Think tanks and media served as key bridges for deepening Cambodia-China relations towards building an all-weather Cambodia-China community with a shared future in the new era, Cambodian experts and university students said in Phnom Penh on Friday.
Speaking at a Cambodia-China think tank and media seminar in Phnom Penh, Yang Peou, secretary general of the Royal Academy of Cambodia, said think tanks and the media have played a crucial role in promoting Cambodia-China ties.
"Both think tanks and the media are among the key contributors in increasing mutual trust between Cambodia and China," he told the seminar with approximately 150 participants.
"They are also contributors to maintaining peace, increasing cooperation, and developing regional and global economies," he added.
Peou said think tanks and the media played a significant and interconnected role in Cambodia-China relations, mainly by fostering mutual understanding, facilitating policy dialogue, and shaping public perceptions to support the "ironclad" friendship and the building of an all-weather Cambodia-China community with a shared future in the new era.
Kin Phea, director general of the International Relations Institute of Cambodia, a think tank under the Royal Academy of Cambodia, said think tanks and the media served as bridges to the brighter future of Cambodia-China relations.
"We must act as the bridge of understanding," he said at the seminar. "Our research, articles, and reports must proactively highlight how the Cambodia-China partnership directly improves the lives of Cambodians and fosters regional stability."
Phea said think tanks and the media should not be just observers, but active participants in "writing the next chapter" of this relationship.
"By fostering more academic exchanges and joint research, we can provide the intellectual fuel for future-oriented cooperation in the digital economy, green development, and human resource training," he said.
Leng Ranim, a third-year student in the major of media and communication at the University of Cambodia, said she would love to be a promoter of Cambodia-China relations when she graduates.
Ranim also expressed her hope to visit Beijing one day, saying that the capital city boasted a wealth of history perfect for study and research.
Chhoeun Raksmey, an official at the Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology, and Innovation, said the seminar played an important role in promoting the Cambodia-China relations to youths, especially to researchers.
"It helps promote mutual trust between Cambodia and China," he told Xinhua.
He said the relations between Cambodia and China have played a very important role in driving Cambodia's economic growth as well as in reducing poverty among the Cambodian people.