Chinese vice premier highlights enlarging cooperation with Indonesia

Chinese Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan highlighted Friday enlarging cooperation with Indonesia in a bid to advance the strategic partnership.

"China and Indonesia are highly complementary in economy, therefore, there is a broad prospect and huge potential for the two countries to expand economic, technological cooperation," Zeng told a group of business people from the two countries at a business luncheon.

The luncheon, jointly organized by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, drew approximately 500 business people from China and Indonesia.

It constituted an important event for the four-day on-going state visit to China by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who left Beijing Friday afternoon for Shenzhen, China's special economic zone in south China's Guangdong Province, as guest of his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao.

Zeng urged the governments and business circles of the two countries to grasp the opportunity to push forward broader cooperation, citing that the bilateral relations have achieved great progress over recent years with ever enlarging exchanges and cooperation in all fields.

"It is in the fundamental interests of both countries and peoples to strengthen economic, trade cooperation and develop the relations of strategic partnership," Zeng said.

He proposed the business circles of the two countries grasp the opportunity brought by the initiation of the China-ASEAN (Association of the Southeast Asian Nations) FTA (Free Trade Area) to further enlarge bilateral trade volume.

"With concerted efforts of both sides, the goal of making the bilateral trade volume exceed 30 billion US dollars may be well achieved," he said.

Statistics show that the two-way trade volume reached 13.48 billion US dollars in 2004, up 31.8 percent year-on-year. During the first five months this year, the trade volume between the two countries stood at 6.7 billion US dollars, indicating a yearly rise of 37 percent.

China is now Indonesia's fourth largest trading partner, while Indonesia is China's eighteenth.

Currently, China chiefly exports electrical appliances, electronic equipment, machinery, furnishings, textiles and motorcycles to Indonesia. While Indonesia mainly exports crude oil, natural gas, palm oil, paper, paper pulp and timber to China.

Zeng called on the two sides to increase investment in each other's country in the areas of infrastructure, energy, resources, agriculture and fishery so as to promote the construction of large cooperative projects such as railways, bridge, power station and dam.

"The Chinese government encourages its businesses to invest in Indonesia and the government will offer preferential loans and as much help as possible for some projects," he said.

"Meanwhile, the Indonesian business people are welcome to invest in China and participate in China's regional development and economic construction."

Zeng suggested the two sides continue the cooperation in preventing disasters and rebuilding work after disasters.

"China will again offer 60 million yuan (7.4 million US dollars) of non-governmental donations for Indonesia, and will provide assistance for Indonesia to improve the warning system for earthquakes and tsunamis and improve the disaster relief work," he said.

He also hoped the two countries would deepen cooperation in science, technology, telecommunications, navigation, environmental protection, ocean, planting, finance, insurance and tourism.

To push for business cooperation, Zeng suggested the two governments create a favorable environment.

"The Chinese government is willing to work along with the Indonesian government to offer more conveniences for business cooperation between the two countries," he said.

Source: Xinhua