Chinese premier meets Indonesian president to discuss bilateral ties

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang meets with visiting Indonesian President Joko Widodo at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, capital of China, July 26, 2022. (Xinhua/Li Tao)

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Tuesday met with visiting Indonesian President Joko Widodo to discuss bilateral ties and issues of common concern.

As friendly neighbors and major developing countries in the region, China and Indonesia share broad common interests, which makes the two natural cooperation partners, Li said.

He noted that amid the current complex international situation, China is ready to work with Indonesia to consolidate political mutual trust, insist on mutual respect and equal treatment, strengthen the synergy of development strategies, and break new ground for all-dimensional, multi-tiered and high-level bilateral cooperation, so as to bring more benefits to both countries and the region.

Li said China is willing to accelerate the resumption of people-to-people exchanges on the basis of COVID-19 prevention and control, and pledges supports for Indonesia's hosting of this year's G20 Summit.

Hailing China-Indonesia relations as mutually beneficial and saying they have the potential to serve as a model for China-ASEAN cooperation, Li expressed the hope that Indonesia will continue to play a positive role in the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

He noted that peace and stability in the South China Sea conform to the interests of all parties. He called on all relevant parties to strive for an early conclusion to the Code of Conduct (COC), and to turn the South China Sea into a sea of peace, friendship and cooperation.

For his part, Widodo said that Indonesia and China are comprehensive strategic partners, and that bilateral cooperation has achieved mutual benefits and win-win results. He said the Indonesian side is ready to work with China to push for the completion of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway as scheduled, and to push for more positive results in practical cooperation on trade and investment, finance, manufacturing, agriculture and maritime areas.