On the afternoon of 18 November local time, President Xi Jinping met with Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei Darussalam in Bangkok. 

President Xi noted that China and Brunei are each other’s close neighbors across the sea, trustworthy friends and partners of common development. The two countries have set an example of harmonious coexistence and mutually beneficial and win-win interactions between countries of different sizes. Next year marks the fifth anniversary of the strategic cooperative partnership between China and Brunei. The two sides need to work together to attain greater development of the strategic cooperative partnership and bring more benefits to people in both countries.

President Xi stressed that it is important for the two sides to keep up communication and exchange, make good use of the Joint Steering Committee, and advance practical cooperation across the board in a coordinated manner. The two sides should build stronger synergy between their national development strategies, pursue high-quality progress of the key projects under the Belt and Road Initiative, deepen cooperation in such areas as infrastructure, agriculture, fishery and energy, foster drivers for cooperation in green development and the digital economy, and promote travel and exchanges between the two peoples in an orderly manner. China appreciates Brunei’s active efforts to advance China-ASEAN relations during its ASEAN Chairmanship, and stands ready to further enhance communication and coordination with Brunei within frameworks like ASEAN and APEC. China would like to work with Brunei and all other ASEAN member states to actively advance maritime cooperation and the consultation on a Code of Conduct, and build the South China Sea into a sea of peace, friendship and cooperation.

Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah once again congratulated President Xi on the success of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and on his re-election as General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPC. Under the strong leadership of President Xi, China has successfully achieved the first centenary goal. The Sultan expressed confidence that China will continue moving toward prosperity and development and realize the strategic goals it has set out. Brunei and China enjoy friendly relations and fruitful cooperation. Brunei is grateful for China’s donation of COVID-19 vaccines, and thanks China for giving strong support to Brunei as ASEAN Chair. Brunei is firmly committed to the one-China policy and stands ready to work with China for greater success in the bilateral ties. Brunei welcomes China’s active participation in the country’s economic diversification and is committed to closer exchanges and cooperation in economy and trade, education, people-to-people and cultural exchanges, sports, defense and other areas. Brunei will continue to play an active role in enhancing ASEAN’s comprehensive strategic partnership with China.

Ding Xuexiang, Wang Yi and He Lifeng were present at the meeting.