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Wang Yi calls on Indonesia to oppose unilateralism
The two sides should jointly accelerate regional economic integration and maintain the stability of industrial chain and supply chain, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.
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Foreign Minister Sugiono (left) and China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi attend a press briefing after the first meeting of the China-Indonesia joint foreign and defence ministerial dialogue at the Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing on April 21, 2025. (AFP/Iori Sagisawa)
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hina's foreign minister said on Monday that China and Indonesia should oppose "any form" of unilateralism and trade protectionism at a press conference on Monday.
The two sides should jointly accelerate regional economic integration and maintain the stability of industrial chain and supply chain, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.
The press conference came after Wang and China's Defense Minister Dong Jun chaired a meeting with their Indonesian counterparts in Beijing on Monday. Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono, who just met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week in Washington, also attended the meeting, alongside Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin.
Sugiono was part of the high-profile Indonesian delegation that came to Washington last week to begin the tariff negotiations to lower import tariffs slapped on Indonesian goods. The economic ministers are still in the United States, according to Reuters.
Sjafrie said after the meeting that he appreciated the "2+2" meeting, hoping that it could serve as a conduit for the two countries to improve communication and understanding.
"We hope that this dialogue can produce concrete steps in strengthening strategic partnership between Indonesia and China in defense sectors," Sjafrie said.
Earlier on Monday, China hit out at other countries making trade deals with the United States at Beijing's expense, vowing countermeasures against those who "appease" Washington in the blistering tariff war as its neighbours rush to secure favourable terms from the White House.
"Appeasement will not bring peace, and compromise will not be respected," a spokesperson for China's commerce ministry said in a statement, quoted by AFP.
"To seek one's own temporary selfish interests at the expense of others' interests is to seek the skin of a tiger," Beijing said.
That approach, it warned, "will ultimately fail on both ends and harm others".
"China firmly opposes any party reaching a deal at the expense of China's interests," the spokesperson said.
"If such a situation occurs, China will never accept it and will resolutely take reciprocal countermeasures," they added.
