China Cambodia Photo: VCG

 
With six consecutive quarters of growth, China-Cambodia trade surged to a historic high of 33.33 billion yuan ($4.53 billion) in the first quarter of 2025, a 13.1 percent year-on-year increase, according to Chinese customs data. This growth outpaced the rate of China's overall trade expansion with ASEAN countries by 6 percentage points, highlighting the strength and resilience of bilateral economic ties, CCTV reported on Thursday.

Agricultural trade has been a standout. China's imports of Cambodian agricultural products grew by 12.2 percent to 980 million yuan in the first quarter, making up 25.9 percent of total imports from the country. Key items like fresh longan, cassava chips and cocoa powder have been consumed by Chinese customers. For instance, imports of cassava chips surged 879.7 percent year-on-year, while imports of cocoa powder grew by 133.6 percent. 

Meanwhile, Chinese agricultural exports to Cambodia rose by 61.9 percent to 640 million yuan.

"China-Cambodia trade has achieved consistent double-digit growth, fueled by strong economic complementarity," Zhou Shixin, director of the Institute for Foreign Policy Studies at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies, told the Global Times on Thursday, noting that Cambodia's transition from agriculture to light manufacturing has created key opportunities.

The automotive sector also experienced significant growth, with Chinese exports of vehicles and lithium batteries to Cambodia rising sharply. In the first quarter, China exported 840 million yuan worth of automobiles to Cambodia, up 183.7 percent, while exports of lithium batteries rose 465.7 percent to 100 million yuan.

At the same time, imports of Cambodian natural rubber, a crucial component for tire production, nearly quadrupled, highlighting the strengthening industrial collaboration between the two countries.

Similarly, the textile trade remained robust, as China's fabric exports to Cambodia rose for the seventh consecutive quarter, per the CCTV report. 

With the Free Trade Agreement and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the two nations are further consolidating trade and bilateral cooperation, according to Zhou.

Cross-border yuan transactions between China and Cambodia have surged this year. In the first quarter, the value reached 5 billion yuan, a 45 percent increase year-on-year, with goods trade accounting for 1.3 billion yuan, up 23 percent, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Wednesday, citing data from the People's Bank of China (PBC), the central bank.

The upward trend reflects broader trading momentum, as cross-border yuan settlements doubled in 2024 to about 20 billion yuan. Goods trade made up 4 billion yuan of that total, representing 9 percent of all bilateral trade settlements. This growth underscores the yuan's expanding role in facilitating trade between China and Cambodia, supported by ongoing improvements in local currency policies, the PBC said, according to Xinhua.