Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni (right) meets with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Aug 13, 2023. (PHOTO / FMPRC.GOV.CN)

PHNOM PENH - Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni met with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi here on Sunday, with the two sides pledging to boost bilateral friendship and cooperation.

Calling China his second hometown, King Sihamoni said he looks forward to visiting more cities in China.

He said this year marks the 65th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations and the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative, expressing heartfelt thanks to all of China's support for and help to Cambodia.

Sihamoni said Cambodia will firmly abide by the one-China principle, carry forward the ironclad friendship between Cambodia and China, and support building a high-quality, high-level and high-standard China-Cambodia community with a shared future in the new era, so as to bring more benefits to the two peoples. Cambodia-China friendship will last forever, he noted.

We are ready to work with the Cambodian side to take this as the guide and join hands to promote the construction of the China-Cambodia community with a shared future to a new level.

Wang Yi, Chinese Foreign Minister

Hailing the traditional friendship between China and Cambodia as the most valuable common treasure of the two countries, Wang, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that during their meetings this year, the leaders of the two countries have reached essential consensuses on building the China-Cambodia community with a shared future in the new era, drawing up a blueprint for the long-term development of bilateral relations.

ALSO READ: China, Cambodia pledge to boost bilateral ties

"We are ready to work with the Cambodian side to take this as the guide and join hands to promote the construction of the China-Cambodia community with a shared future to a new level," he said.

Wang said that during his visit to the kingdom, he had in-depth communication with its old and new leaderships, dovetailed development strategies, planned cooperation in the next phase, and achieved positive results.

Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni (right) meets with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Aug 13, 2023. (PHOTO / FMPRC.GOV.CN)

He said he believes that under joint efforts of the two countries, the exemplary relationship of mutual respect, equal treatment and common development between China and Cambodia will make greater progress.

China will work with Cambodia to advance the implementation of the bilateral "diamond hexagon" cooperation consensus and promote the cooperation on "Industrial Development Corridor" and the "Fish and Rice Corridor" to help Cambodia accelerate its development and revitalization and improve the living standards of its people, said Wang.

ALSO READ: China, Cambodia to enhance security ties

Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, also a deputy prime minister, expressed his heartfelt thanks to China for its long-term selfless assistance to Cambodia's socio-economic development and its strong support for Cambodia's smooth advancement of important agendas

Also on Sunday, Wang Yi met with Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, with both sides vowing to further advance bilateral ties and cooperation for mutual benefits.

Sokhonn, also a deputy prime minister, expressed his heartfelt thanks to China for its long-term selfless assistance to Cambodia's socio-economic development and its strong support for Cambodia's smooth advancement of important agendas.

Cambodia's new government will continue adhering to the friendly policy toward China,supporting China's just position on its internal affairs such as Taiwan, Xinjiang, Tibet and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and strengthening communication and coordination in regional and multilateral affairs with China, he said.

Sokhonn said Cambodia and China have conducted frequent high-level exchanges, forged ironclad friendship, and achieved remarkable cooperation results.

For his part, Wang said his visit coincided with an important moment for Cambodia to embark on a new journey.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (fifth left) meets with Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn (fifth right) in Phnom Penh on Aug 13, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

China has full confidence in the future of Cambodia and China-Cambodia relations, he said.

He added the meetings between the two countries' leaderships this year have opened the prelude to the 65th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between China and Cambodia and the "China-Cambodia Friendship Year."

"Following the direction jointly determined by the leaders of the two countries, the China-Cambodia comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership will continue to be elevated to new heights and a new chapter of China-Cambodia friendship will be written," Wang said.

READ MORE: Cambodia: China is biggest economic, trade partner in Asia

He also thanked Sokhonn for his contribution to promoting China-Cambodia friendship, and emphasized that the China-Cambodia friendship is rock-solid, and the two countries have always stood firmly together on issues concerning each other's core interests, demonstrating the due meaning of a community with a shared future.

The two sides have jointly defended the basic principle of non-interference in internal affairs and made contributions to regional peace, stability and development, he added

Wang said China is willing to work with Cambodia to increase mutual understanding, trust and support in multilateral affairs, and jointly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of both sides as well as the developing countries.