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China remains committed to investing in Indonesia despite Natuna spat
The Indonesian and Chinese relationship is close as the East Asian country is Indonesia’s largest trading partner and one of its biggest foreign investors.
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A worker cleans debris out of the construction site of a giant tunnel for the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway in Walini, West Bandung regency, West Java, on Thursday. The railway will cover 142 kilometers from Jakarta to Bandung.
(The Jakarta Post/Wienda Parwitasari)
C
hina will remain committed to investing in Indonesia despite the ongoing spat between the two countries over the former’s controversial naval maneuvers in Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the North Natuna Sea, China’s senior envoy in Jakarta has said.
Chinese Ambassador to Indonesia Xiao Qian said both countries had “wonderful relations” but “even good friends might have different views”.
“We can solve this problem through diplomatic channels as I believe it will not affect the economic and investment [relations] between China and Indonesia,” Xiao said on the sidelines of the China Business Forum held at the Indonesian Stock Exchange (IDX) building in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Diplomatic tension heightened between Indonesia and China over the past week after the latter's fishing boats and coast guard vessels entered the North Natuna Sea, the southernmost part of the disputed South China Sea.
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo visited Natuna regency on Wednesday, giving a signal to his Chinese counterpart that he was paying serious attention to the maritime spat. Previously, the government had summoned the Chinese ambassador and lodged a diplomatic protest with Beijing.
The Indonesian and Chinese relationship is close as the East Asian country is Indonesia’s largest trading partner and one of its biggest foreign investors.
China imported US$23.54 billion of Indonesia’s non-oil-and-gas commodities in the January-November period last year, topping the list with a more than 16 percent share of the latter’s total exports, Statistics Indonesia data shows.
