Dominance or development? What’s at the end of China’s New Silk Road?
- Beijing’s global infrastructure drive will be in the spotlight this week when dozens of heads of state converge on the Chinese capital for the second Belt and Road Forum
- In the first of a four-part series, we look at what might be the real purpose of the massive programme
By the entrance of the main office in Cambodia’s Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone is a crimson message from the country’s prime minister, Hun Sen.
Written in flowing Khmer and Mandarin is a quote from the China-friendly strongman likening the area to “my own son”.
On the opposite wall is a quote from Chinese President Xi Jinping hailing the zone – one of the first industrial estates in Asia funded and jointly run by Chinese investors – as a landmark model of cooperation.
The zone is home to dozens of Chinese firms and is just 12km (7 miles) from Cambodia’s only deep-sea port, a facility that was developed with the help of China’s strategic rival, Japan.