China aims to have closer ties with Indonesia, especially in the areas of trade, investment and people-to-people exchanges despite political security challenges.

“China will continue to give priority to ASEAN in its neighborhood diplomacy. China will continue to support ASEAN’s community building and ASEAN’s centrality in regional cooperation,” said Chinese Ambassador to Indonesia Xie Feng, rebuking claims the regional powerhouse believes otherwise.

Xie was speaking during an event on Monday evening to commemorate the 67th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

Guests were treated to a night of Chinese fine dining, a photo exhibition and a display of Chinese artistry on screen as the world’s second-largest economy commemorated its National Day with an eye toward bringing relations with Indonesia to new heights.

Hundreds of guests, including Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati and State-Owned Enterprises Minister Rini Soemarno attended the event as well as People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) speaker Zulkifli Hasan and deputy speaker Oesman Sapta Odang, Regional Representatives Council (DPD) deputy speaker Gusti Kanjeng Ratu Hemas, Philippine Ambassador to Indonesia Maria Lumen Isleta, and UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) representative for Indonesia Thomas Vargas.

Chinese Ambassador to ASEAN, Xu Bu also attended the event.

Indonesia considers China as one of its “true friends” and hopes the country will continue to flourish and prosper for its own benefit and also for the world’s, Sri Mulyani said in her speech.

“Jakarta and Beijing may be separated from each other by a distance of thousands of kilometers, but the warmth and respect and friendship between Indonesia and China are strong enough to bind us together [through] thick and thin, sorrow and joy, the hard times and the good times,” she said.

“It is indeed an all-weather friendship built on mutual respect and cooperation.”

The Investment Coordinating Board (BPKM) recorded US$21 billion in investment commitments from China last year. Of this amount, the agency has seen $2.1 billion in realized commitments, making it the fourth-largest in investment realization after Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong.

Indonesia’s ties with China have continued to flourish over the years, but they particularly intensified since the inauguration of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, who has made clear his intention to involve Beijing in his development plans.

Jokowi visited Beijing in his maiden journey overseas to attend the annual APEC summit in November 2014, where he held bilateral talks with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and President Xi Jinping, the first in a series of high-level meetings that signaled Jakarta’s leanings toward its strategic partner.

Barely two years later, Jokowi was back in China to attend the G20 summit earlier this month and meet Xi for the fifth time, while promoting Indonesia’s tourism, e-commerce and electricity sectors in a business forum attended by 1,000 Chinese business players.

Jokowi’s government also asked Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., to become an advisor of a steering e-commerce committee, aimed at developing the booming digital economy sector.

China consolidated its presence and influence in Indonesia after a string of business deals, including Indonesia’s first ever high-speed railway, secured in a US$5.1 billion deal between a China-Indonesia consortium, and a multi-billion financing agreement between the China Development Bank and Indonesian state banks.

China has competing claims with a number of ASEAN countries in the South China Sea (SCS), but has showed its willingness to settle disputes peacefully and with regional security in mind. Indonesia is a non-claimant in the SCS dispute but has previously become involved in a row with China regarding the area just beyond the Natuna islands.

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