Your Excellency Permanent Secretary of Investments of MOFE
Awang Haji Khairuddin bin Haji Abdul Hamid,
Distinguished Entrepreneurs from China and Brunei,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good morning!
It’s my pleasure to attend the Brunei Darussalam Investment Opportunity Briefing held by the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China and the Government of Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. I want to extend my warmest congratulations on the opening of this event. Also, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to all distinguished guests for your efforts to promote China-Brunei cooperation.
Currently, the relation between China and Brunei has come up to the best stage in history. In November 2018, Present Xi Jinping paid a successful state visit to Brunei, and the two countries issued a joint statement which elevated the bilateral relation to a Strategic Cooperative Partnership. Last April, His Majesty attended the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held in China, the leaders of the two states reached important consensus on further developing China-Brunei relation, reiterating docking the Belt and Road Initiative with Wawasan Brunei 2035 , implementing key cooperation projects, and deepening cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, investment, agriculture and fishery.
The exchange of visits between the leaders of the two states has injected strong impetus to bilateral economic and trade cooperation. Last year, the year on year growth of bilateral trade had increased by 86%, which rates the first in ASEAN countries, China is the largest import market of Brunei and the second largest trading partner. From January to July this year, Brunei's exports to China increased by 143% , the growth rate once again ranks the first among ASEAN countries. The trade balance between the two countries has further improved. Besides, the key investment and infrastructure projects are advancing steadily. For example, Hengyi's PMB Project, the iconic China-Brunei joint venture, is the largest foreign direct investment in Brunei. The introduction of hydro-carbons for start-up is undergoing well. The operation of this project will make a great contribution to the diversification of Brunei’s economy. The big project of Temburong Bridge, of which a Chinese company involved in the construction, is expected to be completed and open to traffic very soon, gaining a lot attention from the Bruneian people, the bridge will significantly enhance the inter-connectivity of Brunei.
Looking forward, China-Brunei cooperation is very promising. The Belt and Road Initiative is highly aligned with Wawasan Brune 2035. We both actively support the multilateral trading system, oppose trade protectionism and unilateralism, work together to develop China-ASEAN cooperation and China-ASEAN BIMP-EAGA cooperation. We both advocate an early agreement on RCEP. We are good partners in promoting regional economic integration and building an open economy. All these have created a favorable environment for the Chinese and Bruneian companies to carry out pragmatic cooperation.
Ladies and gentlemen, friends,
The year 2019 is the beginning of developing the Strategic Cooperative Partnership between China and Brunei in the new era. I sincerely hope Bruneian and Chinese entrepreneurs seize the historical opportunity to expand bilateral cooperation in trade, investment and other fields, to work together on developing third-party market cooperation, to explore a new mode of achieving complementary advantages, mutual benefit and joint development, and to make contributions to the development of China-Brunei Strategic Cooperative Partnership while realizing the development of your own businesses.
To conclude, I wish this event a full success. Thank you!