China cultural body pledges to boost Cambodia tourism through exchange partnership

BEIJING, July 17, 2026 (KPT) – A leading Chinese cultural association has pledged to deepen cooperation with Cambodia’s Ministry of Tourism to promote cultural exchanges and jointly market tourism, officials said Thursday.

The commitment was made during talks between Tourism Minister Huot Hak and Yang Xiaoyang, President of the China Association for the Promotion of Culture and Arts Development, on July 15 in Beijing.

Hak was accompanying Prime Minister Hun Manet on his visit to China and attendance at the World AI Conference and High‑Level Meeting on Global AI Governance in Shanghai.

Hak highlighted Cambodia’s tourism potential and recent reforms, including visa exemptions for Chinese citizens and the government’s efforts to eliminate online scam activities. He stressed that Cambodia’s tourism sector was positioned to benefit from closer cultural cooperation, while underscoring the long‑standing friendship between the two countries and their commitment to building an “all‑weather” Cambodia‑China community with a shared future.

Both sides agreed to expand cooperation through reciprocal art exhibitions, cultural heritage preservation, promotion of films and digital creativity, arts education, human resource development, and integrated culture‑tourism initiatives. The Chinese association will prepare a detailed project proposal and send a delegation to Cambodia to explore opportunities for expanding cultural cooperation and tourism exchanges.

To ensure effective implementation, focal officials were appointed to coordinate planning and continue discussions on future projects. The Ministry of Tourism said the partnership would strengthen cultural connectivity and support tourism promotion by leveraging cultural exchanges to encourage greater travel between Cambodia and China.