The One Belt, One Road (OBOR), also known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), is a large-scale infrastructure and economic development project initiated by China. The initiative was announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013 to enhance global trade connectivity and promote economic cooperation between countries.
OBOR consists of two main components: the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. The landbased Silk Road Economic Belt focuses on connecting China to Europe via Central Asia and the Middle East, while the Maritime Silk Road is aimed at linking China to Southeast Asia, South Asia, Africa, and Europe through major sea routes.
During the reception commemorating the 74th anniversary of the founding of China, Ambassador of China to Brunei Darussalam Xiao Jianguo highlighted the significance of BRI. The year 2023 marked the 32nd anniversary of China- Brunei diplomatic ties and the fifth anniversary of the Strategic Cooperative Partnership.
With the strategic alignment of BRI and Brunei Vision 2035, the relationship between the two countries has progressed healthily. The BRI projects have yielded substantial results, delivering tangible benefits to both nations and their people.
Highlighting the achievements, the ambassador said bilateral trade reached a record high of USD3 billion last year, marking an over 200-fold increase since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1991. In the first eight months of the subsequent year, the bilateral trade volume reached USD1.71 billion.
Year 2023 also marked the 10th anniversary of BRI. Chinese Pesident Xi Jinping, in a keynote speech at the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, outlined eight major steps to elevate Belt and Road cooperation to a new stage of higher-quality and higher-level development.
These steps include enhancing connectivity, supporting an open world economy, and accelerating the high-quality development of the China- Europe Railway Express. President Xi further pledged to collaborate on building a new logistics corridor across the Eurasian continent through direct railway and road transportation.
Brunei-China OBOR Association
The Brunei-China One Belt One Road (OBOR) Association celebrated a significant milestone with the inauguration of its new office at Sunway Centre, Jalan Muara in mid-2023.
Since its inception, the association has successfully introduced and expanded numerous valuable opportunities and platforms in trade, agriculture, education, and culture, fostering bilateral collaboration between the two nations.
Anticipating a surge in responsibilities, the new office serves as a strategic asset to bolster the Brunei-China OBOR Association’s mission. The enhanced office infrastructure provides an improved communication platform to facilitate cooperation and strengthen ties between the two countries. As the sole association in Brunei incorporating ‘Belt and Road’ in its name, the organisation has actively facilitated reciprocal visits and exchanges with China’s economic and trade enterprises and local governments. These initiatives have successfully propelled collaboration in agriculture, trade, and humanities between the two nations.
The Brunei- China OBOR Association continues to extend its outreach based on six critical factors the association upholds including political stability, geographical advantage, mutual respect and trust, efficient logistics, financial and legal infrastructure, capable human resources and local community support.
