The deepening trade relation between Cambodia and China has
\nbrought about significant expansion of bilateral trade between the two nations;
\nhowever, Cambodia\u2019s negative trade balance continues to widen at an average
\nannual growth rate of 34 percent. The study uses the framework developed by
\nJenkins and Edwards (2004) to examine China-Cambodia trade and its implications
\nfor poverty reduction in Cambodia through three specific dimensions, namely export
\nto China, import from China and export to the third market. \u00a0The pattern of export shares between 1992 and 2008 has changed
\nnoticeably. The share of labour-intensive agriculture dropped substantially
\nfrom 51.4 percent in 1992 to 9.1 percent in 2000 and then rebounded to 29.6
\npercent in 2008. There was also evidence of a spike in export shares of live
\nanimals and fish between 2000 and 2008. Labour-intensive textiles and garments\u2019
\nshare of export to China also showed a marked upward trend from 3.2 percent in
\n1992 to 28.2 percent in 2008. The rising shares of the two product groups would
\ncertainly have contributed to poverty reduction in Cambodia provided that they
\nalso generated significant employment. \u00a0Data on import from China show a small and declining share of labour-intensive
\nagriculture products between 1992 and 2008. It appears that competition between
\nthe two countries in domestic agriculture markets is unlikely. Some of the
\nimported products, which are not of Cambodian specialisation, are
\ncomplementary. However, the regular and constant rise in the import share of
\ncertain products in this category, albeit small, could pose potential competitive
\nthreat to Cambodian producers in the future. More importantly, the substantial jump
\nin the import share of labour-intensive textiles and garments between 1992 and
\n2008 does not compete with the domestic market provided that the products are
\nassembled for re-export to third markets. The rising import share of said
\nproducts appears to contribute to employment creation in Cambodia, thereby
\nhaving a positive poverty effect, but it hinders the development of domestic
\nbackward linkage industries in the domestic economy. \u00a0In terms of consumer gain, data show that the import share of
\npro-poor consumer goods increased between 1992 and 2000, but then declined
\nbetween 2000 and 2008. This indicates that poor consumers\u2019 gain from the import
\nof cheap Chinese consumer products abated slightly during the second half of
\nthis period, making it less likely that the import of pro-poor products from
\nChina contributes to poverty reduction in Cambodia. Pro-poor products that have
\nbeen imported regularly include fish, cereal, vegetables, fruit, beverages,
\napparel and worn clothing. \u00a0Analysis of export to the third market reveals that Cambodia and
\nChina could be competitors in manufactured goods, but not agricultural
\nproducts. Further examination of the top 12 garment exports to the US and the
\nEU shows that there is potential competition with China in the US market, but
\nnot in the EU market given Cambodia\u2019s tiny 0.01 to 10 percent market share.
\nAmong the 12 products in the US market, China\u2019s declining share and Cambodia\u2019s
\nrising share of knit\/crochet apparel (SITC 8459) creates opportunity for
\ndomestic suppliers, while the steep rise in China\u2019s market share of the
\nremaining products could pose potential threat to producers in Cambodia. This
\ncould have negative implications for poverty alleviation in Cambodia. \u00a0In line with the analysis of China\u2019s trade, the poverty effects of
\nChinese investment in Cambodia are also investigated by applying Jenkins and
\nEdwards\u2019s (2004) framework. Labourintensive foreign direct investment (FDI),
\nwhich is important for poverty reduction in its role as a major generator of
\nemployment in Cambodia, is examined. A case study on the garment sector, which
\nis greatly attractive to investment from China, looks at the impact of China\u2019s investment
\nin Cambodia through: i) increased earnings of the rural poor through employment
\ncreation and higher wages; ii) remittance; and iii) skill development of the
\nrural poor. \u00a0The case study shows to some extent that Chinese investment in the
\nCambodian garment sector has contributed to poverty reduction by creating
\nemployment for rural people. A survey of 300 garment workers was conducted in
\nPhnom Penh (150 from Chinese and 150 from non- Chinese owned factories). The
\nsurvey indicates that 70 percent of the total interviewed workers were
\npreviously self-employed, 45 percent of whom are presently employed in the
\nselected Chinese owned factories. Garment workers in both Chinese and
\nnon-Chinese factories earn on average around USD80 per month or USD2.67 per day
\n(USD2.03 per day at 2006 prices), which is higher than the overall poverty line
\nin Phnom Penh of USD0.76 per day (USD0.71 per day at 2006 prices). Workers\u2019
\nremittance is used for household daily food consumption (64 percent), as well
\nas for investing in agriculture, paying debt and saving for children. In terms of
\nskill development, neither the Chinese nor the non-Chinese factories appear to
\nhave clear training programmes. Only two of the interviewed workers (employed
\nin a Chinese factory) had been offered training \u2013 in new design and labour law.
\n\u00a0In sum, Chinese investment in the garment sector has considerably
\ncontributed to poverty reduction in Cambodia by providing employment
\nopportunities and income generation for the rural poor.<\/p>\n
The impacts of China\u2019s official development assistance on poverty
\nreduction are assessed through two case studies on China funded projects in the
\ntransport sector: the Rehabilitation of National Road No 7 from Kratie to
\nTrapeang Kriel (a border-crossing to Laos) and the Construction of the Prek
\nTamak Bridge in Kandal province. The main focus of the case studies is to
\nassess the likely impact of each project on local people\u2019s livelihoods and
\nlocal communities\u2019 social development, primarily based on local people\u2019s
\nperspectives. The new road and bridge built under the China disbursement
\nprojects have provided the villagers with more positive than negative benefits.
\nThe opportunity of growing more crops and better access to market has improved
\ntheir quality of life. They have easier access to more education as well as
\nbetter healthcare services, can travel further to find work and learn about the
\noutside world from going to the provinces or Phnom Penh city. Conversely, the
\nvillages can be reached more readily by development agencies which could bring
\nsocial services to the areas as well as help in managing forest resources. In
\nshort, both projects have brought more livelihood options for local people. \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The deepening trade relation between Cambodia and China has brought about significant expansion of bilateral trade between the two nations; however, Cambodia\u2019s negative trade balance continues to widen at an average annual growth rate of 34 percent. The study uses the framework developed by Jenkins and Edwards (2004) to examine China-Cambodia trade and its implications for poverty reduction in Cambodia through three specific dimensions, namely export to China, import from China and export to the third market. \u00a0The pattern of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33118","publications","type-publications","status-publish","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n