President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo received an official invitation from Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit on Nov. 9-10 in Beijing.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi personally submitted the invitation to the President at the Merdeka Palace on Monday, where they also discussed bilateral relations between the two countries.

Speaking to repoters after his meeting, Jokowi described his encounter with Wang as a '€œwarm-up'€ discussion before the upcoming APEC summit and his bilateral summit with President Xi. He talked about possible cooperation between the the two countries, particularly regarding infrastructure in Indonesia, with the Chinese minister.

'€œThey [China] are waiting for what we will start to develop,'€ Jokowi told the media after the meeting. '€œI spoke about the [planned] construction of ports and railroads, as well as the ocean highways in Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Papua, and the most urgent [projects] related to power plants.'€

According to Jokowi, Indonesia'€™s '€œmaritime axis'€ strategy and China'€™s '€œ21st Century Maritime Silk Road'€ were also on the table during the meeting.

China is Indonesia'€™s largest trading partner, with US$52.45 billion in total trade between the two countries in 2013. In the same year, China'€™s direct investment in Indonesia reached $296.9 million, comprising 411 projects.

'€œI believe as long as [it] embraces the principles that ensure our national interests and bring benefits for the country and the people, I am open to [it],'€ Jokowi said.

His attendance at the APEC summit in Beijing will be the President'€™s first international appearance. Apart from the Beijing event, the President is also scheduled to attend the bi-annual ASEAN summit in Myanmar, which will be followed by the East Asian Summit on Nov. 12-13.

• Jokowi meets with Chinese foreign minister to discuss Beijing visit
• China was Indonesia'€™s largest trading partner in 2013
• Jokowi likely to attend G20 summit

Jokowi is also expected to participate in the meeting of the world'€™s 20 largest economies in Brisbane, Australia, on Nov. 15-16, although he has not confirmed his attendance. Initially Jokowi was reportedly to go to Australia for the summit. At least in public there is still no report that Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has officially invited Jokowi to the Brisbane summit.

Meanwhile, in a media briefing after the meeting with his Indonesian counterpart, Retno LP Marsudi, the Chinese foreign minister said he discussed regional security, trade, economic coooperation and Jokowi'€™s visit to Beijing with the President.

It was the first encounter between the two foreign ministers since the appointment of the former ambassador to the Netherlands to the post, replacing Marty Natalegawa last month.

'€œFour sectors comprise our focused priorities for cooperation and they are infrastructure development, natural-resource management, industrial-zone development and the energy sector. Indonesia has always helped us strategically with our development and we can do the same,'€ Wang said after meeting with Retno at the Foreign Ministry on Monday.

Similarly, Retno praised China as one of Indonesia'€™s most significant partners and said that any cooperative projects that developed from the countries'€™ bilateral relationship would be focused on the benefits to the Indonesian people.

'€œThis visit is an introductory visit from China as we are discussing the initial ideas on what we can do to cooperate bilaterally and economically and ensure peace and stability in the Asian region for the next five years,'€ she said.

In 2015, Jakarta and Beijing will celebrate 65 years of diplomatic relations, as well as the 60th anniversary of the 1955 Asia Africa Conference. (dyl)

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