China will not allow any deliberate vilification against China-Cambodia friendship and any rumor-monger shall bear legal responsibility and consequences, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Thursday.

A handful of we-media accounts recently posted groundless remarks that Cambodian leaders are choosing sides between China and the United States and that major cooperation projects between China and Cambodia are stalling.

In response to a related query, spokesperson Guo Jiakun told a press briefing that these remarks on Cambodia are purely groundless smears and deliberate vilification.

China and Cambodia are iron-clad friends supporting each other and sharing weal and woe. This time-honored friendship was cultivated by the older generation of leaders of both countries, and has stood the test of the changing international landscape. It serves the fundamental interests of both countries and peoples, has strong vibrancy and promising prospects of development, and can never be weakened or undermined by any force, Guo said.

China and Cambodia see each other as the most trustworthy friend and the most reliable partner, and always firmly support each other's core interests. This is the defining feature of China-Cambodia relations and also serves as the foundation of the time-tested friendship between the two countries, Guo stressed.

The endeavor of building a China-Cambodia community with a shared future has delivered tangibly for the two peoples. China has remained Cambodia's biggest source of foreign investment and biggest trading partner for years running. Bilateral trade soared by nearly four times in the past decade, Guo noted, adding that Cambodian leaders openly stressed more than once that China is Cambodia's most trusted friend, and friendship with China is a firm political consensus within the Cambodian government and political party and among the Cambodian people.

At present, China and Cambodia are guiding the high-quality development of bilateral relations with high-level mutual trust. They continue to enrich the "Diamond Hexagon" cooperation framework, formulate cooperation plans for the Industrial Development Corridor and the "Fish and Rice Corridor," advance the implementation of priority cooperation projects, boost each other's modernization process, deliver more tangibly for the two peoples and provide more stability and certainty for the effort to address international and regional challenges, Guo noted.

"We firmly believe that the iron-clad friendship between China and Cambodia will steer clear of disruptions. We will not allow any deliberate vilification against our friendship and any rumor-monger shall bear legal responsibility and consequences," Guo said.