Chinese premier meets with Sultan of Brunei

BEIJING -- Premier Li Qiang met with Sultan of Brunei Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah, who is on a state visit to China, in Beijing on Thursday.

In recent years, under the strategic leadership of the two heads of state, China and Brunei have steadily advanced their relationship, with cooperation in various fields expanding significantly and yielding fruitful results, Li said.

China has always regarded Brunei as an important partner in its quest for deepening friendly relations with its neighbors, Li noted, adding that China is willing to work with Brunei to implement the consensus reached by the two heads of state, maintain high-level exchanges, strengthen political mutual trust, deepen practical cooperation, and jointly promote development and prosperity, bringing better benefits to the people of both countries.

China is ready to work with Brunei to upgrade economic and trade cooperation, and grasp the renewal of the Belt and Road cooperation plan as an opportunity to speed up the construction of key projects. China is also ready to work with Brunei to strengthen cooperation concerning the information industry, scientific and technological innovation, green development, agriculture and other fields, and jointly foster new economic drivers, Li noted.

China, in addition, is ready to import more high-quality agricultural and aquatic products from Brunei and encourage qualified Chinese enterprises to invest in Brunei, Li said, while adding that China hopes the Brunei side will provide more support and facilitation for Chinese companies.

China firmly supports ASEAN in strengthening unity and strategic autonomy and is willing to work together with all ASEAN member states, including Brunei, to promote the establishment of a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future, Li said.

Brunei highly values its relationship with China, firmly adheres to the one-China policy, regards China as a key partner, and is willing to expand cooperation with China in areas such as trade, petrochemicals, digital economy and agriculture, and in addressing climate change, Hassanal stressed.

Brunei is ready to deepen cooperation within the framework of ASEAN-China relations, strengthen regional connectivity and people-to-people exchanges, promote the development of the comprehensive strategic partnership between ASEAN and China, and foster regional peace, stability and prosperity, Hassanal said.

Brunei appreciates China's important role in international and regional affairs and supports China's accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), he added.