As the Lunar New Year of Dragon is coming, on behalf of the Chinese Embassy in Brunei, I would like to extend my warm Spring Festival greetings and best wishes to all Chinese in Brunei, including personnel from Chinese enterprises and institutions, voluntary teachers, international students, compatriots from Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR and Taiwan of China, and friends from all walks of life.
In 2023, China-Brunei relations enjoyed sound and steady development, with pragmatic cooperation deepened and expanded across all fields, fruitful results yielded from Belt and Road cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges getting even closer. In November 2023, Chinese President Xi Jinping and His Majesty the Sultan had a successful meeting during the sidelines of the 30th APEC Leaders’ Meeting, guiding the direction and drawing a blueprint for pushing forward the Strategic Cooperative Partnership of the two countries. That was the second consecutive year when the two heads of state held bilateral meetings, fully reflecting the high-level bilateral mutual trust and strategic cooperation. Standing at a new historical starting point, we are ready to work with Brunei to deliver on the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, seize opportunities and deepen cooperation to further bilateral relations and bring more benefits to our countries and peoples.
In December 2023, the Central Conference on Work Relating to Foreign Affairs was held in Beijing. It was pointed out at the conference that building a community with a shared future for mankind is the noble goal pursued by China in conducting major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics for the new era. The goal is to build an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world of lasting peace, universal security and shared prosperity, the pathway is promoting global governance that features extensive consultation and joint contribution for shared benefit, the guiding principle is to apply the common values of humanity, the basic underpinning lies in building a new type of international relations, the strategic guidance comes from the implementation of the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative, and the platform for action is high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. On this basis, we seek to bring countries together to meet challenges and achieve prosperity for all. China stands ready to work with Brunei to deepen cooperation in various fields, so as to build a solid foundation for building a community with a shared future for China and Brunei.
In 2023, faced with complex and grave international environment as well as arduous tasks to advance reform, promote development and maintain stability at home, under the strong leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, China adhered to the general principle of seeking progress while maintaining stability, fully and faithfully applied the new development philosophy on all fronts, accelerated efforts to foster a new pattern of development, the national economy witnessed the momentum of recovery, supply and demand improved steadily, transformation and upgrades were advanced solidly, employment and prices were generally stable, people’s well-being was robustly and effectively guaranteed, steady progress was made in pursuing high-quality development, and major expected targets were well achieved. The country’s gross domestic product (GDP) was 126,058.2 billion CNY in 2023, an increase of 5.2 percent over the previous year at constant prices, surpassing the estimated global growth rate of around 3% and ranking among the top in the world’s major economies. It is expected to contribute over 30% to global economic growth, making it the largest engine driving world economic growth. China will implement the spirit of the Central Economic Work Conference, effectively respond to difficulties and challenges, and continue to promote the stable and long-term development of the economy.
Upholding the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation, overseas Chinese in Brunei have passed on Chinese culture, endured hardships and worked hard to integrate themselves into and serve the local economic and social development, while actively supporting the development of their ancestral country. Together with Chinese enterprises in Brunei, overseas Chinese have made important contributions to the friendship and practical cooperation between China and Brunei. In the Chinese New Year, I hope everyone continue to pay attention to, support and participate in the development of China-Brunei friendship, and the Embassy will, as always, provide services and support for everyone’s work, life and study.
The new chapter is being renewed day by day with the year changing. Spring Festival is not only traditional Chinese festival, but also a public holiday in many countries including Brunei, and has been officially listed as a UN floating holiday. 2024 is the Year of Dragon. In traditional Chinese culture, dragon is a symbol of good luck and prosperity, bringing good weather, peace and prosperity for the country and people. We hope every year is joyful and successful for all the people. At this precious moment, we sincerely wish China be prosperous and the people happy, wish China-Brunei relations sound and the friendship of the two countries long-lasting, wish everyone a happy Spring Festival and every good luck, health and success in the Year of Dragon!