On the afternoon of September 21, 2004, President Hu Jintao held talks with Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah at the Great Hall of the People. The two sides exchanged views and reached important consensus on further boosting the deepened development of the good-neighborly and friendly relations of cooperation between the two countries in the new century.

Hu made positive comments on China-Brunei relations, expressing appreciation for the friendly policy adopted by Brunei towards China and its support for the development of the strategic partnership between China and ASEAN countries. He said that the people of China and Brunei have enjoyed long-standing friendly exchanges. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1991, bilateral relations have witnessed comprehensive development. The two sides respect and trust each other politically, the economic and trade cooperation has been expanding, with the cooperation in such fields as crude oil trading and infrastructure construction being very fruitful, the exchanges and cooperation in the fields of culture, sports, health, tourism and judiciary have made positive headway, and the two sides have maintained good coordination in international and regional organizations, such as the United Nations, APEC, 10+3 mechanism (ASEAN plus China, Japan and the Republic of Korea) and 10+1 mechanism (ASEAN plus China). China appreciates the long-term adherence to the one-China policy by Brunei.

He added that China-Brunei relations could be described as a paragon of countries with different social systems and land area living in amity, treating each other as equals and engaging in mutually beneficial cooperation. Under new historical conditions, China would like to, on the basis of building good-neighborly relationships and partnership with the neighboring countries, keep the top-level contacts with Brunei, strengthen mutual political trust, improve the mechanism for economic and trade cooperation and create more favorable conditions for expansion of trade and investment. China encourages its enterprises to actively participate in the exploration and development of oil and gas resources and infrastructure construction in Brunei, stands ready to deepen cooperation with Brunei in those areas, supports Brunei's on-going efforts to implement the strategy of economic diversification, and welcomes more businesses of Brunei to invest and initiate business in China. China is also willing to expand exchanges and cooperation of the departments of the two countries at all levels, build on and carry forward the traditional friendship between the two peoples and jointly safeguard and promote peace and prosperity of the region.

Hassanal said that the development momentum of relations between Brunei and China is very good. In particular, cooperation in such fields as economy, trade and investment has witnessed one after another achievement. During this visit, the two countries will sign a series of cooperation agreements. This will surely help boost exchanges and cooperation between the two sides in related areas. He added that Brunei recognizes the full market economy status of China, and reiterated that Brunei adheres to the one-China policy. He also spoke highly of the important role of China in actively safeguarding stability in Asia-Pacific and in the peaceful resolution of regional hotspot issues.

Hu and Hassanal also exchanged views on China-ASEAN relations. Both leaders vowed to make joint efforts to constantly develop the strategic cooperative partnership oriented towards peace and prosperity between the two countries and boost the process of the building of China-ASEAN free trade area.

State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan and some other officials attended the talks.