Xi holds talks with Indonesia’s president-elect

► Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with President-elect of the Republic of Indonesia and Great Indonesia Movement Party General Chairman Prabowo Subianto, who is on a visit to China, in Beijing on Monday.

Xi congratulated Prabowo on winning the election and asked Prabowo to relay sincere greetings and best wishes to President Joko Widodo.

Recalling the rapidly developing and fruitful bilateral ties over the past decade under the guidance of the two heads of state, Xi said both sides have made the Jakarta-Bandung High-speed Railway an exemplar of high-quality bilateral cooperation and entered a new stage of building a community with a shared future.

China views its relations with Indonesia from a strategic and long-term perspective, and is willing to deepen all-round strategic cooperation with Indonesia, Xi said.

He said China will work with Indonesia to build a China-Indonesia community with a shared future that has regional and global influence, so as to bring more benefits to the two peoples and contribute to regional and world peace, stability and prosperity.

Xi said the key to successful China-Indonesia relations is to adhere to strategic independence, mutual trust and mutual assistance, win-win cooperation, and fairness and justice.

Xi said China and Indonesia are both representatives of major developing countries and emerging markets. In the past, the two countries have always supported each other in the cause of national independence and development, he said, while in the future, the two countries should also unite in good faith to set an example of win-win cooperation and shared development, and become a pacesetter for South-South cooperation.

The two sides should firmly follow the development path suited to their own national conditions, firmly support each other in safeguarding sovereignty, security and development interests, and understand and support each other on issues concerning each other’s core interests and major concerns, according to Xi.

Xi said China is willing to maintain close exchanges with Indonesia, share experience on governance, strengthen synergy of development strategies, further promote the construction of the « Two Countries, Twin Parks » and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Corridor, and continue to deepen maritime cooperation.

He added that China is ready to strengthen cooperation with Indonesia on poverty reduction and eradication, and provide support in this regard.

Noting that at present, momentous changes not seen in a century are accelerating across the world, Xi said the two sides should actively practice the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, vigorously promote the Bandung spirit of solidarity, friendship and cooperation, promote an equal and orderly multi-polar world and inclusive economic globalization that benefits all, strengthen multilateral coordination, and safeguard the common interests of developing countries.

Xi said China is ready to work with Indonesia to uphold ASEAN unity and centrality, maintain an open and inclusive regional architecture, and build a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future.

Prabowo conveyed President Joko Widodo’s sincere greetings to Xi, and said he is delighted to make China the first country he visits after being elected.

China is a major influential country, and the two countries always respect each other and treat each other as equals, he added.

He expressed admiration for the great achievements made by the Chinese people under the leadership of President Xi. He said he is willing to learn from the experience of the Communist Party of China and deepen exchanges on governance.

Prabowo noted that China is a strong partner of Indonesia, and Chinese enterprises have participated in-depth in Indonesia’s economic growth and contributed to Indonesia’s national development in recent years.

He said that he supports the development of a closer relationship with China and will continue the country’s friendly policy toward China, adhere to independence and stick to the one-China policy that is always pursued by the Indonesian government.

Prabowo added that Indonesia and China will firmly support each other’s core interests, promote the comprehensive and high-quality development of bilateral relations, and implement the important consensus of building a community of shared future between the two countries.

The new Indonesian government is willing to actively strengthen the alignment of the development strategies of the two countries and push for more cooperation results in various fields such as economy, trade and poverty alleviation to further benefit the two peoples, Prabowo said.

He said he appreciated that China has always upheld fairness and justice in international affairs, especially on the Palestinian question, adding that Indonesia is willing to strengthen coordination and cooperation with China on international and regional affairs, and make a greater contribution to South-South cooperation. ■