(Xinhua/Huang Jingwen)
Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, Crown Prince and Senior Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office of Brunei Darussalam, in Beijing on Tuesday, calling for strengthening strategic communication and deepening pragmatic cooperation.
China and Brunei are close neighbors and friends, connected by the Maritime Silk Road, Xi said, adding that bilateral cooperation has not only brought concrete benefits to the people of the two countries, but also serves as a shining example of equal treatment and win-win cooperation between countries of different sizes.
The important consensus on building a China-Brunei community with a shared future, reached last year with the Sultan of Brunei, Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, opened a new chapter in bilateral relations, Xi noted.
This year marks the 35th anniversary of bilateral relations, Xi said. He added that in the face of a turbulent and changing international landscape, the two sides should take building a China-Brunei community with a shared future as a guideline to strengthen strategic communication, deepen pragmatic cooperation and inject more positive energy into regional peace and stability.
This year marks the start of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), while Brunei is making strides toward its Wawasan 2035 project, Xi noted. He called on both sides to make this a focal point to take China-Brunei cooperation to a new level.
China and Brunei should be strategic partners with high-level mutual trust and continue to firmly and mutually support each other, Xi said. He stressed that the two countries should be development partners pursuing mutual benefits and win-win results, advancing major cooperation flagship projects, and expanding cooperation in emerging areas such as artificial intelligence (AI) and digital economy.
The two countries should be partners united by civilization, jointly implement the Global Civilization Initiative and strengthen cultural and people-to-people exchanges, Xi said.
He also called on the two sides to be partners in global governance, work with ASEAN countries to build a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future, and make the region a model of peace, stability, development and prosperity amid unprecedented profound changes in a century.
Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah conveyed the sincere greetings of the Sultan of Brunei to President Xi. He said Brunei firmly adheres to the one-China policy.
China plays a key role in promoting global peace and stability, as well as upholding multilateralism and the international order, the crown prince said. He added that Brunei highly values the vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity and the Global Governance Initiative, both proposed by Xi.
Brunei hopes to work closely with China to deepen ASEAN-China cooperation and safeguard regional prosperity and stability, the crown prince said.
