Building of China-Brunei community with shared future opens new chapter in bilateral ties: Xi

The joint building of a China-Brunei community with a shared future serves the fundamental interests of the two countries and opens a new chapter in bilateral relations, Chinese President Xi Jinping told visiting Sultan of Brunei Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah at a meeting in Beijing on Thursday.

Xi said he believes that Hassanal's visit to China, which is the sultan's first in six years, would inject fresh vitality to the development of bilateral ties. He also voiced the hope that two sides would build on the good momentum to push for further progress in their relations.

"The last time I met with Your Majesty, I put forth an overall plan for building a China-Brunei community with a shared future. I'm pleased that we two sides have reached a consensus on this. Building a China-Brunei community with a shared future conforms to the prevailing trend of the times, serves the fundamental interests of the two countries and the two peoples, and opens a new chapter in our bilateral relations," he said.

"I hope that we can take this as a guidance, build on the good momentum, and make coordinated efforts to push forward the bilateral ties in a next stage. Let us always be good neighbors who face each other across the sea, good friends who trust each other, and good partners who pursue common development," said the Chinese president.

Hassanal expressed admiration for China's accomplishments in various fields, saying that he looks forward to maintaining close cooperation with China and forging a more solid partnership between the two countries.

"Mr. President, it's a pleasure to be back in Beijing and to join you at the prestigious ninth Asian Winter Games in Harbin. Brunei greatly admires China's numerous accomplishments, which has significantly enhanced the wellbeing of its people. I look forward to continuing our close cooperation, to enhance the valued partnership further, and bring mutual benefit to our people," he said.

At the invitation of Xi, Hassanal is paying a state visit to China from Wednesday to Friday. He will attend the opening ceremony of the ninth Asian Winter Games in Harbin City of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province on Friday evening.

Building of China-Brunei community with shared future opens new chapter in bilateral ties: Xi

The U.S. dollar weakened in late trading on Friday.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, dropped 0.34 percent to 98.982 at 15:00 (2000 GMT).

In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.1606 dollars from 1.1583 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound added to 1.34 dollars from 1.3328 U.S. dollars in the previous session.

The U.S. dollar bought 157.74 Japanese yen, lower than 157.77 Japanese yen in the previous session. The U.S. dollar decreased to 0.777 Swiss francs from 0.7827 Swiss francs, and it declined to 1.3596 Canadian dollars from 1.3697 Canadian dollars. The U.S. dollar dropped to 9.1855 Swedish Kronor from 9.2657 Swedish Kronor.

U.S. dollar ticks down