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hina’s autonomous region Ningxia is seeking to cooperate with a sister city in Indonesia, with a high ranking Chinese official saying the move will further enrich the ongoing relationship that it has nurtured with Indonesia over the years.

Vice director general Zhang Yexing of the foreign affairs office of Ningxia, one of China’s five autonomous regions, said that China had made it a priority to boost its relationship with Indonesia.

The relationship, however, mostly focused on trade, he added.

He said Indonesian cities were still not aware of the region’s potential and had yet to seek sister city cooperation, he added.

“We want to forge a sister city relationship with an Indonesian city that is complimentary in nature,” he told visiting Indonesian journalists, including The Jakarta Post, on Thursday evening.

Ningxia has developed trade and friendship links with more than 120 countries and has entered into sister city partnerships in 23 countries around the world.

The region is also the main home of the Hui, a Muslim ethnic group. Out of Ningxia’s 6.3 million people, the Hui people account for 36.4 percent.

The call was made just ahead of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s visit to China this month where he is scheduled to meet China’s top leaders, including President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao. He will also receive an honorary doctorate degree from China’s reputable Tsinghua University and witness the signing of trade and business deals.

Yexing said that Ningxia had been appointed by the Chinese government as the main producer of halal food, the production of which follows Islamic guidelines.

“We want to set up a sister city cooperation with a city or province which, for instance, produces halal food,” he said, adding that when details on halal food certificates were agreed, imports and exports
could begin.