Phnom Penh (FN), March 5 - Some Cambodian politicians who are pro-Western political ideology or their organizations, as well as some independent political analysts claimed that to the government led by Prime Minister Hun Sen is pro-China.

Is China a Communist? Khmer civilization experts Roth Sondab said that we must first know what the term communism is. The word "Communism" is a French word for “Commun” which means common. Based on this definition, we are asking whether China today applies this common policy.

The answer is no! We all see that China has a free market system, as everyone has personal ownership; even their personal things are much more expensive than Western leaders, and Chinese people have the right to travel around the world like the Western people.

If so, for those who claim that China applies a communist regime, it does not reflect the political science theory, as China is a free market economy just like the West.

Regarding the question about why China does not apply a multi-party liberal democratic election, Roth Sondab learnt that China cited the bitter experience of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), which opened the way for such election, causing the former USSR’s territories to break into independent states due to the interference of foreigners, especially from the United States.

If China opens for a multi-party liberal democratic election, surely Hong Kong, Taiwan, and other areas will break into states due to external interferences; however, we can see that China has opened for the rights to have democratic elections in its party.

Today’s Cold War is not like a cold war in the past which was a race in a communist and liberal blocks as in the 1970s; China and Russia are no longer Communist, but it is a cold war between China and the U.S to rank the first in the world’s economy. The challenge to be the world hegemony lies in the context of modern world power transition - 19th century for the European Era, the 20th for the American, and the 21st for the Chinese.

For the diplomacy, each country must stand on its own national interests, especially in recognizing the changing of global context.