China, Indonesia to deepen cooperation, spur global development

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China.org.cn

Aug 03, 2022, 09:00 ET

BEIJING, Aug. 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report by China.org.cn on Indonesian President Joko Widodo's visit to China:

From July 25 to 26, Indonesian President Joko Widodo paid a visit to China, becoming the first head of state received by Beijing since February's Winter Olympics. China was also the first leg of President Widodo's trip to East Asia since the onset of COVID-19, showing the close relationship between the two countries. And this visit, above all, was aimed at boosting bilateral trade.

China, Indonesia to deepen cooperation, spur global development

In recent years, cooperation between China and Indonesia on economic and trade matters has developed rapidly. Between 2014, when President Widodo took office, up to 2021, trade volume between the two countries more than doubled from around $50 billion to $124.3 billion. During the talks, the two heads of state, while affirming the progress of cooperation, pledged to enhance the scale of bilateral trade, which is an important sign.

To give an interesting example, the two sides signed a cooperation document on exporting Indonesian pineapples to China. In Indonesia, many farmers grow the fruit, and China's significant demand provides them a huge market in the future. With new channels such as e-commerce, more fresh Indonesian fruits like pineapples will be served on the tables of Chinese people, which is a win-win situation. This seemingly small-scale trade signifies a breakthrough in the two countries' cooperation on agricultural products, which will benefit the lives of people on both sides.

On a broader scale, the two countries will pursue high-quality Belt and Road cooperation to further align with Indonesia's development plan. Indonesia is known as the "land of thousand islands." In 2014, President Widodo proposed the vision of a "Global Maritime Fulcrum," which includes promoting maritime culture, constructing maritime infrastructure and developing the maritime economy. These goals have many converging interests with China's 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Initiative, allowing China and Indonesia to carry out in-depth cooperation in aspects such as maritime connectivity, marine ranching and maritime environment.

During President Widodo's visit, the two sides renewed the memorandum of understanding on cooperation between the Belt and Road Initiative and the Global Maritime Fulcrum. Both sides agreed to further build new flagship projects such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Corridor, and carry out cooperation in the fishery sector. These outcomes will bring more tangible benefits to the development of the two countries and their peoples.

Indonesia holds the rotating presidency of the G20 this year. Earlier, the country also participated in the "BRICS Plus" cooperation mechanism initiated by China for the first time. As President Widodo's visit to China accomplished a series of achievements in the fields of economy and trade, it once again shows that despite some geopolitical noise, achieving common development and improving people's well-being are still the common aspirations of all countries and the trends of the times.

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China, Indonesia to deepen cooperation, spur global development
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SOURCE China.org.cn