China Wants Relations With Indonesia To Develop Significantly

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning at a press conference in Beijing, on Thursday. (ANTARA/Desca Lidya Natalia)

JAKARTA - The Chinese government revealed that one of the targets at the 5th Bilateral Cooperation Joint Commission (JCBC) meeting which will take place in Beijing is to significantly increase relations with Indonesia.

"This week, Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi will become co-chair in China-Indonesia's 5th JCBC. We hope that China-Indonesia relations will grow rapidly with greater strategic significance," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning at a press conference in Beijing, Thursday, August 22.

The meeting between Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is planned to be held on Friday (23/8).

"China-Indonesia relations have maintained a strong growth momentum, with a close exchange of communication of high-level officials, deepening mutual trust and sustainable progress in building communities with a common future," said Mao Ning.

Before Foreign Minister Retno came to Beijing, on August 13, 2024 a 2+2 meeting was held between senior officials within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense.

The meeting was attended by Chinese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sun Weidong and Deputy Director of the International Military Cooperation Office of the Central Military Commission Zhang Baoqun, while from the Indonesian side there is the Director General of Asia Pacific and African Ministry of Foreign Affairs Abdul Kadir Jailani and the Secretary of the Directorate General of Defense Strategy of the Ministry of Defense Oktaheroe Ramsi.

"Next year marks the 80th anniversary of Indonesia's independence and the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Indonesia. This presents an important opportunity for the growth and bilateral relations between the two countries," added Mao Ning.

China, said Mao Ning, is following the strategic directions of the two presidents of China and Indonesia, focusing on community development with a common future and continuing to deepen strategic cooperation in all lines with Indonesia.

"Both countries can be an example of the main developing countries by pursuing their own strength through unity and involvement in mutually beneficial cooperation, so that they can bring more benefits to the two nations and make new contributions to world peace, cooperation and development," said Mao Ning.

The 4th JCBC Indonesia-China previously took place in Jakarta on February 22, 2023, which brought together Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang.

In the 4th JCBC, Retno said that one of the things conveyed was a request that various trade barriers could be overcome.

Indonesia is also determined to increase investment cooperation with China considering Beijing was the second largest investor in Indonesia last year.

Investment data in Indonesia, based on data from the Indonesia Investment Promotion Center (IIPC), shows that China is Indonesia's third largest investment partner.

In 2023, China's investment in Indonesia was recorded at 7.4 billion US dollars, while in the first quarter of 2024, investment from China reached 1.87 billion US dollars plus investment from Hong Kong reached 1.89 billion US dollars.

One of China's investments in Indonesia is in the transportation sector with the main project being the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train at speeds of up to 350 km/h. Most of the flagship projects are funded by China with an investment of US$7.3 billion since operating in October 2023.

Meanwhile, in the trade sector, China is recorded as Indonesia's largest trading partner.

Based on data from China's Customs and Excise, the trade value of China-Indonesia in 2023 is US$ 139.41 billion. In detail, Indonesia's exports amounted to US$74.21 billion and Indonesia's imports from China amounted to US$65.2 billion.

Meanwhile, in the first quarter of 2024, the trade value reached 33.57 billion US dollars with an Indonesian export value of 16.94 billion US dollars and imports of 16.61 billion US dollars.

Indonesian language studies have also been taught in 25 universities throughout China, the latest of which is the establishment of an Indonesian Cultural House in Tianjin Foreign Studies University in collaboration with Universitas Brawijaya.