On January 14, 2021 local time, Brunei's Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah met with visiting State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Bandar Seri Begawan.

Wang Yi passed on the cordial regards of President Xi Jinping to Hassanal, saying that since the outbreak of COVID-19, China and Brunei have supported each other and joined hands in fighting the virus, and thus further cemented mutual trust and deepened friendship, fully demonstrating the fact that the two countries are strategic partners in the real sense. 2021 marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Brunei, ushering the bilateral relations into a fresh historic chapter. He hopes that both sides could take this opportunity to fully implement the consensus reached by the two heads of state and actively align China's Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035 with the Wawasan Brunei 2035, so as to lift bilateral cooperation across all fields to a new high.

Wang Yi said, China is willing to carry on the joint fight against the pandemic with Brunei, including cooperation on vaccines, and agrees to build the "fast tracks" for flow of the people and discuss on the building of "green lanes" for circulation of the goods in a bid to back each other's economic and social development. Both sides should speed up cooperation in Hengyi PMB Refinery and Petrochemical Project and the Brunei-Guangxi Economic Corridor, as well as agriculture and fishery, and tap such new growth drivers as 5G, big data and cloud computing, in order to make new contributions to Brunei's economic diversification. Both sides may actively seek effective approaches for maritime cooperation without prejudice to the stance of China or Brunei.

Wang Yi said, China supports Brunei in assuming the rotating chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and stands ready to elevate the China-ASEAN relations, build consensus on blue economy partnership and put into effect the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership at an early date by capturing the opportunity of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of China-ASEAN dialogue relations together with ASEAN countries. China has always appreciated and supported the dual-track approach proposed by Brunei in addressing the maritime issue, and wishes to strengthen cooperation and solidarity with all ASEAN countries and properly manage differences, to turn the South China Sea into the sea of peace and friendship.

Hassanal conveyed through Wang Yi his cordial greetings to President Xi Jinping. Hassanal said, China is Brunei's traditional, friendly neighbor and key cooperation partner, and the relations between the two countries are established on the basis of mutual trust, mutual respect, mutual benefit and win-win result. Expressing gratitude to China for its valuable support to Brunei's anti-virus battle, Hassanal congratulates China on successful development of COVID-19 vaccines, and hopes to conduct cooperation with China on vaccines so as to provide safeguards for people-to-people exchanges and cooperation in all fields between the two countries. Brunei firmly backs the one-China principle and stands ready to, drawing on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries, align its national vision Wawasan 2035 with China's Long-Range Objectives Through the Year of 2035, boost cooperation with China in agriculture, fishery and other fields, advance the construction of important projects including Hengyi Industries Sdn Bhd's oil refinery and petrochemical project and the Brunei-Guangxi Economic Corridor, and deepen the strategic partnership between the two countries. Brunei is willing to play its role of being the rotating chair of the ASEAN in promoting mutual trust and cooperation between ASEAN and China and maintaining regional peace and stability.

On the same day, Wang Yi also held talks with Brunei's Second Minister of Foreign Affairs Erywan bin Pehin Yusof and Minister at the Prime Minister's Office and Minister of Finance and Economy II Mohd Amin Liew Abdullah, and co-chaired the second meeting of the China-Brunei Intergovernmental Joint Steering Committee. Besides, Wang Yi also attended the Logo Launching Ceremony for the 30th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between China and Brunei, and met with ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi.