ABSTRACT
China’s aid and investment in Cambodia began in 1956 and have been through different regimes and policy changes in both donor and recipient countries. This chapter discusses the continuities, changes, impacts and concerns of Chinese aid and investment under the Belt and Road Initiative. On the basis of desk-based research and especially analysis of the relevant literature and media reports, the chapter demonstrates that the most recent aid and investment from China to Cambodia under the BRI has maintained their strong bilateral government relations. At a broader society level, however, the backlash against Chinese aid and investment has been increasingly expressed by residents, NGOs, opposition politicians and Western donors. Chinese aid and investment in Cambodia were committed without concern for short-term economic returns in the 1950s, while the more recent practice focusses on economic win-win expectations associated with market and resource interests.
