CHENGDU: China and Indonesia vowed to deepen strategic cooperation on Thursday during a meeting between President Xi Jinping and his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo in Chengdu, capital city of southwest China’s Sichuan Province.
Widodo arrived in the city on Thursday to attend the opening ceremony of the 31st summer edition of the FISU World University Games and visit China.
During the meeting, Chinese President Xi Jinping urged both sides to ensure the high standard and high quality of the Jakarta-Bandung High-speed Railway (HSR), injecting more impetus to Indonesia’s development.
The upcoming railway is a landmark project under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, also an example of the high quality cooperation between China and Indonesia.
Deepen strategic cooperation
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Indonesia.
Xi said China is willing to take the occasion as an opportunity to deepen strategic cooperation, set an example for developing countries of sharing a common future, pursuing solidarity and cooperation and boosting common development, to inject more certainty and positive energy into the region and the world, he said.
China is willing to initiate the “2+2” dialogue mechanism for foreign and defense ministers of the two countries, with a view to building a high-level strategic mutual trust, he noted.
He urged the two sides to continue to improve cooperation in comprehensive industrial parks, focusing on promoting the construction of the “Two Countries, Twin Parks” cooperation project.
China supports the construction of Indonesia’s new capital and the development of the North Kalimantan Industrial Park, and is willing to work with Indonesia to expand cooperation in the fields of new energy vehicles, smart cities and jointly promote the industrial digital transformation, he said.
China is willing to continue to expand Indonesia’s imports of bulk commodities and high-quality agricultural products, implement the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership with high quality, and strengthen cooperation in areas such as food security, poverty reduction, rural revitalization, vocational education, language education, medicine and health, and culture and tourism, Xi added.
Noting that this year marks the 20th anniversary of China’s accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, he said China is willing to deepen the comprehensive strategic partnership with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and support the work of Indonesia as the rotating chair of the ASEAN.
China is willing to strengthen communication and collaboration with Indonesia in multilateral mechanisms such as the G20 and BRICS, Xi said.
For his part, Widodo said the Jakarta-Bandung HSR will be opened to traffic on schedule in August this year, and strategic projects such as the construction of Indonesia’s new capital and the development of the North Kalimantan Industrial Park, in which China is actively involved, are progressing smoothly.
Indonesia firmly adheres to the one-China policy and is willing to continue to strengthen cooperation with China in areas such as investment, marine fisheries, food security and healthcare, Widodo said.
Indonesia is willing to strengthen strategic communication with China and jointly safeguard regional peace, stability, development and prosperity, he added.
After the meeting, the two heads of state witnessed the signing of a number of bilateral cooperation documents on the export of Indonesian agricultural products to China, health, joint research and development, as well as the construction of Indonesia’s new capital and the “Two Countries, Twin Parks” project.
