Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Brunei's Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah in San Francisco, the United States, Nov. 16, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

China and Brunei should make joint efforts to make positive progress in joint maritime development and jointly safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea, said Chinese President Xi Jinping in San Francisco Thursday.

China and Brunei are friendly neighbors facing each other across the sea and good partners who trust and support each other, Xi made the remarks while meeting Brunei's Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah.

Xi pointed out that since the establishment of diplomatic ties more than 30 years ago, the two countries have continuously deepened political mutual trust, actively aligned development strategies, achieved fruitful results in practical cooperation in various fields, maintained good coordination in international and regional affairs, set a good example of equal treatment and mutual benefit for big and small countries, and made positive contributions to regional peace, stability, development and prosperity.

Noting that this year marks the 5th anniversary of the establishment of China-Brunei strategic cooperative partnership, Xi said China is willing to work with Brunei for high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, push for new development of bilateral relations and bring more benefits to the two peoples.

Xi stressed that China supports Brunei in pursuing a development path suited to its own national conditions, welcomes increased exports of quality products from Brunei to China, encourages more Chinese enterprises to invest and conduct business in Brunei, expands practical cooperation in food security, digital economy, and green development, and conduct people-to-people and cultural exchanges in education, culture, tourism, health, and subnational areas.

China and Brunei should make joint efforts to advance positive progress in joint maritime development and jointly safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea, Xi said.

Noting that China attaches great importance to East Asia cooperation, Xi said China stands ready to work with Brunei and other ASEAN countries to advance regional economic integration and maintain the right direction of East Asia cooperation.

For his part, Hassanal congratulated China on the successful hosting of the Asian Games in Hangzhou not long ago, saying that Brunei and China enjoy a long history of friendly exchanges, bilateral relations have maintained sound development, and exchanges and cooperation in various fields have been progressing smoothly.

Noting that Brunei has always firmly adhered to the one-China policy, Hassanal said Brunei attaches great importance to developing relations with China and is willing to further strengthen cooperation in such fields as economy and trade, agriculture, fishery, and green energy, deepen people-to-people exchanges and actively promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.

Hassanal also said that Brunei stands ready to further strengthen cooperation with China within the ASEAN framework, and looks forward to an early conclusion of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, and to build the South China Sea into a sea of peace and friendship through joint efforts so as to promote regional peace and security.

Brunei is willing to maintain close communication with China on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and other regional issues, he added.

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Brunei's Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah in San Francisco, the United States, Nov. 16, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]