Trade Up Between Brunei And China
By Azlan Othman

Bandar Seri Begawan - There was an increase of 20.7 per cent in bilateral trade volume between Brunei and China which stood at US$315 million last year. This was stated by outgoing Ambassador of People's Republic of China, Madame Yang Yanyi yesterday.

Major exports from China to Brunei include food, textile, construction materials and ICT products, whereas the major import from Brunei 1 to China is crude oil. Cooperation in the energy field constitutes the major pillar of cooperation between the two countries.

She also highlighted upcoming events to look forward to this year which will include exchange of visits and strengthening economic cooperation. In April, the first China education exhibition will be held in Brunei while sometime in May and June, China will take part in a defence exhibition to be held in Brunei.

A Muslim delegation from Guangdong Province will visit Brunei and the Asean-China expo in Nanning will enter its fourth year, to be held in September.

Madame Yang Yanyi said the past two years have been marked by closer economic linkages between China and Brunei. Mutually beneficial cooperation between both countries in such priority areas as trade, energy, communications, investment, tourism, agriculture, infrastructure development has been further enhanced.

"China now stands as one of the largest inbound markets of Brunei with 40,000 Chinese tourists visiting the Sultanate in 2005," she said.

Madame Yang Yanyi has been posted as the Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Brunei for two years. She first came to Brunei on January 28, 2005, and will depart this February 16.

Asked on the major achievements during her period as an Ambassador, Mdm Yang Yanyi said the past two years have been a time when bilateral relations between China and Brunei have entered a new dynamic phase of broadranging and multi-faceted cooperation.

The two countries have kept the momentum of high-level exchanges of visit. The past two years have witnessed President Hu Jintao's state visit to Brunei Darussalam in April 2005 and Vice Premier Madam Wu Yi's official visit to Brunei Darussalam in September the same year.

His Majesty also attended the 10+1 Commemorative Summit in China in October last year while His Royal Highness Prince Mohamed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade visited China in September 2006, as well as Her Royal Highness Princess Hajah Masna, Ambassador at Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade's visit to China in April 2006.

These high level exchanges of visit as well as interaction at various levels of the political, economic and cultural establishments have deepened mutual understanding and trust and opened up new pathways of cooperation.

The MoU on tourism cooperation between China and Brunei signed during the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, HRH Prince Mohamed's visit to China last September provides further impetus in this field.

Participation by small and medium enterprises of Brunei in the China-Asean EXPO (Nanning) has also played a valuable role in showcasing the competitive edge and development potential of Brunei to the Chinese people and the region. Some coastal provinces of China, for instance, Guangxi Province and Yunnan Province, are developing closer ties with Brunei Darussalam.

The Hua Wei Technologies of China together with QAF successfully launched the 3G mobile project. The local market is becoming more and more attracted to Chinamade automobiles.

Interactions between our people in the culture, sports, education, judicial affairs, auditing, police, defence, human resource development are also on the rise.

The cultural shows by the Zun Yi Acrobatic Troupe, the Dance Academy of Beijing, and Culture Troupe of Guangxi were warmly greeted by the people in Brunei.

The shows presented by the Military Tatoo of China and the China Acrobatic Troupe during the celebration of His Majesty’s 60th birthday were well received by the local people.

The Brunei-China Friendship Association established in early 2005 has been instrumental in developing mutually beneficial cooperation especially in such areas as economy, trade, culture and education.

Through the Asean Plus One and Asean Plus Three process, China and Brunei have achieved progress in promoting sub-regional and regional integration. Thanks to Brunei's initiative, China has become a fully-developed partner in BIMP-EAGA in 2005. The two countries have supported each other to advance the cause for peace, security and prosperity in such international organisations such as the United Nations. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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