China-Indo.jpg (Photo : Xinhuanet.com)
President Joko Widodo of Indonesia met with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Sunday to discuss how their respective countries can enhance cooperation particularly in areas of maritime development and infrastructure.
Indonesia supports the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and hopes to be part of the project at its early stage, Widodo told Xi.
The AIIB is an international financial institution proposed by China to provide financing for infrastructure projects in the Asia-Pacific region. Presently, there are 21 Asian countries that are signatories to the Memorandum of Understanding for its establishment. Indonesia, Japan, South Korea and Australia have yet to join the undertaking.
Widodo, who arrived Saturday to attend the Nov. 10 to 11 22nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting, also told Xi that his country hopes to continuously upgrade cooperation and relations with China, with maritime and infrastructure cooperation as priorities. He said that he is hoping that a Chinese cultural center can be set up in Indonesia.
Xi for his part told his Indonesian counterpart that their respective countries, both as major developing countries in Asia, have common interests and responsibilities in key global and regional issues.
He maintained that their countries should look at their relations from a strategic and long-term perspective and strengthen cooperation on the basis of mutual understanding, support and trust.
Xi added that China attaches importance to bilateral cooperation in national defense, security and people-to-people exchange.
Xi stressed that China places special importance to the role played by Indonesia in ASEAN as its largest member. China is willing, together with Indonesia, to push forward the development of China-ASEAN relations, accelerate regional economic integration, and promote regional peace, stability and prosperity.
"We can let the two development strategies interact with each other, push forward cooperation in the fields of infrastructure building, agriculture, finance and nuclear power, and fully utilize related mechanisms to advance maritime and aerospace cooperation," Xi told Widodo.
