BEIJING – China offered to buy more goods from Brunei and encourage investment in the Islamic sultanate as President Xi Jinping hailed relations with the small nation that are focused more on the economy than conflicts territorial rights in the South China Sea.
During his meeting Thursday in San Francisco with Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, Xi said China would welcome more exports from Brunei, ask more Chinese companies to set up operations in the South Asian country -East and would expand cooperation in areas such as food security, according to Chinese state media.
Brunei claims part of the South China Sea, most of which Beijing says belongs to China. But unlike some of its noisy neighbors with claims in the region, Brunei has remained silent on its own claims to a relatively small area in northern Borneo, choosing to focus on developing its trade relations with China while it oil-dependent country is diversifying its economy.
“The two sides should work together to promote positive progress in common maritime development and jointly safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea,” Xi told the Sultan of Brunei on the sidelines of the APEC summit in San Francisco. .
China is willing to work with Brunei and other ASEAN countries to maintain the “right” direction of East Asia cooperation, Xi added.
Brunei views China as one of its largest foreign investors and an important force in its efforts to create a more diversified economy, with its crude oil reserves expected to be completely depleted within decades.
China’s largest investment to date has been a multibillion-dollar oil refinery.
China’s Zhejiang Hengyi Petrochemical is a 70% shareholder in the Pula Muara Besar refinery, launched in 2019 as part of a partnership with the Bruneian government.
Hengyi initially invested around $3.45 billion. It then invested an additional $13.65 billion to expand the plant’s refining capacity and build additional petrochemical facilities.
Brunei’s economy is expected to contract by about 1% this year, the International Monetary Fund said, due to reduced energy production linked to infrastructure maintenance.—Reuters