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Director-General of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Foreign Ministry Liu Jinsong Meets with Bruneian Ambassador to China Pehin Dato Rahmani

2022-10-14 12:18

On October 13, 2022, Director-General of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Foreign Ministry Liu Jinsong met with Bruneian Ambassador to China Pehin Dato Rahmani. The two sides exchanged views on China-Brunei relations and international and regional issues of common interest and concern.

Liu Jinsong said that the Communist Party of China (CPC) will soon convene its 20th National Congress in Beijing. This congress will set well-conceived goals and tasks for China's development in the next five years and beyond, and will draw an overarching plan for China's future development. Standing at a new historical starting point, China will continue to play the role of a responsible major country, offer more public goods to the world, and work with neighboring countries, including Brunei, to address global risks and challenges, advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, implement the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative, and build a community with a shared future for mankind.

Liu Jinsong said that the friendship between China and Brunei has lasted for over a thousand years, and that the two countries are good friends and neighbors having heart-to-heart affinity despite the distance keeping them apart. The two countries have set a fine example of treating each other as equals and living in harmony between countries regardless of size. Next year marks the fifth anniversary of the China-Brunei strategic cooperative partnership. China is ready to take this opportunity to work with Brunei to step up high-level exchanges, seek greater synergy between strategies, and upgrade bilateral relations. The two sides should ensure sound implementation of key Belt and Road cooperation projects such as the Hengyi PMB Refinery and Petrochemical Project and the Brunei-Guangxi Economic Corridor, and continuously expand cooperation in energy, agriculture, green economy, digital economy and other areas to benefit the two countries and peoples.

Liu Jinsong said that Xinjiang is my hometown and Xinjiang is a nice place. Your Excellency Ambassador visited Xinjiang in August this year and actively shared your first-hand experience and the real situation in Xinjiang. I appreciate this. For some time now, the United States and some other Western countries have been misinforming the public about Xinjiang to smear China's image and contain China's development. They used the so-called Xinjiang-related report to put together a so-called draft decision in the Human Rights Council in an attempt to use UN human rights bodies as a tool to interfere in China's internal affairs. It is clear to all who stand for fairness and justice. Most members of the Human Rights Council, especially developing countries and most Muslim countries, are clearly aware that the ultimate motive of the United States and some other Western countries behind their Xinjiang narrative is to contain China. The draft decision was eventually voted down, a result marking that the United States' move had failed. The issues related to Xinjiang are not about human rights. They are about countering violent terrorism, radicalization and separatism. China hopes that Brunei will continue to firmly support China on Xinjiang-related issues in the future.

Regarding the U.S. administration's new National Security Strategy and a series of moves to advance the Indo-Pacific Strategy, Liu Jinsong pointed out that what the Asian region needs at present is peace, development, free trade, regional cooperation and post-pandemic recovery rather than Cold War mentality, zero-sum game and unilateral sanctions. Certain Western countries are inciting bloc confrontation, provoking arms races, creating closed small circles, and deliberately splitting the global industrial and supply chains. What they do runs counter to the trend of the times and the expectations of regional countries, and is doomed to be unpopular and bound to fail.

Rahmani wishes the 20th National Congress of the CPC a complete success, saying that he admires the CPC's achievements in state governance, including poverty reduction and pandemic response. Rahmani said that the friendship between Brunei and China, dating back to ancient times, has maintained the sound momentum of development for many years. Although the weather is getting colder, Brunei-China relations are getting warmer. He sincerely thanked China for providing vaccines in time to Brunei amid the COVID-19 pandemic. He looks forward to the early resumption of exchanges between the two sides in various fields and at all levels. Rahmani also happily recalled his visits to Urumqi, Kashgar, Aksu and other places in Xinjiang. He said that Xinjiang enjoys social stability and harmony among ethnic groups, and that Xinjiang will have a brighter future. Islam advocates peace and rejects terrorism. Brunei always respects other countries' national sovereignty and opposes interference in other countries' internal affairs. Brunei is ready to work with China to address global challenges and safeguard regional peace and stability.

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