Xi welcomes longtime royal friends

China and Cambodia should push their cooperation forward on major projects, President Xi Jinping said on Monday while meeting with visiting Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni and Queen Mother Norodom Monineath.

The two countries should maintain high-level exchanges, and the leaders should visit each other frequently like visiting relatives, Xi said, while calling for connection of both countries' development strategies.

The president spoke highly of the contributions that the Cambodian royal family has made to the two countries' friendship. The friendship was forged and cultivated by previous generations of Chinese leaders and the late Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk, he said.