BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Oct 17 (NNN-ANN) – China was Brunei’s fourth largest trading partner in 2019, with trade flow amounting to 1.5 billion Brunei dollars (1.1 billion U.S. dollars), or 8.9 percent of Brunei’s total trade, Haji Mohd Amin Liew, Brunei’s Minister, at the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister of Finance and Economy, said.
China was Brunei’s largest source of imports with 915 million Brunei dollars, or 13.1 percent of its total imports, and China was the sultanate’s seventh largest destination for export with 584 million Brunei dollars, or 5.9 percent of total exports, Haji Mohd Amin Liew was quoted as saying.
According to the report, the growing bilateral relationship between Brunei and China was lauded by the minister, in his recorded keynote speech at the 11th Pan-Beibu Gulf Economic Cooperation Forum, themed “Push Forward Brunei-China Cooperation by Improving Interconnection.”
The establishment of Muara Port Company Sdn Bhd (MPC), a joint venture company between the Brunei government and Guangxi Beibu Gulf Port Group, a Chinese state-owned enterprise, is an example of this growing cooperation, he said.
After three-and-a-half years of operation, the minister said, MPC contributed significantly to Brunei’s economic diversification efforts by leveraging from Beibu Gulf Port’s extensive expertise and capabilities.
Looking at opportunities for both countries to capitalise, he said, “Brunei, rich in natural resources, such as oil and natural gas, is located at the centre of the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA). I believe that Brunei-China cooperation not only strengthens the connection between China and BIMP-EAGA countries, but also benefits China-ASEAN cooperation as well.”
According to the report, the minister said ASEAN and China are in the midst of establishing a multidimensional logistics network with the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor.
The 11th Pan-Beibu Gulf Economic Cooperation Forum, and 2020 Beibu Gulf International Gateway Port Cooperation Summit, were held in Nanning, southwest China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on Thursday.– NNN-ANN
