From March 23 to 24, at the invitation of the Brunei-China Friendship Association, Yang Wanming, President of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), led a delegation on a friendly visit to Brunei. During the visit, he met with Abdul Manaf bin Haji Metussin, Minister of Primary Resources and Tourism; Nazmi bin Haji Awang Mohamad, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports; and Hajah Mardiana Haji Omar, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brunei Darussalam. He also held discussions with the leadership of the Brunei-China Friendship Association, including its President Chen Jiafu. During the visit, the two associations jointly signed a memorandum of cooperation for the period from 2025 to 2030. President Yang also toured Muara Port to review the practical achievements of China-Brunei cooperation, engaged extensively with friendly figures from Brunei's political, business, and cultural sectors, and conducted in-depth exchanges on China-Brunei relations, people-to-people friendship, and youth exchanges, reaching positive consensus.
Yang Wanming noted that China and Brunei are friendly neighbors across the sea, with a longstanding traditional friendship. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations 34 years ago, the two countries have continuously deepened political mutual trust, with practical cooperation across various fields yielding fruitful results, contributing positively to regional peace, stability, development, and prosperity. In February this year, President Xi Jinping met with Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan of Brunei. The two leaders reached important consensus on building a community with a shared future for China and Brunei and issued a joint statement on deepening the strategic partnership and advancing the construction of a community with a shared future for China and Brunei, opening a new chapter in bilateral relations.
Yang further emphasized that 2024 and 2025 are the ASEAN-China Year of People-to-people Exchanges, and next year marks the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Brunei. The CPAFFC is ready to work with Brunei to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state. This includes building more bridges for people-to-people exchanges, practical cooperation, cultural exchanges, and youth friendship, thereby continuously deepening the construction of a community with a shared future for China and Brunei. All sectors in Brunei are welcomed to actively participate in events such as the China-ASEAN Expo, the RCEP Local Governments and Friendship Cities Cooperation (Huangshan) Forum, the Conference on ASEAN-China People-to-People Friendship Organizations, and the ASEAN-China Young Leaders Exchange Festival, in a way to further strengthen people-to-people friendship, expand cultural and subnational exchanges, deepen practical cooperation, and make new and greater contributions to the ongoing development of China-Brunei relations.
People from all sectors in Brunei warmly welcomed President Yang Wanming and his delegation and highly appreciated the positive role of the CPAFFC in promoting people-to-people friendship between Brunei and China and advancing the development of bilateral relations. They expressed that Brunei places great value on its relationship with China, and takes China as an important partner. Under the political guidance of the two heads of state, the two countries have maintained friendly relationship, and attained fruitful exchanges and cooperation in various fields. The Brunei side is committed to further strengthening cooperation with the CPAFFC, deepening people-to-people exchanges in areas such as economy, trade, culture, sports, youth, tourism and subnational cooperation, thus jointly building a community with a shared future for China and Brunei.
Yuan Mindao, Vice President of the CPAFFC, and Xiao Jianguo, Chinese Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam, attended relevant activities.
