Xi Jinping calls Cambodia ‘priority in neighborhood diplomacy’

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1. SS: In a choreographed show of camaraderie, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Cambodia—the capstone of his Southeast Asian tour—was a calculated display of red-carpet diplomacy cloaked in ironclad symbolism. Writing for *Nikkei Asia*, Anton L. Delgado recounts how Xi hailed Cambodia as a “priority in China’s neighborhood diplomacy,” affirming Beijing’s unwavering role as Phnom Penh’s patron, even as he carefully sidestepped direct references to contentious projects like the Funan Techo Canal.

   Amid banners proclaiming “solidarity and cooperation,” Xi invoked a brotherhood forged in revolution and bound by mutual defiance of Western “hegemonism.” With Cambodia’s leadership, past and present, offering glowing tributes to China’s pivotal role in their nation’s development, Xi’s visit reinforced China’s grip not only on infrastructure and investment but on historical narrative itself—arriving, pointedly, on the 50th anniversary of Phnom Penh’s fall to the Khmer Rouge, a regime once backed by Beijing.

   While youth voices cautioned against a lopsided diplomacy and analysts watched for signs of quiet tension management in the Mekong, Xi’s presence delivered a quiet reckoning: on the grand chessboard of Southeast Asia, he moved a queen into place—leaving little doubt about who now controls the center of the board.

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