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Jakarta showcases ties with Beijing at close of G20 Summit
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President Joko “Jokowi“ Widodo (right) shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Nusa Dua, Bali, on Nov. 16, 2022. (AFP/Achmad Ibrahim)
In a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart at the Group of 20 Summit in Bali, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo highlighted the immense significance Indonesia attributes to its cooperation with Asia’s economic powerhouse.
Appearing for a joint statement with President Xi Jinping on Wednesday evening, at the very end of the two-day G20 Summit held in Nusa Dua, the two sides vowed to “elevate bilateral cooperation to a higher level,” according to a press release issued by China’s foreign ministry the following morning.
Center stage of the announcement was an almost-completed high-speed railway project to vastly cut the time needed to travel between Jakarta and the West Java capital of Bandung. Built by Chinese-Indonesian consortium KCIC, the project has been marred by delays and cost overruns, but that did not stop the two heads of state from hailing it as “a symbol of the strategic cooperation between the two countries”.
Jokowi and Xi “watched the operational trial through video link and a video presentation on the achievements of China-Indonesia cooperation,” read the press release. The event had been scheduled to coincide with Xi’s visit to Indonesia for the G20 Summit, one of the rare occasions for which Xi has traveled abroad since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
The two watched the new train pull out of Tegalluar Station, which is the endpoint of the line in Bandung regency. But the line is widely expected to be extended all the way to Surabaya in East Java.
Read also: Govt reaffirms Jakarta-Surabaya high speed railway, wants to involve China
China reportedly has its foot in the door for that extension plan, with Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan telling reporters after an event with the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia last month: “If we are already comfortable with [China], then why find a replacement? I think you do not like switching your spouse, either.”
