The Political Economy of China’s Maritime Silk Road Initiative in Cambodia

Abstract

Cambodia is one of the most enthusiastic backers of China’s Maritime Silk Road Initiative (MSRI) and maintains very close bonds with its northern neighbor. The MSRI has something to do with the latter given it can advance Cambodia’s quest to grow and become a more skills-based economy connected with global value chains. Still, the warm relationship is not just based on the MSRI or Cambodia’s economic ties with China. Phnom Penh’s very positive stance towards Beijing also has to do with the help it gives the regime in fending off pressures. The longer-term political implications of the MSRI will depend upon how well Cambodia manages associated issues, if MSRI projects ensnare Cambodia in a “debt trap,” and the extent to which Cambodian sovereignty anxieties intensify.