Economic help is far more important to Brunei than the maritime disputes. That’s music to China’s ears.
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s ongoing Asia tour had him in Brunei from November 18, immediately after leaving the APEC summit in Papua New Guinea, to November 20, when he departed for the Philippines. It was Xi’s first visit to Brunei – and the first state visit by any Chinese president in 13 years.
According to Xi’s host, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Xi’s visit was “a significant one in expanding and strengthening the historical ties underpinned by strong friendship, trust and goodwill towards one another.” As one of the outcomes, China and Brunei agreed to upgrade their relationship to a strategic cooperative partnership. They also agreed to establish a joint steering committee between their two governments to allow for regular ministerial-level dialogues.
The current phase of the Brunei-China relationship is largely based on economic cooperation. During Xi’s visit, Brunei pledged to continue its support for China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and China promised to assist the sultanate in its drive to diversify its economy away from a dependence on oil and gas – an ever-more-urgent need, as Brunei’s energy resources are expected to be tapped out in the next 20 years. More immediately, low oil prices have helped throw Brunei into a recession and the country is hoping Chinese investment can help turn the tide.
Brunei sees an opportunity to use China’s BRI to bolster its own Vision 2035, an ambition plan to create a more diversified, sustainable economy. Beijing has obliged, as least in rhetoric. In their joint statement, “China reaffirmed its strong support for Brunei Darussalam’s national development goals, and expressed best wishes for the successful realization of the Wawasan [Vision] 2035.”
With the Sultan and his government eager to expand cooperation, bilateral trade has soared since 2016, reaching over $1.3 billion as of September 2018. That represents nearly 90 percent growth over 2017, after notching 36.
