Newly inaugurated Indonesian President Subianto visits China on first overseas trip

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BEIJING (AP) – Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto pledged to maintain close ties with China when he met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing on Saturday, his first overseas visit since taking office three weeks ago.

Subianto wants to strengthen relations with China, Indonesia’s biggest trading partner and one of its most important foreign investors. This is his second trip to Beijing this year, following his visit in April as the president-elect, his first overseas trip after winning Indonesia’s presidential election in February.

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“Indonesia views China not only as a great power but as a great civilization,” Subianto said at the meeting, adding that the two countries have had close relations for centuries. “Therefore, I think it is natural that in the current situation, geopolitical and geoeconomic, that Indonesia and China have become very close partners and in many fields.”

Xi vowed to support Subianto’s administration, thanking him for his first visit to China and said he believed that “Indonesia will adhere to the independent path of development, continue to make new achievements in the journey of achieving national prosperity and national rejuvenation, and play an important role in the international stage and the region.”

Earlier on Saturday, Subianto met with other top Chinese leaders, including Premier Li Qiang and Zhao Leji, chairman of the National People’s Congress and the No. 3 official in the ruling Communist Party.

Subianto is the first stop on a multi-country tour. He is scheduled to visit five other nations, including the US and the UK, suggesting that Indonesia will continue to pursue its neutral status between Beijing and Washington.

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Subianto, 73, is a wealthy ex-pat with ties to both Indonesia’s popular outgoing president and the dictator’s past. He presented himself as the successor of the very popular President Joko Widodo, the first president of Indonesia to come out of the political and military elite. Subianto vowed to continue the modernization program that has brought rapid growth and elevated Indonesia to middle-income countries.

Indonesia’s economic relationship with China flourished during Widodo’s ten years in power. China has become Indonesia’s biggest trading partner and plowed billions into major infrastructure projects such as the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway, which opened last October, and Cirata, Southeast Asia’s largest solar power project floating, in a reservoir in West Java, 130 kilometers (80 miles) from the capital, Jakarta.

Subianto said that in the meeting with Xi he will oversee the signing of agreements worth more than 10 billion dollars during the meeting between Chinese companies and the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

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Subianto advocates a more active foreign policy for Indonesia, visiting more than 20 countries as president-elect. Days after his inauguration, Indonesia expressed interest in becoming a full member of the BRICS bloc of developing economies including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Indonesia has maintained neutrality amid rising tensions between China and its Southeast Asian neighbors over territorial disputes in the South China Sea. China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei have dominant claims to the rich and busy waterway.

The Philippines has increased security ties with Washington since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. he takes office in 2022, backing away from his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte’s approach to dealing with China. China and the Philippines have been repeatedly clashing in the high seas since last year, raising fears of a major conflict that could put China and the US on a collision course.

Although Indonesia’s leaders say they have no legal territorial dispute with China over the South China Sea, the “nine-dash line,” which China uses to demarcate its claim to most of the South China Sea, runs through Indonesia’s half. a special economic zone from the Natuna Islands.

Last month, Indonesian patrol vessels also chased away a Chinese coast guard vessel from an exploration vessel in the disputed area, according to Indonesian authorities. Jakarta is fiercely protective of its rights in the region as Chinese ships regularly enter what Indonesia calls the North Natuna Sea, causing tension between the countries.

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Associated Press writer Niniek Karmini contributed to this report from Jakarta, Indonesia.

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