China pledges closer ties with Indonesia

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Fri, 07/06/2007 10:51 AM

M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jeichi said Tuesday his government would have more dialog with Indonesia as part of efforts to resolve regional and international problems.

Yang said cooperation between China and Indonesia, two countries of significant power, would be indispensable in striving for developing countries' interests.

""We also have agreed to improve coordination and cooperation in regional and international affairs.

""These two big countries need to build cooperation to defend the interests of developing countries,"" Yang told reporters after a talk with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the State Palace.

The minister, who assumed office April this year, replacing his predecessor Li Zhaoxing, said both governments agreed to push for a China-Indonesia strategic partnership.

Indonesia was the first country in the region visited by Yang after he took office. The visit was his third overseas stop since becoming foreign minister, after Mongolia and North Korea.

Yang also said both governments had agreed to develop further cooperation in infrastructures, energy and electricity.

He also said China would pursue cooperations with member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

In the meeting, Yang said his government's appreciated the Indonesian government had maintained its one China policy.

Indonesia is seen by China as an important country in the region and the world, as it is a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, Yang said.

Yang, however, scurried towards the exit door when reporters asked about the North Korean nuclear issue.

Earlier in a meeting with Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda, Yang said both countries would find ways to double bilateral trade over the next three years.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry has said it hoped the bilateral trade would reach US$30 billion by 2010, from last year's $15 billion.

In the meeting, the two foreign ministers signed a memorandum of understanding on economic and technical cooperation, as well as on China's commitment to provide a grant of 10 million yuan (US$1.3 million) to assist Indonesia's development.

In the meeting, the two delegations also touched on the need to speed up the realization of an extradition treaty between the two countries.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved.