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year ago I drafted an article about Sino-Indonesian relations for The Jakarta Post in the run-up to Prime Minister Wen Jiabao’s visit. The article never went to print. Wen cancelled his visit in the wake of the Qinghai earthquake.

At the time US President Barack Obama was also planning a visit to Indonesia. A commentary on the Sino-US rivalry in the region and where Indonesia stood on the issue seemed apt.

Now, a year on, Obama has come and gone. His visit, albeit extremely brief, won the hearts of many who heard him speak and efforts are under way to implement the US-Indonesia Comprehensive Partnership, first proposed in late 2008, to strengthen cooperation on political and security issues; economics and development, and socio-cultural cooperation.

For both the US and China, Indonesia has its attractions, both strategic and economic. In the words of Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, the rivalry between the two for Indonesia’s affections is helpful for maintaining regional stability and also “reflects well on Indonesia’s place in the region as a country that has been very much engaged with all the key participants on the global stage”.

Indeed, Indonesia is now a country with greater confidence and aspirations to play a significant role on the world stage, especially as current chair of ASEAN.

Indonesia has every reason to be confident. Economically, it has valiantly weathered the storm of the recent global financial crisis and, politically, is peacefully consolidating her fledgling democracy.

These are two selling points that Indonesia is pushing and experiences which it wants to share with other developing countries. But on our relationship with China, however, the emphasis is not on the merits of democratization but on the benefits of economic cooperation.

Since the signing of a strategic partnership with China, trade between the two nations has jumped from US$12.5 billion in 2005 to $42.8 billion in 2010. By 2015, this figure is expected to reach $80 billion.

Last year alone, China’s investments in Indonesia amounted to $173 million, ranking it 11th amongst the nation’s foreign investors. Chinese Ambassador to Indonesia Zhang Qiyue recently mentioned that as many as a thousand Chinese companies were lining up to sign contracts estimated at $9.7 billion.

While we are arguing amongst ourselves about whether the ACFTA is good or bad for our economy, the Chinese are pushing ahead.

Since the ACFTA came into force last year, non-gas imports from China have grown to $19.7 billion in 2010, up 45.9 percent from $13.5 billion in 2009. Our exports to China have also increased significantly during that period, from $8.9 billion to $14.1 billion.

Despite the increases, there is still a fear that Indonesian industry will be hurt by the ACFTA. As economist Faisal Basri, and as others have pointed out, even without the ACFTA, our markets will continue to be flooded by imports — not just Chinese imports — if we fail to improve our domestic economic resilience in the face of global trade liberalization.

Although the ACFTA will be the focus of the general public during Wen’s visit, Zhang has clearly stated that China will not review the ACFTA as it is not a bilateral issue. Our government officials tend to agree.

Having said that, the Chinese government is open to discuss specific problems. When this same issue was raised last year, a pragmatic approach was taken, namely by focusing discussion on sectors that Indonesian manufacturers deemed weak, such as the textile and garment industries.

To further assuage Indonesia’s concerns, the Chinese were willing to provide funding to support certain Indonesian industries as well as take measures to stem the flow of illegal Chinese imports into Indonesia.

The Export-Import Bank of China signed a $100 million trade and export financing agreement while the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China agreed to $250 million loan agreement.

If that was not enough, China also offered $1.8 billion in preferential export buyer credits and a concession loan of $263 million for major infrastructure projects. It seems that China is doing its utmost to accommodate Indonesia’s concerns - a reflection of Indonesia’s importance to China.

Indonesia’s importance to China, however, should not just be seen from a bilateral perspective but should also be seen from the perspective of Indonesia’s role in ASEAN.

Any attempt to design a new regional architecture, in which China wants to be involved, cannot be done without close engagement with ASEAN, especially now with the inclusion of the US and Russia in the East Asia Summit.

As chair of ASEAN and host of ASEAN’s summit this year, Indonesia is unarguably in a better position to ensure that ASEAN is in the driver’s seat and sensitive issues that the Chinese want kept off the agenda, such as the South China Sea dispute.

We have finally come to realize the significant role China plays in the region and we should be preparing ourselves better for the inevitable.

Ideally, relations with China should be understood as being more than just about money and making business deals.

The two countries need to further strengthen people-to-people cooperation. No doubt, Indonesians are now more open to China as reflected by the number of government officials, legislators and tourists visiting China. The number of students going to China to study — not just Chinese Indonesians, as assumed — is also on the rise.

China is keenly sensitive to some of the lingering and latent sensibilities and insecurities of Indonesians. Through its public diplomacy efforts, it is careful to appear not too aggressive, playing on the fact that both Indonesia and China are facing enormous challenges in their attempt to create “well-off” societies through reform and development.

Although the current emphasis is on the economic benefits of our relationship, it would be wise for China not to flaunt its wealth.

As they say, money can’t buy you love. It is mutual respect and understanding of each other’s strengths and weaknesses that will create a strong and lasting relationship.