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Cambodia
This Week in AsiaPolitics

Why Cambodia’s royals need close China ties that are separate from Hun Sen’s government

  • China sponsors King Norodom Sihamoni and the queen mother while also maintaining strong diplomatic relations with Phnom Penh
  • These historic and symbolic ties with Beijing are strategic for the royals, offering them leverage with the CPP government as they face an uncertain future

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Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni and queen mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk greet people after arriving back in Cambodia after their recent trip to China, where they received a health check-up. Photo: AFP
Aun Chhengpor

In the tree-lined Dong Jiao Min Alley in Beijing’s former Legation Quarter, across the street from the St Michael’s Church, stands a gated compound watched over by a pair of Chinese imperial guardian lions.

The building, which housed French diplomats until the end of the Qing dynasty and monarchy in 1911, is exclusively reserved for two royal guests of the Chinese Communist Party: Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni and queen mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk.
The two Cambodian royals are regular visitors to Beijing, almost de facto residents. Their trips, which take place at least twice a year, feature a meeting or even banquet with the upper echelons of the party, including President Xi Jinping.
They receive free medical services from the best doctors China has to offer at Beijing Hospital, a state-run facility that caters for elder and senior Communist Party leaders. It was here that the late King Norodom Sihanouk was treated until his death in 2012.

Sihanouk, who spent over 70 years as an influential figure in Cambodian politics, was a brother-like friend of China’s founding premier Zhou Enlai. The two statesmen are often cited as the pioneers of the Southeast Asian kingdom’s modern-day relations with the People’s Republic of China. They met in 1955 during the Bandung Conference in Indonesia as developing Asian and African countries moved to strengthen their ties in a bipolar world divided by the United States and the former Soviet Union.

Since the late king’s death, China has continued to support the Cambodian monarchy – a stance that was on display during the latest visit by the two royals, which took place from early October to early November.

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