Chinese President Hu Jintao (C) reviews honor guards accompanied by Bruneian Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah (2nd L) as he arrives at Bandar Seri Begawan, capital of Brunei, to begin his two-day state visit to Brunei, April 20, 2005.

Visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao offered a six-point proposal to strengthen cooperation with Brunei in areas of economy, energy, tourism and military Wednesday in Bandar Seri Begawan.

Hu, who arrived Wednesday for a state visit to Brunei, made the six-point proposal during a meeting with Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei. It is Hu's first state visit to Brunei since he became president of China in 2003.

"It is a set policy of the Chinese government to develop good-neighborly, cooperative relationship with Brunei," said the Chinese president. "We will work with the Brunei side and make our two countries eternal good neighbors, good friends and good partners."

Hu proposed that China and Brunei hold celebrations next year at the 15th anniversary of full diplomatic ties, expand economic cooperation in human resources, market, technology, capital and resources.

Hu also proposed the two countries step up cooperation in the area of oil trade.

Two-way trade between China and Brunei reached 29.9 million US dollars last year, and oil trade has been an important part.

China started to import oil from Brunei in 1980s. China's daily import of oil from Brunei was about 20,000 barrels last year, about one-tenth of Brunei's oil production.

Brunei imported garments, textile goods, computers, telecommunications devices, plastic goods, food and vegetables from China.

Also on Wednesday, Brunei Shell Petroleum Company Sendirian Berhad (BSP) signed an agreement of crude oil sales with the China Petrochemical International Co. Ltd. The content of the agreements was not known.

Tourism will be an important part of China-Brunei cooperation. President Hu Jintao said China will encourage its travelers to come to Brunei.

In addition, Hu proposed the two sides increase exchange between military personnel and cooperation in military training.

China also welcomes Brunei to open consulate-general in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Shanghai, said the Chinese President.

Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah said he agreed with Hu's proposals, and that Brunei will work with China to expand cooperation in those areas.

Hu and the Brunei Sultan agreed that the upcoming Asia-Africa Summit to begin later this week in Indonesia will be an important opportunity to increase exchange between Asia and Africa and unity among developing nations.

Backgrounder: basic facts about Brunei

The Sultanate of Brunei lies in southeast Asia with an area of about 5,765 square kilometers and Bandar Seri Begawan as its capital. It faces South China Sea on the north and borders Malaysia on the west, south and east.

Of about 340,000 residents of Brunei, 66.7 percent are Malays and 11.1 percent are Chinese. The official religion is Islam, and Muslims account for 67.2 percent of the population. The principal language is Malay, while Chinese and English are also widely used.

As a traditional Islamic monarchy, Brunei was reduced to a British Protected State in 1888 and was invaded by Japan during World War II. It had been recontrolled by Britain after the war until its independence in 1984.

By constitution, the Sultan is the head of state and religious leader that enjoys the supreme executive authority.

Brunei's economy largely depends on its petroleum and natural gas resources, but architecture, service, textile and tourism have also witnessed a significant development in recent years as a result of Brunei's implementation of policy on economic diversification.

The country's gross domestic product reached 7.8 billion Brunei dollars (4.37 billion US dollars) in 2002 which enable Brunei to be one of the richest Asian countries.