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INVESTMENT POTENTIAL
Introduced in 2013 by China, the
Belt and Road Initiative involves 64
per cent of the world’s population
and 29 per cent of the world’s gross
domestic product (GDP) with the
hopes of transforming international
connectivity.
The Belt and Road Initiative has
continued to be a significant initiative to
boost trade and investment within the
region, including Brunei Darussalam.
Former Chinese Ambassador to Brunei
Darussalam Yu Hong in an article titled
‘Deepening China-Brunei Cooperation’
published in the
Borneo Bulletin
on
August 17, 2022 further expressed the
friendly exchanges between China and
Brunei that have a long history.
She noted that in 2021, the two
countries jointly celebrated the 30
th
anniversary of the establishment
of diplomatic relations. Since the
establishment of diplomatic relations,
the political mutual trust between the
two countries has been continuously
deepened. Pragmatic cooperation in
various fields has also continued to
expand, bringing tangible benefits to
the people of the two countries.
Despite the world suffering from the
impact of the pandemic as well as also
facing geopolitical, inflation, energy
and food crises, and weak global
economic recovery, she noted, “It is
encouraging to note that China-Brunei
economic and trade cooperation has
shown outstanding resilience and
vitality. Bilateral trade volume has
grown rapidly, reaching a record high
of USD2.85 billion in 2021. The growth
continued in the first six months of this
year, reaching USD1.53 billion.”
She further shared that China
has
become the second
largest
trading partner and largest source
of
investment of
Brunei.
“The
cooperation under the
Belt
and
Road Initiative has made positive
contribution to Brunei’s economic
development as well as China-Brunei
cooperation.”
“Both China and Brunei support open
regionalism. Brunei has joined the Group
of Friends of the Global Development
Initiative, which will contribute to
accelerating the implementation of
the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development.”
Meanwhile, in a speech delivered
at the Brunei-China Economic and
Trade Cooperation Forum earlier in
August 2022, the former ambassador
also reaffirmed that China is willing to
work with ASEAN member countries
to build high-quality Belt and Road
projects, connecting with the
ASEAN
Outlook on the Indo-Pacific
, further
build a Belt and Road demonstration
area for high-efficient industrial
projects through production capacity
cooperation, ultimately improve the