China-Brunei relationship ‘stronger than ever’

The relationship between China and Brunei Darussalam is currently going very well and is primed for further progress in the years to come.

Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Brunei Darussalam Yang Jian underscored this in a speech at the reception to celebrate the 69th Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China last night at The Empire Hotel & Country Club.

The guest of honour was Minister of Development Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Suhaimi bin Haji Gafar, along with his spouse Pengiran Datin Hajah Juraidah binti Pengiran Haji Hidup.

Explaining Brunei and China’s warm relationship, Ambassador Yang Jian said, “His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam paid a successful state visit to China last year. The two heads of state reached important consensus on furthering China-Brunei relations in the new era. The growing exchanges and cooperation in various fields have brought benefits to both countries.

“China’s enterprises in Brunei will create more jobs for locals. Last year, more than 52,000 tourists from China visited Brunei and China has emerged as the largest tourism market for Brunei. It is my firm belief that the cooperation between China and Brunei will make greater progress in future.”

Touching on the latest development and achievements in China, she added, “2018 is an important year in the history of the People’s Republic of China. Thanks to the initiative of Deng Xiaoping, China started to pursue a policy of reform and opening up 40 years ago. Over the last four decades, China has undergone tremendous transformation.”

The ambassador added, “Since the beginning of the year, China is confronted with new challenges in its economic development. The whole world is watching what next step China will take. As we mark the 40th anniversary of reforms and opening up this year, we have introduced a host of major steps to deepen reform, expand opening up and advance innovation, aiming to promote both China’s own development and global growth.”

2018 marks the fifth anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which was put forward by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Commenting on the development strategy, Yang said, “By far, over 130 countries and international organisations have signed cooperation documents on the BRI with China. China’s trade with BRI participating countries has reached USD5 trillion in cumulative terms, with direct investment in these countries hitting over USD60 billion, creating more than 200,000 local jobs.

“At present, China and Singapore are cooperating to build a Southern Transport Corridor to promote trade flows between the western part of China and Southeast Asian countries. And this corridor will shorten the transportation time for goods between Southeast Asia and Europe.”

This year also marks the 15th anniversary of the China-ASEAN Strategic Partnership, an alliance Ambassador Yang says has been highly successful and has brought great benefits to both sides.

“Over the past 15 years, ‘ASEAN plus China’ stands out as the most successful cooperative agreement in the Asia-Pacific region. Trade volume between China and ASEAN last year was USD514.82 billion, 6.6 times more than the figure in 2003. China has remained ASEAN’s largest trade partner for the ninth year running, and ASEAN has remained China’s third-largest trade partner for the seventh year in a row,” Yang said.

“From January to May 2018, China-ASEAN trade volume reached USD232.64 billion, up by 18.9 per cent year-on-year. Mutual investment over the past 15 years totalled more than USD200 billion, and more than 4,000 enterprises were established through direct investment in ASEAN member countries by China, creating over 300,000 jobs for local people.”

The ambassador added that China will continue to hold high the banner of peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit in the China-ASEAN relationship.

“In June this year, China held the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Qingdao. Earlier this month, China hosted the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, and in this coming November, we will host the first China International Import Expo in Shanghai. This expo will be held annually and we warmly welcome Bruneian entrepreneurs to attend it,” said Yang.

The highlight of the reception was the cake cutting ceremony to mark the 69th Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China.

The evening also featured traditional Chinese folk dances and performances by students of Chung Hwa Middle School BSB and the Brunei Darussalam Wushu Federation.

Source: Borneo Bulletin