​ACC Secretary-General Chen Dehai Led a Chinese Media Delegation to Brunei

Source:ASEAN-China Centre
From 20 to 23 October 2019, Mr. Chen Dehai, Secretary-General of the ASEAN-China Centre (ACC), led a Chinese media delegation to visit Brunei.Dato Dr. Abdul Manaf Metussin,Deputy Minister of Finance and Economy of Brunei, Dr.AzmanBin Haji Ahmad, Permanent Secretary of Brunei Ministry of Education, and Mr. Wardi bin Haji Muhammad Ali, Deputy Permanent SecretaryofMinistry of Primary Resources and Tourism of Brunei, met with the delegation and gave interviewsrespectively. Chinese Ambassador to BruneiMs. Yu Hong gave a written interview, and Charge d'Affaires of the Chinese Embassy in BruneiMs. Ning Bo exchanged views with the delegation. Representatives from the major media agencies of Brunei held discussions with the Chinese journalists. The delegation also visited Chinese-run enterprises and projects in Brunei, including Hengyi Group, Pure Fresh and Muara Port, and places of interest such asBrunei History Centre,The Royal Regalia Museum andOmar Ali Saifuddien Mosque.
Secretary-General Chen Dehai thanked the Brunei side for its warm hospitality and thoughtful arrangements. He said that in recent years, ASEAN-Chinarelations have developed rapidly and achieved fruitful results. In the context of ASEAN-China Year of Media Exchanges, this tripfocuseson the development of ASEAN-China strategic partnership and Brunei-China relations, explores exciting stories of Chinese business development in Brunei, promotes exchanges and mutual learning between the media from two sides, and enhances mutual understanding between the two peoples. He also gave an overview of the functions and mandate of ACC. He said that ACC would continue to play a bridging role and work with all parties to make greater contributions to promoting ASEAN-China friendly cooperation and exchanges in various fields.
Deputy Minister Manaf and other officials from Brunei side said that the relationship between Bruneiand China enjoys steady growth. The two sides have been exerting efforts tobuild synergy between the BRI and Brunei’s Wawasan 2035, and promote economic and trade cooperation through key projects such as Brunei-Guangxi Economic Corridor and Hengyi oil refinery and petrochemical project onPulau Muara BesarIsland. The Brunei government welcomes China's participation in Brunei's educational development, promotion of people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and encourages more Brunei students to study in China. Next year will be the Brunei-ChinaYear of Tourism, and Brunei hopes to hold a series of celebration activities with the support of the Chinese Embassy in Brunei and ACC to further advance friendly relations between the two countries.
Ambassador Yu Hong said that China and Brunei enjoy a long history of friendly exchanges. Since the establishment of diplomatic tiesbetween the two countriesin 1991, bilateral relations have been developing steadily, as exchanges and cooperation in economic, people-to-people, cultural, educational, health and other fields keep expanding,andmutual understanding between the two peoples continue to deepen.Shewas optimistic about future prospect of China-Brunei relations.
Representatives from Radio Television Brunei, Borneo Bulletin and other media agenciesgave presentation on the current development of Brunei's media industry. They expressed wishes to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with Chinese mediaso that the two sides would be able to gain first-hand information ofeach other's economic and social development and jointly cope with challenges such as media integration.
Relevant Chinese companies pledged to make their due contributions to China-Brunei relations by leveraging their advantages to help Brunei upgrade its industry and promote its economic and social development.
The Chinese mediadelegationis composed of journalists from Xinhua News Agency in Brunei, Guangming Daily, China Daily, People's Daily Online, Global Times Online, ChinaReportASEAN, Harbin Broadcasting & TV Station, Chengdu Daily and Tencent News. After Brunei, the delegation will continue theirjourneyto Myanmar.