanges between the two countries.How to construct the China-Cambodia community with a shared future?Firstly, we should actively advance the inclusive economic development model through the BRI and the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Mechanism and consolidate the construction of the external regional economic environment of the community with a shared future. Cambodia plays a key role in China’s BRI and the construction of the community with a shared future. The BRI proposed by China in 2013 is built on the idea of inclusive development that China has been pursuing for the past nearly 70 years and aims to achieve common development with a focus on policy coordination, connectivity of infrastructure, unimpeded trade, financial integration, and closer people-to-people ties. Addressing the less developed areas of the Lancang-Mekong region, China launched the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Mechanism. At the 17th ASEAN-China Summit in November 2014, the Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said, “China is willing to respond positively to the Thai initiative to explore the establishment of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Mechanism under the 10+1 framework, with a view to promoting the development of the ASEAN sub-region. It has determined five priority areas of cooperation, namely connectivity, production capacity, cross-border economy, water resources, agriculture, and poverty reduction. The Chinese government hopes that the Lancang- Mekong region could achieve common development through cooperation and set a model of collaborative development for other regions. As Premier Li Keqiang said, “The fundamental purpose of development is to improve people’s life”.Second, we should speed up the coordination of China-Cambodia development strategies, complete the top-level design, fully release the complementary advantages of the two economies, and lay the economic foundation for the construction of the China-Cambodia community with a shared future. Cambodia is comprehensively promoting the Rectangular Strategy (agriculture, infrastructure, private enterprises, and human resources development) and proposes ten areas of priority for Cambodia’s future economic development, namely, agriculture, water conservancy, transportation infrastructure, electricity, human resources development, industry and export processing of industrial products, tourism, oil, gas and mining, communication and information industry, trade, etc. It also publishes Cambodia Industrial Development Plan (2015-2025) and other national development strategies. Regarding the infrastructure, more improvements are needed. According to the Connecting to compete 2018: Trade Logistics in the Global Economy published by the World Bank, Cambodia is ranked 89th, and Vietnam ranks 45th out of 147 countries in the Logistics Index (LPI). The BRI, Rectangular Strategy, and the Cambodia Industrial Development Plan (2015-2025) will work together to address infrastructure issues.Thirdly, we should do well in the construction of key projects. In early 2019, the two sides set the goal of bilateral trade volume to US$10 billion by 2023, and will initiate the pre-feasibility study of bilateral FTA between China and Cambodia in due course. We leverage the achievements of cooperation in existing areas, and actively implement the early harvest projects and exemplary cooperation projects of BRI and Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Mechanism, thereby building the China-Cambodia community with a shared future. We actively push forward the cooperation in agriculture, human resources development, and finance. With an emphasis on strengthening cooperation in the deep processing of agricultural products, we establish industrial parks for agriculture and deep processing of agricultural products, thereby raising the added value of agricultural products. We also foster cooperation in the financial sector and financial infrastructure assistance. We leverage the established and effective operation of the Silk Road Fund, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and the BRICS Development Bank, build financing institutions for international cooperation organizations, and improve the multilateral financial support system.Fourth, we strengthen the construction of non-economic areas, and create conditions for advancing cooperation between China and Cambodia. We strengthen cooperation in human resources, build a platform for connectivity about people-to-people exchanges, and coordinate with the Rectangular Strategy put forward by the Cambodian Government, taking the optimization of administrative management as the core. Assisted by training for foreign countries, academic education, training, study, and exchange, we strengthen policy coordination, project cooperation and experience, and technology communication for people-to-people exchanges. We construct a platform for people-to-people exchanges, promote the interconnection regarding human resources, and combine the training modes featuring “going out” and “bringing in”, so as to nurture human resources cooperation as a new highlight of regional cooperation. We actively brand the image of China and make enterprises more internationalized. Innovative ways of cooperation are explored to carry out a third-party investment with overseas enterprises in the form of joint ventures and shareholdings. Strategic partnerships or industrial alliances are forged to reduce resistance to overseas investment and bring into play comprehensive competitive advantages. In addition, we reinforce the industry self-discipline, improve the organization of enterprises, provide decision-making consulting services, standardize enterprises’ outbound investment, and prevent disorderly competition. We are prudent in addressing overseas supervision, earnestly abide by the laws and regulations of the country of investment, fully respect local cultural customs, care for resource conservation and environment protection, fulfill social responsibilities and actively create a good image.Fifth, we should strengthen