Chinese President Hu Jintao met Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah on Friday in Vladivostok, Russia, to discuss consolidation of bilateral ties and other issues of common concern.

Hu and Hassanal were meeting on the sidelines of the annual Economic Leader's Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) slated for Saturday and Sunday. Both China and Brunei are members of the 21-member group.??

Hassanal said he is glad with the further development of bilateral ties, adding that mutual visits by leaders of both countries have pushed forward the cooperation between the two peoples and the two governments.

For his part, Hu said the development of bilateral ties has maintained a good momentum and serves as a good example for countries with different social systems to develop their ties.

China and Brunei enjoy traditional friendly relations. Since the establishment of their diplomatic relations 21 years ago, the two countries have increased political mutual trust and boosted effective economic and trade cooperation, and also maintained good coordination and cooperation on international and regional affairs.

The Chinese government highly appreciates Brunei's role in boosting the relations between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).