Arriving In Beijing China To Attend BRF, Jokowi Disambut Barisan Penari

President Jokowi and First Lady Iriana arrived at Beijing's Peaking International Airport, China Monday, October 16 afternoon local time. (ANTARA-Desca Lidya N)

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) arrived at Beijing's Peaking International Airport, China at around 16.15 local time on Monday 16 October. The arrival of the head of state to attend the Belt and Road Forum (BRF).

After getting off the Garuda Indonesia (GIA-1) plane, President Jokowi, accompanied by Mrs. Iriana, received a bouquet of flowers from the children who had been waiting under the flight stairs.

The arrival of President Jokowi's entourage was also warmly welcomed by the line of dancers in red costumes. They danced in a tambourine to take the President and Mrs. Iriana to the vehicle.

The Indonesian Ambassador to China and Mongolia Djauhari Oratmangun and the Defense Attache of the Indonesian Embassy in Beijing Brigadier General TNI (Mar) Benny P. Nadeak each and their wives welcomed the arrival of President Jokowi and Mrs. Iriana.

From the Chinese government, also welcomed the Minister of Housing and Development of China Ni Hong, Deputy Director of Beijing Municip People's Congress Standing Committee Yu Jun.

From the airport, the President and Mrs. Iriana along with their entourage continued their journey to the hotel where they spent the night during a visit in Beijing.

Participating in the group, the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment (Menko Marves) Ad-interim who is also Minister of SOEs Erick Thohir, Minister of Trade Zulkifli Hasan, Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung, Director General of Protocol and Consular Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Head of State Protocol Andy Rachmianto, Presidential Military Secretary Admiral TNI Hersan and Paspampres Commander Major General TNI Rafael Granada Baay.

In addition to attending the 3rd BRF, President Jokowi plans to also hold a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, meeting with Chinese Prime Minister (PM) Li Qiang and Chinese Parliament Speaker Zhao Leji. During the meeting, the President will discuss a number of priority issues from trade to investment between the two countries.

The Chinese government will hold the third "Burch and Road" (Belt and Road Forum) on October 17-18, 2023.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is scheduled to open a forum with the theme "High Quality of Belt and Road Cooperation: Together to achieve Development and Prosperity".

Xi Jinping will also deliver his opening address and hold a dinner as well as bilateral meetings with heads of state and heads of government at the forum.

Another country leader who is also scheduled to attend the forum is Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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.

To raise funding for BRI infrastructure projects, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) was formed.

China owns the largest stake in AIIB, which is 26 percent, while Indonesia becomes the 8th largest depositor for AIIB with a capital deposit of US$672 million (around Rp10.23 trillion) which is paid in stages in five years.

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

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