cooperation in poverty reduction. We will advance poverty reduction in Cambodia through direct investment, bilateral trade, and humanitarian assistance. Aid is a temporary relief, and long-term poverty reduction requires economic development. As China’s experience in poverty reduction fully demonstrates, export-oriented development is an effective measure to terminate collective poverty in a short period of time. Research suggests that the rapid development of bilateral trade and China’s direct investment in Cambodia have significantly contributed to poverty reduction in Cambodia. Moreover, the various economic and technical assistance provided by China to Cambodia, including packaged projects, material projects, and projects in agriculture and education, effectively helped Cambodia to reduce poverty. Cooperation in medical care, education, housing, and employment, which directly benefit people’s livelihood, should be strengthened in the future, with a view to lifting Cambodia out of poverty rapidly.In 2016, Cambodia was hailed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as one of the new tiger economies of Asia. The ADB predicts that Cambodia will be the fastest-growing country in the ASEAN from 2019-2020. Cambodia graduated from Low Income to Lower-Middle Income Country (MIC) status by international organizations. Despite the sluggish growth of the world economy in recent years, Cambodia has maintained a GDP growth rate of over 7% for five consecutive years. Positive changes are taking place in the industrial structure of Cambodia. The share of agriculture in GDP falls from 36% in 2010 to 23.5% in 2018, whereas that of industry rises from 23.3% to 34.4% and that of services from 40.7 to 42.1%. Currently in the primary stage of rapid industrialization change, Cambodia relies on investment to fuel economic growth and attain a rapid rise in income for all. In view of the current data, if Cambodia intends to achieve the goal of investment-led economic growth, domestic savings are not enough and massive foreign investment is needed for infrastructure, manufacturing, and other sectors. This will improve the conditions for economic growth, speed up the industrialization process and promote the realization of the industrialization goal, so that Cambodia can rapidly shift from an agricultural country to an industrial country. On the other hand, it is necessary to raise the income of the people, so that Cambodia can move rapidly from a lower-middle-income country to an upper-middle-income and high-income country.China is now in a new normal of economic development and is transforming from an industrial country to a service power, shifting from an investment-driven economy to consumption-driven growth. In 2018, the service sector in China had accounted for about 55% of GDP, a record high. The trade link between China and the world was mainly capital goods, components, and raw materials in the past, indicating a production-based rather than a market-based relationship between China and the global economy. This is not the case today. In 2010, 26.3% of all imports were consumer goods, which rose to 42.5% in 2018, indicating a shift in China’s relationship with the world. China is transforming from being a producer and manufacturer of world products to a consumer of world products, and from being a potential world market to a real-world market.The think tanks in China and Cambodia enjoy great opportunities to serve the development of the two countries through the construction of the China-Cambodia community with a shared future and the broad potentials and realistic foundation for bilateral cooperation. The Chinese government has long recognized the role of think tanks in promoting regional cooperation and development. In 2017, the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation included a Thematic-Forum on Think Tank Exchanges, and in 2019, at the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations held in Beijing, the Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed to build an Asian Think Tank Exchange and Cooperation Network.At the forum entitled 70 Years of China’s Development and the Community with a Shared Future for Mankind in the framework of the second edition of the China International Import Expo and the Hongqiao International Economic and Trade Forum on November 5, 2019, scholars from several countries voiced the need to strengthen the exchange and cooperation of think tanks. For example, the Dutch scholar suggested that “think tanks should find more solutions to the challenges confronting human society in different, innovative and more practical ways, and to push these solutions into practice”. Peou Yang, secretary-general of Royal Academy of Cambodia, addressed that “Think tanks are set to play a very important role in the pursuit of ‘the community with a shared future for mankind’. The exchange and cooperation among think tanks will also further deepen mutual trust, build consensus, and contribute to a higher pursuit for Asia.”Authorized by the Chinese government, at the closing ceremony of the Forum, Guo Weimin, Deputy Director-General of the Information Office of the State Council of China, and Cai Fang, Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, witnessed the joint signing ceremony of the 20 first initiators of the Think Tank Cooperation Network. Xie Fuzhan, President of CASS, was the initiator; I was the representative of the Network Secretariat, and Kin Phea from the Royal Academy of Cambodia was one of the representatives of foreign think tanks. A total of 20 Chinese and foreign think tanks jointly signed the network building initiative. The network will, I firmly believe, provide a very important platform for think tanks of all countries to raise the level of exchanges and improve the methods of policy advisory services.This forum is the first seminar held under the Network Plan. It is hoped we can enhance cooperation with more Asian think tanks in the future and collectively play a proper role as a think tank to promote the development of China-Cambodia relations and regional cooperation.