Indonesia's President Joko Widodo has arrived in China to attend the opening ceremony of the 31st summer edition of the FISU World University Games, being held in Chengdu on July 28.
As two of the world's most populated countries and leading economies in the region, Beijing and Jakarta can greatly contribute to the global and regional economy. Joko Widodo has historically considered China "a close friend" of Indonesia, stressing on enhancing the comprehensive strategic partnership to complement each other by combining the Indonesian natural wealth with the Chinese knowledge and experience in the field of infrastructure.
He has been carrying out this mission more proactively of late. During a visit to Beijing in July last year, he and Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed their shared commitment to strengthening bilateral economic relationship, which would be equally beneficial to the region and world. In a joint statement, two leaders attached "great strategic significance" to their ties and promised to scale up trade and expand cooperation in other areas.
This concord to deepen the trade relations and Beijing's support for Jakarta's chairmanship of the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was an economic and political win for both countries as the two sides agreed to accelerate cooperation on milestone projects including the flagship Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway and work on more strategic initiatives such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and industrial parks like "Two Countries, Twin Parks." Before the meeting, their officials also achieved a consensus to build a community of a shared future, vowing to safeguard regional stability.
During a meeting of President Xi and President Widodo last November on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, the two sides signed five documents to strengthen collaboration under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), digital economy, healthcare, vocational training and economic and trade cooperation. The leaders also witnessed the operational tryout of the first high-speed railway in Indonesia and Southeast Asia.
The BRI, a project that Joko Widodo thinks naturally fits with his infrastructure program, is a great example of China-Indonesia cooperation. Beijing is Jakarta's largest trading partner and one of the top sources of foreign investment. The Chinese and Indonesian membership of the G20, engagement through ASEAN and Jakarta's participation in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) offer an opportunity to expand development cooperation and jointly speak up for peace at the regional and international levels.
Indonesia's ranking as an exporting country to China within ASEAN has over the years climbed from fifth in 2019 to third in 2021. Trade relations between the two countries are currently in a "very close condition" as represented by the trade data that showed total bilateral trade in 2022 had exceeded $149 billion, an increase of about 20 percent year-over-year.
Joko Widodo's commitment to improve port connectivity under the Global Maritime Fulcrum (GMF) and develop infrastructure aligns well with the BRI's emphasis on shared development and economic cooperation. "Two Countries, Twin Parks" is one of the key Indonesian priority projects under the BRI-GMF synergy, which will encourage trade and investment and intensify cooperation in the industrial sector between the two countries.
China, with investments estimated at $8.2 billion and several dozen BRI projects including the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Train – which is gearing up for operation after last month conducting a trial test and reaching a speed of 350 kilometers per hour, marking the foundation of the Indonesian transportation technology – is slated to implement the Indonesian president's vision. The Chinese projects would further advance President Widodo's initiative of National Strategic Projects that seek to contribute to job creation and national economic growth across the island country.
The Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP), one of the country's National Strategic Projects, is another perfect model of the Beijing-Jakarta industrial cooperation. Out of an estimated 43,000 directly and 30,000 indirectly employed workers as of February 2020, only 5,000 were Chinese. This enunciates the Indonesian labor cohort in the Chinese project is substantial, symbolizing a "strong synergy" between China's investments and President Widodo's development plans.
China didn't press Indonesia or other countries to make purchases in exchange for investments and infrastructure development. Nor does Beijing see Jakarta as an arena of a geopolitical battleground. The East Asian country's engagement with the island nation focuses to help boost the Indonesian trade, infrastructure and economic capabilities rather than forging alliances to contain others. "They never, ever dictate," said the Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan in an interview last November expounding his country's warmth toward China.
Both as the major developing countries and leading partners in preserving peace and stability in the region, China and Indonesia can promote the common interests of the developing and emerging world, leverage their resources and economic prowess to drive each other's and the regional development under their respective frameworks as well as safeguard the security of Asia-Pacific.
My article that first appeared at CGTN: