Prabowo's visit to China to strengthen regional stability

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto's state visit to China is expected to promote stability in the Southeast Asian region, while underscoring the country's long-standing principle of independent and active foreign policy, officials said. analysts.

Prabowo was in Beijing from November 8 to 10 where he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Xi noted that Prabowo visited China on his first overseas trip right after his election in March and chose China as the first country to visit after taking office, which speaks volumes about the great importance it attaches to the development of relations with China and demonstrates the high level and strategic nature of Sino-Indonesian relations.

Prabowo said the relationship was “becoming stronger and stronger”, adding that China was “a strategic economic partner of Indonesia, a major investor in Indonesia”, and “we thank you very much for your support”, reported the Jakarta Post.

Tauhid Ahmad, executive director of the Institute for Economic and Financial Development in Jakarta, said Indonesia and China must ensure that bilateral relations remain strong even amid geopolitical uncertainties. .

Tauhid noted that Prabowo's predecessor, former President Joko Widodo, had made significant progress in strengthening Indonesia-China relations by pushing the construction of a China-Indonesia community with a shared future to a higher level. elevated and more concrete.

Widodo visited China eight times during his ten years as president.

“Although Indonesia and China have different views on certain issues, both countries remain committed to continued bilateral cooperation,” Tauhid said.

Aleksius Jemadu, an international relations analyst at Pelita Harapan University in West Java, said Prabowo's visit to China was important for both Indonesia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations .

Jemadu said Prabowo's visit to China would maintain the momentum of bilateral cooperation and ensure stability in Southeast Asia.

He said Prabowo needed more foreign investment to finance its priority projects such as food security, renewable energy, infrastructure development and the construction of the new capital Nusantara in East Kalimantan.

“To achieve all this, cooperation with Beijing becomes essential,” Jemadu said.

Largest trading partner

China is Indonesia's largest trading partner, one of its largest export markets and a major source of tourism revenue and foreign direct investment. According to data from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, bilateral trade between China and Indonesia reached $92.79 billion between January and August 2024, an increase of 1.5 percent year-on-year.

Most of China's FDI has been spent on building key infrastructure, including ASEAN's first high-speed train on the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway and a key project under the “Initiative” the Belt and Road Initiative” proposed by China.

In October 2023, Xi and Widodo jointly inaugurated the railway, which has since become a hallmark of high-quality bilateral cooperation.

According to PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia-China, a joint venture between Chinese and Indonesian companies that operates the TGV, the railway carried more than 5.79 million passengers in its first year, including 300,000 international travelers from 159 countries.

During his visit to Beijing, Prabowo said Indonesia adheres to an independent and non-aligned foreign policy, will not join any military alliance or exclusive bloc against any third party and wants to strengthen coordination with China in multilateral frameworks like the Group of the 20.

Prabowo and Xi also witnessed the signing of several bilateral agreements on water conservation, marine management and mining.

The Indonesian president left for the United States on Nov. 10 to continue his 15-day world tour, which includes attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, or APEC, meeting in Peru and the G20 summit in Brazil.

Fahmy Radhi, an energy economist at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, said he hoped China would help advance Indonesia's industrialization, noting the strong presence of Chinese companies in processing and manufacturing. manufacturing of minerals.

He said the Chinese and Indonesian governments can promote the use of local materials in the production of Chinese electric vehicles in Indonesia.

Xinhua contributed to this story.

Contact the editors at [email protected].

Leonardus Jegho is a freelance journalist at China Daily.