Chinese president to meet Cambodia's new king
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-10-18 15:03

Cambodia's new king is to meet Chinese President Hu Jintao on Monday in his first royal duty before heading home on Wednesday.

Chinese President Hu Jintao (R) greets newly appointed Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing October 18, 2004. [Reuters]

Norodom Sihamoni, a former ballet dancer and UNESCO ambassador, was chosen to replace his father, octogenarian Norodom Sihanouk, after Sihanouk's surprise abdication aimed at securing a peaceful succession before his death.

A Cambodian embassy official said King Sihamoni was busy preparing for his return and was not available for comment.

Chinese President Hu Jintao (R) greets newly appointed Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing October 18, 2004. [Reuters]

"He will return on Wednesday," the official said.

The monarchy is largely a symbolic position with no real power, but it carries weight because of the reverence most Cambodians give to their royal family, and is seen as key to stability in the Southeast Asian nation.

Sihanouk has long enjoyed close ties with China, where he has been getting medical treatment for heart and liver complaints, and China is a major aid donor to Cambodia.

His son, who will be crowned on Oct. 29, has said he will follow a neutral policy in the country, which only recently overcame a divisive political stalemate, and is still recovering from the Khmer Rouge's genocidal rule of the 1970s.

Former Cambodia's King Norodom Sihanouk (L) and Queen Norodom Monineth attend a reception in Beijing September 30, 2004. The picture was taken on September 30, 2004. [Reuters]

Prime Minister Hun Sen's ruling Cambodia People's Party came first in a general election more than a year ago, but failed to win the two-thirds majority needed to rule alone.

Months of stalemate followed, before a new government was formed in July with Hun Sen sworn in for another five-year term.

Sihanouk has shown frustration over the political infighting, and analysts have said Sihamoni will need his father's guidance to steer him through the murky world of Cambodian politics.

Sihanouk carved a role for himself as a symbol of national unity in the last decade, after reclaiming the crown in the wake of a UN-run election in 1993.

Sihanouk, 82 on Oct. 31, has said he will return to Cambodia to live in the town of Siem Reap, near the famed Angkor Wat temples.

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