JAKARTA - China and Indonesia have pledged to strengthen economic ties and maintain peace and stability in the region, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on April 18 after a meeting with his Indonesian counterpart, Ms Retno Marsudi, in Jakarta.
Mr Wang also called for all parties in the Gaza conflict to exercise restraint, and said the United States should support a United Nations resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza.
“Both ministers expressed resentment over the humanitarian disaster due to the Palestine-Israel conflict. We agree that the UN Security Council resolution on a ceasefire must be fully implemented and without any condition,” Mr Wang said after the meeting, in remarks that were translated into Indonesian.
Mr Wang urged the United States to “listen to the international community” amid concerns over the escalating conflict in the Middle East.
“The UN Security Council is a collective security mechanism that must not be used by a certain country,” Mr Wang said.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno said she hoped China would “would use its influence to prevent escalation” in Gaza, emphasising the need for a two-state solution.
Indonesia and its largest trading and investment partner China are seeking to further strengthen economic ties through deepened investment in infrastructure, downstreaming, food sustainability and Indonesia’s energy transition, Ms Retno said.
Chinese investment in Indonesia reached more than US$7.4 billion (S$10 billion) in 2023, she added.
Mr Wang is scheduled to attend the China-Indonesia High-Level Dialogue Cooperation Mechanism meeting with several senior Indonesian ministers in Labuan Bajo on April 19 to discuss further cooperation in more detail.
During April 18’s bilateral meeting, both countries pledged to maintain peace in the Indo-Pacific region, with Mr Wang saying he expected that negotiations on the code of conduct in the South China Sea could be accelerated.
Asean and China have for years been trying to create a framework to negotiate a code of conduct, a plan dating as far back as 2002. However progress has been slow despite commitments by all parties to advance and expedite the process.
Mr Wang also met Indonesia’s outgoing President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, discussing further economic partnerships, including possible investments in the transportation sector in the country’s new capital and the petrochemical industry in North Kalimantan province, Ms Retno said, without elaborating.
Mr Jokowi also emphasised the importance for all parties to restrain themselves in the Middle Eastern conflict, Ms Retno added. REUTERS
