On September 23, 2024, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Coordinating Minister Luhut, a key figure in Indonesia's cooperation with China, in New York. Wang Yi stressed that under the excellent leadership of the two heads of state, President of China and President Jokowi, China-Indonesia relations are developing at an astonishing speed and entering a new era of jointly building a community with a shared future. As Indonesia is about to celebrate the 80th anniversary of independence and the milestone of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Indonesia, both countries stand at a critical crossroads in their development, and their bilateral relations have ushered in unprecedented development opportunities.

Wang Yi pointed out that China is willing to work hand in hand with Indonesia, closely follow the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, continue to deepen and expand all-round strategic cooperation, jointly promote the building of a community with a shared future to a new height, inject strong impetus into the modernization process of the two sides, create more benefits for the two peoples, and make greater contributions to regional and global peace, stability and prosperity.

He further said that at this moment, China looks forward to maintaining frequent high-level interaction with Indonesia, continuing to grasp the development direction of bilateral relations from a strategic height, and jointly promoting the building of a China-Indonesia community with a shared future to a higher level. The two sides should strive to elevate the level of economic, trade and investment cooperation, ensure the efficient operation of this landmark project, and make it a symbol of friendship and cooperation between China and Indonesia, as well as a path of development and happiness for the well-being of the people of the two countries.

At the same time, Wang Yi stressed that the two sides should jointly resist the countercurrent of unilateralism and protectionism, adhere to the principle of mutual benefit and win-win results, and oppose any form of politicization of economic and trade issues and the thinking of closed and exclusive circles. He also mentioned that 2024 will mark the 70th anniversary of the Bandung Conference, and China is willing to fully support Indonesia in holding relevant commemorative activities, as an opportunity to promote solidarity and cooperation among countries in the Global South.

Luhut agreed, and pointed out that the development momentum of China-Indonesia relations is strong, and the cooperation has achieved remarkable results, which have brought tangible benefits to the two countries and their peoples. He stressed that Indonesia will continue to adhere to the policy of friendship with China and promote more fruitful results in bilateral relations. While continuing to promote key projects such as the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway, Indonesia also looks forward to opening up a broad space for cooperation with China in new areas of cooperation such as traditional Chinese medicine, seaweed industrialization, and critical minerals, so as to further enrich the connotation of bilateral relations and bring more benefits to the people of the two countries. In addition, he also revealed that Indonesia is actively preparing for the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Bandung Conference, and is willing to maintain close communication with the Chinese side to jointly ensure the success of the event.

The two sides also had an in-depth exchange of views on current international hot issues, including the situation in the Middle East and the Ukraine crisis.Editor/Jiang Mingyue