BANDAR SERI BAGAWAN: Li Peng, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, met the Sultan of Brunei Haji Hassanal Bolkiah in the Palace of Brunei yesterday afternoon.

There they exchanged views on bilateral relations and issues of mutual concern in a friendly atmosphere.

The two leaders were glad to see each other again. They met just last week in Beijing when the Sultan co-chaired the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) High-Level Meeting on Human Capacity Building with Chinese President Jiang Zemin.

Li said as this year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishing of formal diplomatic relations between the two countries, he was glad to be a visitor on this special occasion.

The two countries have carried out fruitful exchanges and co-operation in different fields since establishing formal diplomatic relations, he said.

He went on to say that the successful state visit by President Jiang Zemin to Brunei last year and the recent visit of the Sultan to China demonstrate that Sino-Brunei friendly ties have entered a new stage of development.

Consolidating and strengthening friendly ties with neighbouring countries has always been an important part of China's foreign policy.

It is based on this principle that China has always attached great importance to developing good neighbourly relations with Brunei and other member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Li said.