International : Chinese President Xi Jinping and Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah exchanged congratulatory messages on Tuesday to mark the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Brunei.

In his message, Xi Jinping said China and Brunei share a long history of traditional friendship that has stood the test of time. As the two countries advance along their respective paths of modernization, they have set an example of mutual respect, equality and common development between countries, regardless of their size.

He added that over the past 35 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, political mutual trust between China and Brunei has deepened, fruitful progress has been achieved in cooperation across various fields, and people-to-people exchanges and interactions have become increasingly close.

Xi noted that Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah paid a state visit to China last year, during which the two sides reached important consensus on building a community with a shared future. This has ushered China-Brunei relations into a new historical stage of development.

Xi said he attaches great importance to the development of China-Brunei relations. He expressed his willingness to work with Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, taking the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations as an opportunity to carry forward traditional friendship, strengthen the alignment of development strategies and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation.

He said that by advancing the building of a community with a shared future between the two countries to a deeper and more practical level, both sides can better benefit their peoples and make greater contributions to regional prosperity and stability.

Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah said that over the 35 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, Brunei and China have consistently maintained mutual trust, respect and understanding. In 2025, the two countries reached important consensus on building a community with a shared future.

He also expressed his eagerness to use the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations as an opportunity to further strengthen ties between Brunei and China and deepen exchanges and cooperation in various fields, including trade and investment, defence and culture. He expressed the hope that the two countries would work together to achieve prosperity and progress for the overall well-being of their peoples.

Source: Lily, Foysal, Ruby, China Media Group.