BEIJING - Least developed countries (LDCs) are benefitting from lucrative business deals with China, with the world's second-largest economy becoming the biggest injector of foreign direct investment (FDI) in these countries.
Between 2010 and 2015, the stock of Chinese FDI in LDCs more than tripled to $31 billion, making China by far the largest investor, said a 2017 United Nations (UN) report on the state of the LDCs.
Not only capital
As agriculture still employs the largest share of the population in most LDCs, China's focus on agriculture investment will lay the groundwork for local farmers to acquire modern farming technologies and sell their products abroad.
Run Ta Ek, a pilot eco-village located about 20 km from the Angkor world heritage site in Cambodia's northwestern Siem Reap province, now benefits from China's agricultural investments to alleviate poverty.
Founded in 2004, the 1,012-hectare eco-village can accommodate around 850 families. The government offered 20 hectares of land in the village to Forword Company from Southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region to implement a gardening and farming pilot project for the next 20 years.
The company built a small vegetable yard open for all villagers with the main purpose of showing and teaching agricultural techniques to local farmers.
"They teach us, transfer to us their knowledge, and after we produce vegetables and food, they will buy them back," said Mey Marady, director of the Run Ta Ek eco-village development project, pointing out that this buying-back policy really gives the farmers confidence in long-term development.
Between 2010 and 2015, the stock of Chinese FDI in LDCs more than tripled to $31 billion, making China by far the largest investor, said a 2017 United Nations (UN) report on the state of the LDCs.
Not only capital
As agriculture still employs the largest share of the population in most LDCs, China's focus on agriculture investment will lay the groundwork for local farmers to acquire modern farming technologies and sell their products abroad.
Run Ta Ek, a pilot eco-village located about 20 km from the Angkor world heritage site in Cambodia's northwestern Siem Reap province, now benefits from China's agricultural investments to alleviate poverty.
Founded in 2004, the 1,012-hectare eco-village can accommodate around 850 families. The government offered 20 hectares of land in the village to Forword Company from Southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region to implement a gardening and farming pilot project for the next 20 years.
The company built a small vegetable yard open for all villagers with the main purpose of showing and teaching agricultural techniques to local farmers.
"They teach us, transfer to us their knowledge, and after we produce vegetables and food, they will buy them back," said Mey Marady, director of the Run Ta Ek eco-village development project, pointing out that this buying-back policy really gives the farmers confidence in long-term development.