President Jokowi Meets Chairman Of The Standing Committee Of China's National People's Congress

President Joko Widodo met with Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Zhao Leji National People's Congress at the Great Hall of The People, Beijing on Wednesday (18/10/2023). (ANTARA/Desca Lidya Natalia)

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo met with Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Chinese National People's Congress Zhao Lejidi Beijing, to discuss a comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.

"The comprehensive strategic partnership between Indonesia and China is 10 years old and we must continue to maintain this to strengthen relations," said President Jokowi at the Great Hall of The People, Beijing, as reported by ANTARA, Wednesday, October 18.

Jokowi met with Zhao Leji after attending the opening ceremony of the 3rd Belt Road Forum (BRF) Summit at the same location.

"And I appreciate the cooperation between parliaments that has gone well," said Jokowi.

On the other hand, the Government of Indonesia and China, according to him, have also agreed to strengthen our cooperation in various fields.

"And of course this requires support from parliament," he added.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the China National People's Congress, Zhao Leji, said that Indonesia is one of the most important partners in the region in the framework of the "Belt and Road Initiative" cooperation.

"Ten years earlier President Xi Jinping first introduced the Initiative Belt and Road," Zhao Leji said.

Zhao said that under President Xi Jinping and President Jokowi's strategic leadership, the two countries wanted to continue the initiative.

"Providing cooperation has resulted in quite a prime progress so that it plays a role in increasing regional economic cooperation," added Zhao Leji.

After the meeting which lasted about 15 minutes, Jokowi and his entourage were then invited to have lunch together.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a program introduced by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013 under the name One Belt One Road (OBOR).

At that time, Xi wanted to revive the glory of the Sutera Line (Silk Road) in the 21st century. This strategy involves massive investment and infrastructure development in 152 countries spread across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and Africa.

Belts or belts refer to land routes in the form of roads connecting China to Central Asia and South Asia, as well as Europe and railroads which are also referred to as the Sutera Line Economic Belt.

Meanwhile, roads or roads refer to the sea route or the Maritime Sutera Line in the 21st Century that connects China to Southeast Asia, the Middle East, East Africa, and North Africa, as well as Europe.

Infrastructure projects in Indonesia that receive funding include energy projects, water management, agriculture, and rail-based transportation, both light rail transit (LRT) and high-speed trains.

There are 147 countries, including Indonesia, that have suppressed agreements in the BRI program, for example the Jakarta Bandung High Speed Train (KCJB) with a 142 kilometer train. There are also Chinese-Laos trains, China-Europe express trains, and the Mombasa-Nairobi train.