December 3, 2008; China to give Cambodia $215 million dollars to build roads

PHNOM PENH - China is to give Cambodia aid and loans worth $215 million dollars for road construction.

They expected trade flows to reach $1 billion dollars by 2010 from $933 million last year, the officials said.

Beijing, which gave Cambodia $600 million in assistance in 2007, is looking to expand cooperation in oil and mineral exploration, Cambodian Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said, adding that his country welcomed this.

The announcements came as a Chinese delegation visited the Southeast Asian country to mark the fiftieth anniversary of diplomatic ties between them.