Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Gen. Tea Banh (C) and Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wentian (3rd L) attend an awarding ceremony in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on May 22, 2020. Cambodia on Friday awarded the government's honorable medal decorations to four Chinese military doctors after they had successfully completed their two-month mission in helping the kingdom fight COVID-19. (Photo by Sovannara/Xinhua)

Cambodia on Friday awarded the government's honorable medal decorations to four Chinese military doctors after they had successfully completed their two-month mission in helping the kingdom fight COVID-19.

Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Gen. Tea Banh presented the "Knight Class" medals to them at a ceremony here, which was also attended by Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wentian.

"The honorable medals were conferred in recognition of their contributions to help prevent the COVID-19 spread in Cambodia and strengthen Cambodian medical staff's abilities in the fight against the virus," Banh said.

He expressed his profound gratitude to the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) for sending military medical experts, along with medical supplies and equipment, to Cambodia to help combat the highly contagious disease.

"In the past two months, the PLA's medical team has done their best in helping Cambodia stem the COVID-19 pandemic," he said. "They have brought both experience and methods in the fight against the COVID-19 to Cambodian doctors."

During the COVID-19 pandemic, a few milestones deserved to be inscribed in the Cambodia-China history, Banh said, adding that those included the special visit of Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen to Beijing on Feb. 5, the Cambodia-China military exercise in March, and the sending of Chinese medical team to aid Cambodia's fight against the virus.

"These activities truly show unity, solidarity, and close cooperation between Cambodia and China in the fight against the COVID-19," he said. "China's medical assistance has given Cambodia more confidence and warmth in the fight against the virus."

Meanwhile, Wang said mutual help during the pandemic has raised China-Cambodia relations to a new height, and he believes that through joint efforts, Cambodia will be able to prevent and contain the virus effectively.

He said China really appreciated Cambodia's total objection to politicizing and stigmatizing COVID-19, and also praised the kingdom for its firm support for the World Health Organization's indispensable role in combating the pandemic.