BALI, INDONESIA — The two leaders of Indonesia and China, Indonesia’s President Joko”Jokowi” Widodo and President Xi Jinping are planning to hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the much anticipated G20 summit that will be held in Bali on 15 and 16 November.
A spokesperson at the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Mr Zhao Lijian, confirmed the upcoming bilateral meeting, adding that the meeting would be the second meet-up between the two since their last exchange in Beijing last July.
The last time the incumbent Chinese leader visited Indonesia was in 2013, under the invitation of former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
“China and Indonesia are both major developing countries and emerging economies. The two countries have extensive converging interests and broad space for cooperation,” said Mr Zhao in a press conference on 11 November.
“Under the strategic guidance of the two presidents, our two countries have further strengthened our new pattern of bilateral relations driven by the “four wheels” of political, economic, cultural and maritime cooperation,”
Mr Zhao said that China hopes to deepen mutual trust and boost high-quality cooperation with Indonesia on Beijing’s initiative Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and other fields, with hopes that the cooperation would benefit both countries and contribute positively to the world.
BRI was introduced in 2013 and aimed at strengthening China’s influence in Asia and Africa through infrastructure investment.
Apart from the bilateral meeting, Xi and Jokowi will also virtually witness a dynamic test of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train project from Bali on 16 November.
This project is just one of the 72 BRI-related investment projects with a combined value of US$ 21 billion.
The bullet train service is set to commence commercial operations in the middle of 2023 after several delays due to tunnel construction issues and an inflated budget.
Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has yet to issue any statement regarding the upcoming bilateral meeting between the two leaders.
After the G20 summit, Xi is leaving for Thailand to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Thailand from 17 November to 19 November.
Xi’s presence at this G20 meeting is his first appearance at a multilateral cooperation forum after his re-election as the president for the third term at the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party last October.
At the congress, China, through its Deputy Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu, voiced strong support for Indonesia’s G-20 presidency.
It hopes that the summit would strengthen global cooperation in combating the pandemic, supporting global economic recovery, and maintaining food and energy resilience worldwide.
China is Indonesia’s second-largest investor after Singapore.
According to Indonesia’s Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), the total value of China’s investment in Indonesia reached US$3.63 billion from January to June 2022.
Despite the pandemic, Indonesia’s export to China rose to 70% in 2021, dominated by nickel derivative products, milling industry products, and mineral fuel and its refined products.
According to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade, China’s export to Indonesia hit US$ 60.65 billion in 2021, dominated by machinery, nuclear reactors, boilers, and electrical equipment.
Geopolitical analyst and President at ScarabRising media and strategic advisory Irina Tsukerman suggest that the G20 meeting tomorrow is vital to China in boosting its diplomatic reputation amid pressures from Western countries on Beijing over the numerous controversies and tensions — ranging from the alleged human rights violations in Xinjiang province to China’s tough stance on Taiwan.
“The November summit will be an important opportunity for China to publicly test waters on the global state after all the recent tensions and controversies and to deescalate diplomatic pressure from its critics.”
“However, China is likely not seeking a softer tone against Western countries; more likely. It will use this opportunity to levy its support among non-Western members into a show of power to intimidate or discourage strong responses from the U.S. & others,” she said in an email interview with TOC a few weeks before the summit.
Ms Tsukerman also stated the bilateral meeting in July underscored the importance of the potential cooperation opportunities for both countries following Beijing’s support for Indonesia’s G-20 chairmanship.
“The bilateral meeting in July underscored the importance of the potential opportunities for cooperation arising from China’s support for Indonesia’s G20 presidency.”
“We can expect this broader initiative to provide ground for the growth of the four pillars of cooperation between the two countries already underway: political, economic, people-to-people, and maritime.”
“The upcoming November meeting, culminating a year of work on various initiatives, will see the participants tackling assorted crises and challenges, including the global energy crisis, inflation, recession in various countries, the food shortage crisis, and the economic, political, and social impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine,”
G20, or Group of 20, is a multilateral platform consisting of 19 countries; namely Indonesia, China, Germany, United Kingdom, United States, Argentina, Mexico, South Africa, Japan, South Korea, Russia, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Brazil, Canada, India, France, and the European Union (EU).
Created in 1999 in response to the 1997-1998 financial crisis, G20 represents 80 per cent of the world’s Gross Domestic Product, 75 per cent of global trade, and 60 per cent of the world’s population.
