Chinese Vice President Han Zheng held talks with Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister's Office of Brunei Darussalam, in Beijing on Tuesday.
The friendship between China and Brunei is rooted in a history of friendly exchanges spanning more than a thousand years, and serves as a model of equality and mutual benefit between nations, said Han.
Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Sultan of Brunei Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah last year. During the meeting they reached an important consensus on building a China-Brunei community with a shared future, and drew a new blueprint for the development of bilateral relations, said Han. Noting that this year marks the 35th anniversary of China-Brunei diplomatic relations, Han said China is willing to work with Brunei to implement well the important consensus reached by the two leaders, carry forward the traditional friendship, enhance strategic cooperation, and take the building of a China-Brunei community with a shared future to a new level.
Han called on the two countries to support each other on issues concerning their core interests, give full play to the role of the China-Brunei intergovernmental joint steering committee, further promote the flagship Belt and Road projects, and expand cooperation in areas such as artificial intelligence, digital economy, green economy, energy and agriculture.
The two sides should also celebrate the 35th anniversary diplomatic relations with well-organized events, strengthen exchanges and cooperation in areas such as tourism, education, local affairs, and sports, and further facilitate people-to-people exchanges, said Han.
China and Brunei should enhance multilateral cooperation, work together to address global and regional challenges, and accelerate the building of a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future, so as to promote stability and prosperity in the region, he added. Billah highly commended China's remarkable achievements in economic and social development, saying that the friendship between the two countries has a long history and that their practical cooperation has yielded fruitful results.
Brunei firmly adheres to the one-China principle and looks forward to taking the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations as an opportunity to further deepen exchanges and cooperation in areas such as energy, agriculture, education, and sports, he said.
Billah said Brunei supports the series of major global initiatives proposed by Xi, namely the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative, and the Global Governance Initiative, adding that his country is willing to maintain close communication and cooperation with China to contribute to peace, security, and prosperity in the region.
Chinese vice president holds talks with Brunei's crown prince
