BEIJING, Sept 15 — President Xi Jinping met Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet in Beijing today, Chinese state media reported.

“On September 15, President Xi Jinping met with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet at the Great Hall of the People,” state broadcaster CCTV said, without providing further details.

As well as meeting Xi, Hun Manet is expected to hold talks with Premier Li Qiang and Zhao Leji, head of the Standing Committee of China’s top lawmaking body, his spokesperson Meas Sophorn told the press at Phnom Penh International Airport.

He will then travel to the southern city of Nanning to attend the 20th Asean-China Expo.

Under Hun Manet’s father and predecessor Hun Sen, Phnom Penh became one of China’s closest allies in the region.

Hun Sen, who ruled with an iron fist for almost four decades, welcomed huge sums of Chinese investment.

The visit will be one of Hun Manet’s first abroad since becoming prime minister, after he attended a summit of Asean leaders in Jakarta last week. — AFP