Indonesia targets $30 billion in trade with China by 2010

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Fri, 06/23/2006 3:41 PM | Business

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesia and China hope to expand bilateral trade to US$30 billion by 2010 from about $12.54 billion last year, Indonesian Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu says.

""We're optimistic we can achieve the target. Our trade has been increasing significantly during the last 10 years,"" said the minister in a speech. The speech was read by the ministry's director of bilateral cooperation, Sondang Anggraini, during a seminar organized by the University of Indonesia in Depok on Thursday.

She said Indonesia would do more to tap into the Chinese market, which has become a darling of international traders and investors.

Chinese, Indonesian bilateral trade jumped 43.64 percent from $8.72 billion in 2004 to $12.50 billion last year.

Indonesian exports to China climbed 44.68 percent in 2005 to $6.66 billion. The country's imports from China rose 42.46 percent from $4.10 billion in 2004 to $5.84 billion last year.

""With a population of over 1.3 billion, China as a market has a lot of potential for us and is too big to ignore,"" the minister noted.

Mari said developed countries saw China as a promising place for investments due to its low production costs and high worker productivity.

She said the expansion of trade between the two countries also would be helped by the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA), which has brought down import tariffs since January 2004. ASEAN is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Indonesia is a member.

""We hope the ACFTA will not only facilitate the trade of goods, but also promote investments and the trading of services,"" she said.

During the seminar, which focused on the Chinese language and its role in international business, Mari noted the importance of mastering the language for businesspeople.

""Mastery of Chinese is very important to get correct information, which is necessary for making sound decisions while doing business with the country,"" she said.

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