China willing to work with Indonesia to ‘run historic relay race well’, Xi tells Prabowo
- In talks with visiting Indonesian president-elect, Chinese leader calls for two nations to push for an ‘equal and orderly multipolar world’
- Prabowo says he supports development of closer ties and that the new government is ready to promote cooperation with China
“[China] is willing to work with Indonesia to run the historic relay race well, continue to deepen all-round strategic cooperation, and build a China-Indonesia community with a shared future with regional and global influence,” Xi said, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
Xi, who described China and Indonesia as “major developing countries”, said the two nations should pioneer South-South cooperation and create a model of mutual respect and common development.
In a world that was rapidly changing, the Chinese leader said both sides should “actively promote an equal and orderly multipolar world and inclusive economic globalisation”, boost multilateral cooperation, and safeguard the interests of developing countries.
China has in recent years sought to portray itself as a leader of developing countries and the so-called Global South, calling for greater inclusion of emerging economies on the world stage.
Xi told Prabowo that China was willing to maintain close exchanges with Indonesia, promote their comprehensive economic corridor projects, and continue strengthening maritime cooperation.
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According to the CCTV report, Prabowo called China a “major country with important influence” and a “strong cooperative partner” of Indonesia.
He said the new Indonesian government was ready to promote cooperation with China in fields including the economy and trade, and to strengthen coordination on international and regional affairs.
Xi said ties between China and Indonesia had achieved “significant” results under outgoing leader Widodo, who was more popularly known as Jokowi.
Relations deepened significantly under Widodo’s leadership, with China being Indonesia’s largest trading partner and second-largest foreign investor.
Calling the president-elect an “old friend of the Chinese people”, Xi said he believed Prabowo would continue the friendship between the two countries.
Prabowo said during his campaign that Indonesia would “maintain our independent foreign policy”, but observers say it is unclear whether he will take a hardline stance on China or continue Widodo’s pragmatic approach.
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Asked about the visit last week, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said Prabowo was expected to exchange views on bilateral relations and issues of “mutual interest” with Chinese officials.
He said Prabowo’s visit to China demonstrated the “robustness” of ties, and that the two countries shared a “deep traditional friendship and close and strong cooperation”.
“The visit is a great opportunity to further enhance traditional friendship, deepen comprehensive strategic cooperation, and better synergise development strategies to provide a good example of major developing countries embracing a shared future,” Lin said on Friday.
