Brunei-China relations growing steadily
By Lyna Mohammad

Minister of Industry and Primary Resources and the Chinese envoy cut the cake.

Pehin Dato Hj Abd Rahman delivering his speech.

Diplomatic corps and officials during the ceremony.

Other guests who attended the event.

"China has gone through many significant changes in its long history to become a rapidly developing and increasingly prosperous nation that it is today. Relations between Brunei Darussalam and the People's Republic of China (PRC) have grown from strength to strength since their establishment."

This was the opening remark made yesterday by the Minister of Industry and Primary Resources (MIPR), Pehin Dato Hj Abd Rahman Dato Hj Mohd Taib, who officiated the 54th Anniversary of the People's Republic of China National Day, at the International Convention Centre.

He was accompanied by his wife, Datin Hjh Edah Hj Mohd Nor.

The minister further stated that the strong ties were most evident with bilateral cooperation in fields such as agriculture, fisheries, health and tourism.

They have also worked hard together in trade and investment as today, China is an important trading partner for the Sultanate.

"I am also pleased to see that the increased people-to-people contacts have shown positive results. There is a growing number of visitors from China to Brunei Darussalam, a positive trend in our tourism industry," he said.

Sharing many common interests, China is seen as having a pivotal role particularly in the maintenance of peace and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific, especially Asean.

On Brunei's part, he continued, the country will continue to support and work together with other nations to make sure that there is stability in the region.

Meanwhile, Mr Wei Wei the PRC Ambassador, stated that this year has witnessed a turbulent world situation.

China has played a unique and constructive role on the Iraq issue under the framework of the United Nations, and successfully hosted the six-party talks on the DPRK nuclear issue.

Affected by SARS, Chinese leaders and citizens won an important victory in the fight against virus epidemic, resulting in the maintenance of rapid economic development and comprehensive national strength.

The trade volume between China and Brunei last year reached US$263 million, an increase of 59 per cent from the previous, making it an all-time high.

Standing at US$176 million, he said, the bilateral trade volume in the first half of this year, increased by 41.3 per cent.

China's annual import of petroleum from Brunei constitutes 13 per cent of the Sultanate's total annual export of the product and last month saw the signing of a US$20-million contract between Huawei Technologies Investment Co Ltd in China and JTB of Brunei.

"Chinese government attaches great importance to the 'Bruneian Development Strategy on Economic Diversification' and encourages Chinese companies to participate in the construction of relevant projects," concluded the envoy.

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin