JOINT STATEMENT
BETWEEN THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
AND BRUNEI DARUSSALAM

BEIJING, 5 APRIL 2013

1. At the invitation of His Excellency Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China, His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, made a State Visit to the People's Republic of China from 4 to 7 April 2013. During the visit, His Majesty held bilateral talks with His Excellency Xi Jinping, and met with His Excellency Li Keqiang, Premier of China's State Council as well as His Excellency Zhang Dejiang, Chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress. His Majesty will also attend and address the opening ceremony of the 2013 Annual Conference of the Boao Forum for Asia to be held on 7 April 2013 in Hainan Province.

2. At the bilateral meetings, the Chinese Leaders highly commended the significant contribution made by His Majesty on the development of China-Brunei Darussalam relations and noted the important initiatives that were undertaken by China and Brunei Darussalam to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the official establishment of China-Brunei Darussalam diplomatic relations in 2011. Both sides underlined the importance of further strengthening the long-standing friendship, reflecting the close historical and cultural ties between the two countries.

3. The Leaders reiterated their political will to deepen bilateral relations through cooperation in various fields, on the basis of the principles and spirit enshrined in the Memorandum of Understanding between the People's Republic of China and Brunei Darussalam issued in 1991, the Joint Communiques issued in 1999 and 2004 respectively, as well as the Joint Press Statement issued in 2005.

4. The Leaders reiterated their mutual respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity and non-interference in each other's internal affairs. Brunei Darussalam reiterated that it will continue to adhere to the one China policy, and support the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations and the peaceful reunification of China. China appreciated the above-mentioned position.

5. The Leaders recognised that China and Brunei Darussalam are important partners working closely for common prosperity and development, contributing to regional peace and stability. On the basis of this partnership, the Leaders agreed to establish China-Brunei Strategic Cooperative Relationship aimed at enhancing peace, stability and prosperity of the two countries and the region, in the spirit of friendship and goodwill, as well as on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia and other universally recognised norms of international law.

6. The Leaders agreed to maintain frequent exchanges and strengthen bilateral mechanisms including diplomatic, economic and trade consultations, at all levels. The Leaders noted that enhanced mutual understanding and political trust and bilateral cooperation have played an important part in developing the close relations shared by both countries.

7. In recognition of the two countries' domestic development strategies, the Leaders agreed to further promote the level of bilateral economic and trade cooperation and work closely together in transportation, communications, infrastructure and finance. The Leaders encouraged their respective enterprises to explore joint venture opportunities, particularly in infrastructure development.

8. The Leaders welcomed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam on the cooperation in the Energy Sector in November 2011, and were pleased to note the increased cooperation between the two countries as a result of this, particularly in the areas of commercial cooperation, refining, petrochemicals and public–private sector cooperation.

9. In this regard, the Leaders further noted the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and Brunei National Petroleum Company Sendirian Berhad (PetroleumBRUNEI) on Commercial Cooperation in the Oil and Gas Sector which was also signed in November 2011, and welcomed the signing of the Cooperation Agreement between CNOOC and PetroleumBRUNEI on 2 April 2013, in Beijing, which will continue to deepen cooperation in the energy sector between the two sides.

10. The Leaders agreed to support relevant enterprises of the two countries to carry out joint exploration and exploitation of maritime oil and gas resources following the principle of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit. Such cooperation shall not be interpreted as to prejudice the position of the respective countries in relation to maritime rights and interest.

11. The Leaders noted the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Agriculture of the People's Republic of China and the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources of the Government of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam on Agricultural Cooperation signed in May 2009 and the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China and the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources of the Government of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam on Economic and Trade Cooperation in the Agriculture Sector signed in April 2012. In this regard, they agreed to further strengthen exchanges and cooperation in agriculture, halal food products, agrifoods and aquaculture. Both sides encouraged and supported their enterprises to increase the trade of agricultural products on the basis of market rules and equality and mutual benefit, and the Chinese side welcomed Brunei Darussalam's continued participation in various expositions and trade fairs held by China, including the annual China-ASEAN Expo held in Nanning. The Leaders encouraged enterprises of both countries to cooperate in developing ventures in the halal food industry and fisheries industry and the international market.

12. The Leaders recalled the Memorandum of Understanding on Military Exchanges between the Ministry of Defence of Brunei Darussalam and the Ministry of National Defence of the People's Republic of China signed in September 2003 and expressed satisfaction with the existing cooperation in defence and security. The Leaders agreed to further deepen such cooperation through regular exchanges of visits, personnel training, cooperation in non-traditional security fields and in regional security mechanisms, in further promoting regional peace and stability. His Majesty extended his appreciation to China for its continued support of the Brunei International Defence Exhibition (BRIDEX) and welcomed its participation in the ADMM-Plus Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief and Military Medicine Exercise (ADMM-Plus HADR and MM Ex) to be held in Brunei Darussalam in June 2013.

13. The Leaders also supported efforts to enhance bilateral personnel exchanges and deepen cooperation activities in fields such as combating transnational crimes, capacity building, and information exchange.

14. The Leaders noted with pleasure the implementation of the Plan of Action on Health Cooperation between the Ministry of Health of the People's Republic of China and the Ministry of Health of the Government of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam for 2012-2015 signed in November 2011. In this regard, the Leaders underlined the importance of continuing to cooperate in training and research in the fields of Health Promotion; Communicable Diseases Control and Surveillance; Traditional Chinese Medicine; Noncommunicable Diseases Prevention and Control; Maternal and Child Health; Rehabilitation Medicine; Laboratory Services; and Nursing Services.

15. The Leaders noted with satisfaction that cultural and sports exchanges between the two countries have been developing well and agreed to further strengthen cooperation in these areas.

16. The Leaders emphasised the importance of continuing exchanges and cooperation in education as highlighted in the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China and the Ministry of Education of Brunei Darussalam on Cooperation in the Field of Higher Education signed in 2004. Both Leaders encouraged further efforts in promoting educational linkages between both countries.

17. The Leaders recalled the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam on Tourism Cooperation signed in September 2006. The Leaders expressed the need to continue to strengthen tourism cooperation to provide both countries with opportunities for exchanges between tourism organisations, travel agencies, and tour operators; learn from each other's management experiences, and enhance the development of their respective tourism industries.

18. The Leaders also agreed to deepen cooperation in the field of religion and maintain exchanges of visits between their respective religious affairs departments. The Leaders agreed to continue to strengthen such cooperation, especially among the Islamic communities, and for academic research, pilgrimage, public welfare and charity .

19. The Leaders regarded the youth as an important human resource for both nations' economic and social development. In this regard, the Leaders agreed to continue encouraging youth organizations of the two countries to foster closer cooperation including under the China-ASEAN framework. His Majesty welcomed the contributions of the young Chinese volunteers in the areas of Chinese language studies and health sciences in Brunei Darussalam's institutions.

20. The Chinese side appreciated ASEAN's efforts on maintaining regional peace, stability and prosperity, including ASEAN's major role in promoting East Asia Cooperation. The Chinese side expressed its continued support and assistance within its capacity to ASEAN's community building efforts, and strengthen its cooperation with ASEAN through wider regional mechanisms such as ASEAN Plus Three and the East Asia Summit (EAS), to jointly safeguard peace, development and prosperity in East Asia. His Majesty thanked China for its long-term positive contribution to ASEAN's development and community building process.

21. The Chinese side congratulated Brunei Darussalam for assuming the chairmanship of ASEAN of 2013, and pledged their full support to Brunei Darussalam in the latter's efforts for several important occasions including the EAS. Both sides also spoke highly of the remarkable progress of China-ASEAN dialogue relations especially after the establishment of China-ASEAN Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in 2003. Both sides agreed to continuously expand and deepen the cooperation between China and ASEAN in political security, economic and trade, connectivity, maritime, social-cultural, and regional and international affairs.

22. The Leaders agreed to further strengthen cooperation in such fields as trade, investment and economic cooperation, including joint projects/ventures, and to make positive contributions to poverty eradication in the region and promotion of ASEAN integration. His Majesty expressed appreciation for China's continued support as a development partner in BIMP-EAGA (Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines-East Asia Growth Area).

23. The Leaders believed that the launching of negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) fully demonstrated the resolve of East Asian countries in strengthening economic cooperation and realizing regional economic integration. The Leaders stressed the need to make progress on the negotiations at an early date, in the principle of openness, equality and mutual benefit. His Majesty also expressed appreciation for China's open attitude towards all cooperative initiatives conducive to economic integration and common prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region.

24. The Leaders also agreed to continue enhancing consultations on areas of common interests in international fora, such as the United Nations and the World Trade Organization. His Majesty expressed appreciation towards China's continued international efforts in addressing the global financial crisis and expressed hope that China will continue to support ASEAN's participation in the G20.

25. The Leaders reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining peace and stability, the continued exercise of self-restraint by all parties concerned, and the promotion of mutual trust, confidence and cooperation in the South China Sea. They underscored the importance of resolving territorial and jurisdictional disputes through peaceful dialogue and consultations by sovereign states directly concerned, and in accordance with universally recognised principles of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The Leaders looked forward to the further implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of the Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), making efforts towards eventually formulating a code of conduct in the South China Sea .

26. His Majesty Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam expressed his appreciation for the warm welcome and kind hospitality extended to him and his delegation during his visit to China, and looked forward to receiving His Excellency Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders to Brunei Darussalam.