Tuesday 04/November/2025 – 08:27 AM
The Cambodian government is considering renaming National Road No. 4, which connects the capital, Phnom Penh, to the coastal city of Sihanoukville, to bear the name “Donald Trump Highway,” in a move that reflects its appreciation of the US President for his role in defusing border tension between Cambodia and Thailand.
The proposal comes after Trump managed to pressure Thailand to end a brief military clash with Cambodia over a disputed border region, prompting Prime Minister Hun Manit to nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Trump and Cambodia
Last week, the two leaders also signed a trade agreement in Kuala Lumpur, under which the US tariff rate on Cambodian exports was reduced from 49% to 19%, in a move described as a significant relief of the economic burden on Cambodia.
Observers believe that Trump is making significant diplomatic progress in a country that has been considered for years a close ally of China, but the roots of Chinese influence in the country are still strong. Phnom Penh previously named one of its main streets “Xi Jinping Avenue,” and China has financed more than a hundred infrastructure projects in recent years, including the new highway to Sihanoukville, which opened in 2022 and is considered a direct competitor to the road to be named after it. Trump.
Cambodia, like other Southeast Asian countries, is an arena of escalating competition between China and the United States, as the two giants seek to consolidate their economic and security influence in the region, while small countries, such as Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia, try to balance their relations between the two superpowers to avoid taking sides with any party.
