Xi Jinping Meets with Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei

On April 26, 2019, President Xi Jinping met with Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei at the Great Hall of the People.

Xi Jinping stressed that during the past two years, we successfully exchanged visits, and the bilateral relations have been upgraded to a strategic cooperative partnership and made great strides. The two sides should step up the alignment of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with Brunei's Wawasan 2035, and well implement key cooperation projects, build the Guangxi-Brunei Economic Corridor into a dual-demonstration project of cooperation between China and the East Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Growth Area as well as of the construction of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, deepen cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, investment, agriculture and fisheries, and share experience in developing emerging industries such as digital economy and e-commerce. To strengthen people-to-people and cultural exchanges, I am willing to join you in proclaiming 2020 the Year of Tourism between China and Brunei. Efforts should also be made to align the BRI with the ASEAN connectivity master plan to promote regional connectivity and development. Both countries should work closely together and support multilateralism.

Haji Hassanal Bolkiah said that President Xi Jinping's keynote speech this morning has charted the course for the development of the Asia-Pacific region and the world at large. China's further reform and opening up and its commitment to upholding multilateral system will help promote world development and prosperity. The Bruneian side is ready to work with the Chinese side to promote the synergy of Wawasan 2035 and the BRI, expand cooperation in various fields as well as people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and inject more vitality into bilateral relations. The ASEAN countries are ready to work with China to jointly safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea.

Ding Xuexiang, Yang Jiechi, Wang Yi and He Lifeng attended the meeting.