C

hinese Ambassador-designate to Indonesia Xie Feng arrived in Jakarta on Tuesday, emphasizing his hopes for stronger bilateral cooperation and the pursuit of peace in the region.

'€œIt is a great pleasure to be posted to Indonesia, a country of a thousand islands. I want to first thank the crew of Garuda Indonesia for giving my wife and I a wonderful taste of this nation'€™s warm hospitality,'€ Xie said.

Xie said the popular Indonesian songs '€œBengawan Solo'€ and '€œSing Sing So'€ had piqued his imagination as student about the so-called Emerald of the Equator.

Praising Indonesia as a vibrant emerging economy that played an increasing important role in regional and global affairs, Xie said that the two countries had moved into a new era of comprehensive strategic partnership.

'€œA window of opportunity is opening for both [our] countries,'€ he said.

He further said that the two countries could work hand in hand to create a more peaceful, stable and prosperous Asia Pacific.

Xie expects to present his credentials in the near future.

'€œWe'€™re in contact with the State Palace to get his schedule to present his credentials to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono,'€ Chinese Embassy spokesperson Wang Peijun told The Jakarta Post.

Xie replaces Liu Jianchao who returned to Beijing earlier this year to take up the position of assistant foreign minister for press and public diplomacy.

Prior to his new post in Jakarta, Xie was the foreign ministry'€™s director general for North America and Oceania affairs in Beijing from 2010 to 2014.

Xie has held various positions both in Beijing and overseas. He started his career at the Chinese foreign ministry'€™s department of West European affairs in 1986, then he was promoted to deputy director at the department of North American and Oceanian Affairs from 1993-2000

His overseas posting included being the attaché of the Chinese Embassy in Malta from 1989-1993 and counselor of the Chinese Embassy in the US from 2000-2003. He returned to Washington, DC, as minister and deputy chief of mission in 2008.

International expert Makmur Keliat from the University of Indonesia (UI) said a new envoy with US experience would be essential in guarding Chinese interests in the Asia Pacific, which is engulfed by escalating tensions over maritime disputes and economic competition.

A heavyweight in the US posting, Xie has a lot of clout when pursuing Chinese interest in the region, especially in dealing with US'€™ '€œpivot'€ policy in the Asia Pacific. '€œIt is also in the context of the China-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership [RCEP] and the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership [TPP], which will dominate the region in the years to come,'€ Makmur said.

Beijing also anticipates the changes in post-election Indonesia, which could see a more assertive foreign policy.

For Indonesia, the new Chinese envoy with US experience will help to increase understanding on Indonesia-China-US relations, Makmur said.