President Jokowi Welcomed By President Xi Jinping's State Ceremony

President Jokowi Widodo was greeted by a state ceremony by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People, Beijing, on Tuesday (17/10/2023) (ANTARA/Desca Lidya Natalia)

JAKARTA - President Jokowi Widodo was greeted with a state ceremony by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People, Beijing, today. The ceremony took place in one of the rooms in the building which is usually used for ceremonies and legislative activities of the Chinese government. Before starting the ceremony, the two heads of state introduced delegations to each country. From Indonesia were Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi, Minister of State-Owned Enterprises as Ad Interim Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Erick Thohir, Minister of Trade Zulkifli Hasan, Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung, Indonesian Ambassador to China Djauhari Oratmangun. The Chinese government was present, among others, Foreign Minister Wang Yi and other relevant officials. Quoted from Antara, the two heads of state then participated in the welcoming ceremony which was preceded by the accompaniment of the national anthem "Indonesia Indonesia Raya", then the Chinese national anthem "March of the Volunteers". After that, President Jokowi and President Xi Jinping inspected the ceremonial forces. At the end of the troops, President Jokowi and President Xi Jinping were greeted by a row of children jumping and screaming with flowers and flags of the Indonesian and Chinese nationality. After the ceremony, Jokowi and Xi Jinping together with their respective delegates held bilateral meetings.

After the meeting, the two state leaders witnessed the ministers signing and exchanging memorandums of understanding for the cooperation between the two countries.