Cambodia: Chinese Development Finance Profile, 2000-2022

This country profile provides a detailed overview of the scale, scope, and composition of Chinese state-directed financing in Cambodia from 2000 to 2022. It includes granular information on key trends in China’s loan and grant-financed commitments, its lending portfolio, ESG risks in its infrastructure projects, and contractual safeguards adoption and implementation.

From 2000 to 2022, China directed $18.3 billion in loan and grant-financed commitments for 418 projects in Cambodia. In 2010, China and Cambodia established a comprehensive strategic partnership, marking a major turning point in China’s relationship with the country, as demonstrated by the $2.9 billion in aid and non-concessional loan commitments that year. For China, Cambodia has proved to be increasingly a strategic ally and cooperation partner in the Asia-Pacific in the 2010s and 2020s, as highlighted by Chinese development finance directed to the country.

The insights in this profile are derived from AidData’s Global Chinese Development Finance Dataset, Version 3.0 and the sources referenced therein. Additional 2022 data collection is based on a forthcoming dataset version launching in November 2025.