People-to-people exchange serves as an important pillar for the China-Cambodia “Diamond Hexagon” cooperation framework. The leaders of China and Cambodia announced in Beijing on October 19, 2023 that 2024 would be the “China-Cambodia People-to-People Exchange Year”.

The evening of January 13, 2024, observed the grand opening of the launching ceremony of the “China-Cambodia People-to-People Exchange Year” in Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia. The leaders of the two countries said at the launching ceremony that both countries would take the opportunity of the “China-Cambodia People-to-People Exchange Year” to hold more people-to-people exchange activities, jointly put the Global Civilization Initiatives into practice, promote reciprocal visits, and break new ground for the cultural exchanges of both countries.

At the launching ceremony, more than 180 tourists from Hainan constituted the main force of more than 300 Chinese tourists. With the aerial cameras moving in the sky, the Hainan tourists passionately waved their hands in the delightful atmosphere. What’s worth mentioning is that the Hainan tour group participated in the public open-day activities at the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Kingdom of Cambodia and enjoyed great happiness in Phnom Penh on the same day.

One of the tourists from Sanya to Cambodia at the site said: “I planned the tour in Cambodia after the Sanya-Cambodia direct flight was open to the public. The advertisement of the travel agency mentioned the launching ceremony of the ‘China-Cambodia People-to-People Exchange Year’ and wonderful art shows to be arranged for the tourists in Angkor Wat. So I joined the group tourism without any delay.”

Why did so many Hainan tourists go sightseeing in Cambodia? The direct reason was that the direct airlines from Haikou and Sanya, etc. to Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia, have been successively open to the public since 2023; the underlying reason was that the practical operation between Hainan and Cambodia was further promoted in different fields.

Hainan and Cambodia are geographically close, with similar climates and intimate relations of both peoples. In October 2019, the Consulate General of the Kingdom of Cambodia in Haikou was established and Cambodia became the first country that established a consulate general in Hainan after the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

With the burgeoning of the Hainan Free Trade Port, the cooperation between Hainan and Cambodia in tropical agriculture, tourism, health care, and education benefits the people of the two countries. For instance, the health care experts of Hainan went to Cambodia to give training on tropical disease prevention and control and give free clinical treatment against such diseases. The first guest of honor of the 2023 China (Hainan) International Tropical Agricultural Products Winter Trade Fair was Cambodia. The Chinese Center jointly organized by Hainan University and Royal University of Agriculture, Cambodia (RUA) was steadily upgraded. Besides, the Hainan-Cambodia direct flight closely related to the China-Cambodia People-to-People Exchange Year was resumed.

“2024 is the China-Cambodia People-to-People Exchange Year jointly declared by the leaders of China and Cambodia. Hainan will take this opportunity to carry out all-round cooperation with Cambodia in cultural exchanges and meanwhile give full play to the advantages of the Free Trade Port to promote practical mutual cooperation in tropical agriculture, economy, trade, and health care and deliver contribution of Hainan to establishing the community with a shared future of both countries,” said a relevant person in charge of the Foreign Affairs Office of Hainan Province.