Brunei

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Bandar Seri Begawan on November 18 and began his state visit to Brunei Darussalam. This is the first visit to Brunei by the top leader of our country after 13 years, and it will certainly write a new chapter in the history of the friendship between the two countries.

    Brunei, the full name of "Brunei Darussalam", is a Muslim country located between Sarawak and Sabah, Malaysia in the northwestern part of Kalimantan. It covers an area of only 5,765 square kilometers and has a population of about 420,000. Among them, Malay People accounted for 65.7%, and Chinese accounted for 10%. Although Brunei has a small land and a small population, thanks to its extremely rich oil and natural gas resources, Brunei has developed into one of the richest countries in the world, with its per capita GDP once ranking fifth in the world.

    The history of Chinese exchanges has a long history. The relationship between the two countries can be traced back to the Western Han Dynasty. The exchanges became more frequent during the Tang, Song and Ming Dynasties. Zheng He's fleet visited Boni (the ancient name of Brunei). During the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty (1408), the second king of Boni, Sultan Manarakana, died of illness during his visit to China. Ming Chengzu Zhu Di buried him in Nanjing with royal rituals. This tomb is now a national key cultural relics protection unit. It is a historical testimony of Chinese friendship.

    On September 30, 1991, the two countries formally established diplomatic relations. Although among the ASEAN member states, Brunei and my country established diplomatic relations the latest, but the momentum of development of bilateral relations is good, friendly exchanges and cooperation in various fields are steadily advancing, and the two countries have established strategic cooperative relations in 2013. Brunei’s current head of state, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, has been in power for more than 50 years and is considered a frequent visitor to my country. He has visited China 11 times or attended international conferences in China.

    According to statistics, in 2017, the trade volume between the two countries reached US$1 billion, a year-on-year increase of 36.5%. As of the end of 2017, Brunei had accumulatively invested US$2.79 billion in China. In 2017, the total number of personnel exchanges between the two countries was approximately 59,600, a year-on-year increase of 24%. Among them, 52,000 Chinese tourists came to Wen, and 7,600 Chinese tourists came to China. In the first quarter of this year, my country became Brunei’s largest source of tourists. After years of development, the "Brunei-Guangxi Economic Corridor" has now become the most influential carrier and platform for local cooperation between the two countries. However, Brunei’s domestic market is limited, and there is still room for Chinese economic cooperation in the future. The greater cooperation potential of the two countries should surpass Brunei’s local and economic scope.

    Brunei is an important country along the "21st Century Maritime Silk Road" and one of the founding countries of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. The two countries signed the "Memorandum of Understanding on the Belt and Road Initiative" in 2017. Geographically, Brunei is at the center of ASEAN; economically, Brunei is at the core of the Eastern ASEAN Growth Area. The two countries can use the large platform of "One Belt One Road" to jointly develop the huge market of ASEAN, and explore new cooperation growth points in the fields of infrastructure construction, ecological agriculture, ecological tourism, medical and health care. Brunei can also integrate its national macro-development strategy "2035 Vision" in a more in-depth and effective way with the "Belt and Road" initiative to help it accelerate the realization of its strategic goal of economic diversification.

    The two countries are friends and partners who trust each other. Although Brunei is a small country within ASEAN, it has a certain influence on ASEAN affairs. The current ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi is a senior Chinese diplomat from Brunei. Brunei has always actively promoted the development of China-ASEAN relations and supported my country on the South China Sea issue. In 2016, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos and my country reached a consensus, emphasizing that the South China Sea dispute is not an issue between ASEAN and China, and should not affect China-ASEAN relations. Recently, the Chinese and Chinese countries once again agreed to continue to fully and effectively implement the "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea", strengthen maritime cooperation, promote consultations on the "Code of Conduct in the South China Sea", and jointly maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea and the region.

    The Chinese-Chinese relationship can be regarded as a model of equal treatment and harmonious coexistence between large and small countries. We Chinese have always paid attention to courtesy. Last September, Brunei Sultan Hassanal successfully visited China and held talks with President Xi Jinping. Today, President Xi Jinping’s return visit to Brunei will surely further deepen the mutual political trust between the two countries and the deep friendship between the two peoples. The two heads of state will also plan for future cooperation and promote the greater development of Sino-Chinese relations in a new era of inheriting the past and the future. In order to better benefit the two peoples and promote regional peace and prosperity.