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By Shannon Tiezzi
During President Jokowi’s vist to China, he and Xi Jinping pledged increased maritime cooperation.
Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is paying a state visit to China this week, marking his second trip to Beijing since he assumed office in October 2014. After meetings in Beijing with Chinese leaders, Jokowi will join other regional leaders (including Sri Lankan Prime Minister Maithripala Sirisena) at the Boao Forum in Hainan Province.
In his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Jokowi noted approvingly that “our cooperation in all fields has progressed” since the two last met, on the sidelines of the November 2014 APEC summit in Beijing. Jokowi assured Xi that “Indonesia is committed to deepening its cooperation with China at the bilateral, regional, and international levels.”
The focus for this cooperation was clear even before Jokowi arrived: boosting trade and investment. During their talks, Jokowi and Xi noted that China and Indonesia are quite complementary economically. As Jokowi put it, “Indonesia has rich natural resources, and China has knowledge and experience in the field of infrastructure.”
In an interview with South China Morning Post, Jokowi said he was particularly interested in “infrastructure and manufacturing developments.” Jokowi also listed highways, railroads, power plants, and ports as ripe for joint projects between Chinese and Indonesian firms. Jokowi noted that China is only the 13th largest investor in Indonesia and promised to remove bureaucratic obstacles responsible for the slow trickle of Chinese investment.
Read the full story at The Diplomat