On the evening of October 15, 2012, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visited Cambodian Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk and King Norodom Sihamoni in Beijing, to express his profound condolence over the death of King Father Norodom Sihanouk.

Wen spoke highly of Sihanouk's life, noting that the Cambodian King Father has made unremitting efforts and remarkable contribution to Cambodia's national independence and peaceful development. "His Majesty King Father Sihanouk had devoted himself to promoting the friendship between Chinese and Cambodian people, and he himself was a great friend with the Chinese people," according to Wen. The premier said he personally had had long-standing exchanges and forged a deep friendship with Sihanouk and would always cherish memories of the Cambodian King Father. Wen asked the Queen Mother and the King to restrain their grief and take good care of themselves. China is another home for the Queen Mother, he said, saying relevant departments of China will always provide services for the Queen Mother as they have done in the past.

Queen Mother Monineath and King Sihamoni both expressed their heartfelt gratitude for Wen's visit. They said that King Father Norodom Sihanouk had devoted his whole life to Cambodia-China friendship and was an old and good friend of the Chinese people. They noted that the Cambodian royal family deeply appreciated the Chinese side for taking good care of the King Father over the past 40 years and would remain committed to carrying on the friendly policies to China formulated by the King Father Sihanouk himself in a bid to push forward bilateral ties.

On the same day, Wen also met with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. Wen said the King Father Sihanouk's death was a great loss to Cambodia and China also lost a great friend, noting that China and Cambodia have forged an unbreakable traditional friendship that has stood the test of history. In recent years, China and Cambodia have maintained close high-level exchanges with fruitful cooperation in various fields. China is willing to make joint efforts with the Cambodian side to promote a comprehensive and strategic partnership to score new progress in a bid to benefit the two peoples and maintain regional peace, stability and prosperity, Wen vowed.

Hun Sen, on behalf of the Cambodian government, thanked China for its long-term assistance and support for his country, noting Cambodia-China relations have been an exemplar for state-to-state friendly cooperation. Cambodia will work more closely with China to push bilateral ties to a higher level, according to its prime minister.