PHNOM PENH: Prime Minister Hun Sen confirmed, while speaking at the 27th International Conference on the Future of Asia on Friday, 27 May, that Cambodia does not allow itself to be in debt of anyone, including China, however, he also acknowledged that China is the basis of Cambodia's debt.

Answering a question at the conference on whether Cambodia could fall into the Chinese debt trap, Prime Minister Hun Sen replied that he does not have an understanding that China is trapping Cambodia by providing financing to the country.

He said that Cambodia has its own lending policy and only borrows carefully, including a loan law and a loan ceiling, which only allows for borrowing up to 40 percent of Cambodia's gross domestic product (GDP). He clarified that Cambodia has only borrowed 23 percent of the country’s GDP.

"I would like to emphasize that Cambodia will not allow itself to be in anyone's debt. Because we cannot borrow only from China, we can borrow from Japan, we can borrow from Korea, we can borrow from the Asian Development Bank, we can borrow from the World Bank, we can borrow from the European Bank, so we cannot rely only on one side. But it is clear that China has provided a basis [of debt] for us. This is a real issue that we need to acknowledge," he said

The Prime Minister announced that Cambodia can receive aid from all countries, as long as it is to help the development of the nation .

According to Cambodia's public debt statistics, as of the end of 2021, Cambodia owed a total of more than US $10.55 billion in foreign debt, of which bilateral debt amounted to nearly US $7 billion, with China managing more than US $3.4 billion.