A large group of Chinese investors from Yunnan Province met with Cambodian businesspeople in Phnom Penh on Friday in bid to further strengthen the two countries' trade and investment cooperation.

The China's Yunnan-Cambodia Economic and Trade Promotion Conference was co-chaired by Li Jiheng, Governor of China's Yunnan province, and Cambodian Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh.

Speaking at the event, Xiong Qinghua, director general of Yunnan province's Commerce Department, said the conference aimed at promoting trade and economic cooperation activities and exploring business partnership between Cambodian and Yunnan enterprises.

It was attended by business executives from 45 Yunnan enterprises, doing businesses in the fields of energy, construction and real estate, mineral resources, banking and finance, engineering, steel industry, oil and gas, agriculture, food and beverage, publication and arts and culture industry, whilst the Cambodian side was participated by some 250 entrepreneurs.

In a welcoming address, Cham Prasidh said the conference would help enhance friendship, deepen cooperation, and develop relationship between Cambodia and Yunnan, as well as China in a bigger picture.

The minister said the meeting was held just a few days after the successful visit of Chinese president Hu Jintao to Cambodia, adding that during the visit, Hu Jintao and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen had vowed to boost the bilateral trade volume to 5 billion U.S. dollars by 2017 from 2.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2011.

"The conference today will be a part of activities to promote trade and investment between the two countries in order to help the two governments to achieve the target of 5 billion U.S. dollar trade volume in the next five years," he said, advising both sides ' entrepreneurs to seize business opportunity for mutual benefits.

He said Cambodia has a great potential in a number of sectors namely agriculture, agro-industry, infrastructure, labor-intensive industry, export industry, and natural resources, especially oil and gas and mining, as well as tourism.

"These sectors have not been fully developed yet; therefore, many investment opportunities are awaiting investors from all corners in order to achieve sustainable development," said the minister.

"Cambodia is committed to further strengthen close relationship with China in order to transform the relations into a real strategic partner in economy, trade, investment, politics and security in the coming decades."

Speaking at the conference, Li Jiheng said China and Cambodia are mutually trusted good neighbors, good partners and good friends, and Yunnan province was to conduct cooperation together with Cambodian friends from all walks of life for a better future.

He said Yunnan has strengthened exchanges and cooperation with Cambodia in recent years through official visit exchanges and a lot of Yunnan investors have been doing businesses in various fields in Cambodia.

He added that trade volume between Yunnan province and Cambodia totaled 6.67 million U.S. dollars last year, up 83 percent

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