JAKARTA: Indonesia and China signed a series of agreements enhancing trade ties on Sunday, following Chinese Premier Li Qiang’s meetings with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto in Jakarta.
Li arrived in the Indonesian capital on Saturday for a three-day visit.
He was received by Prabowo with a guard of honor at the Presidential Palace on Sunday morning, where they witnessed the signing of 12 memoranda, including on investment, banking, cooperation between sovereign wealth funds, industry, supply chains, tourism, economy, and health.
“I reaffirm our commitment to strengthen this partnership with the People’s Republic of China … We view this relationship as bringing benefits not only to our two countries but also to the entire Asian region and possibly even the world,” Prabowo said during the meeting, as quoted by his office.
The visit comes against the backdrop of the US global trade war and intensifying geopolitical rivalry between Washington and Beijing, which has lately seen China’s top leaders increase their regional outreach and engagement with Southeast Asian countries.
Chinese state news agency Xinhua quoted Li as saying during talks with Prabowo that China is “willing to work with Indonesia to enhance alignment of development strategies and deepen high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.”
The Belt and Road Initiative is a multibillion-dollar network of massive road, energy, port and industrial projects launched by Beijing in 2013 to connect China to the rest of Asia, Europe, and Africa.
Both China and Indonesia are members of the G20 forum of the world’s largest economies and in January this year, Indonesia joined the China-led BRICS grouping, which is also spearheaded by Brazil, Russia, India, and South Africa.
Indonesia is the first Southeast Asian country to enter the bloc, which is the most powerful geopolitical forum outside of the Western world.
During Li’s visit, the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) and the China Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia signed an agreement to increase business collaboration, bilateral trade and investment flows.
The Chinese premier’s delegation featured dozens of business leaders who met Indonesian entrepreneurs at the Indonesia-China Business Reception on Saturday, which was also attended by Prabowo and the Chinese premier.
“Indonesia-China trade reaches $130 billion a year, making China Indonesia’s largest trading partner. This is an opportunity to increase investment and create jobs,” Kadin chairman Anindya Novyan Bakrie said in a statement.
“When relations are good, licenses are certainly easier, and funding will be more accessible. For sure, we want more investment to boost the economy and create jobs.”
On Monday, Li will head to Malaysia for the ASEAN-GCC-China Economic Summit, attended by leaders from Southeast Asian countries and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
