Indonesian president and Chinese premier meet to discuss expanding trade during US trade war

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Chinese Premier Li Qiang met with Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto on Sunday to discuss ways to expand trade and investment during the U.S. global trade war and as economic globalization faces headwinds.

Li arrived in Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, on Saturday afternoon for a three-day visit to Southeast Asia’s largest economy. It was the first stop of his first overseas visit this year.

Indonesia and China are member states of the Group 20 major developing countries and emerging economies and of BRICS.

Li brought 60 Chinese prominent businesspeople for his address to the Indonesia-China Business Reception on Sunday evening. He emphasized in his remarks that China’s economy has achieved rapid growth this year despite increasing external challenges.

“The current international situation is a stalemate,” Li said at the event which was also attended by Subianto, “Unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise, bullying behavior is increasing.”

Li noted that this year marks the 70th anniversary of the Non-Aligned Movement which was held by Asian and African countries in Indonesia’s Bandung city, when the world was at a historical crossroads more than seven decades ago.

The Bandung spirit of solidarity, friendship and cooperation has played a pivotal role in the unity and cooperation of the Global South countries, Li said.

“More than seven decades later, the world is once again at an important crossroads,” Li said.

He called on all countries to seek common ground while resolving differences through dialogue and peaceful coexistence.

Subianto expressed gratitude to the Chinese government and its companies “that have participated in our economy, created jobs, transferred technology and built trust among all businesses, especially in our homeland.”

He also invited Chinese businesspeople to invest more in Indonesia. Two-way trade exceeded US$147.8 billion last year, growing by 6.1%.

Li said for nine consecutive years, China has been Indonesia’s largest trading partner, and its Belt and Road cooperation program has seen substantive progress, including nickel smelting plants and Whoosh, the commercial service of Southeast Asia’s first high-speed railway which has been operating since October 2023, carrying nearly 10 million passengers.

Indonesia wants a larger role in supplying nickel and other raw materials to China’s fast-growing electric car makers.

On Sunday, Subianto hosted Li in a ceremony at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta. Li is also scheduled to meet with Indonesian parliament members on Sunday. He will head on to Malaysia on Monday where he and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will address the ASEAN-GCC-China Economic Summit, attended by leaders from Southeast Asian countries and the Gulf Cooperation Council.

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Associated Press journalists Andi Jatmiko and Achmad Ibrahim in Jakarta, Indonesia, contributed to this report.

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