China and Indonesia to enhance bilateral trade, deepen relations
The leader s of Indonesia and China pledged to scale up bilateral trade and expand cooperation in ar eas such as agriculture and food security
The leaders of China and Indonesia pledged on Tuesday to scale up bilateral trade and expand cooperation in areas such as agriculture and food security, following a rare visit to COVID-WARY China by a foreign head of state.
China and Indonesia believe their relations have great strategic significance and far-reaching global influence, the Chinese foreign ministry said ater a meeting of the countries’ leaders.
Indonesian president jokowi dodo met chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing on Tuesday. The last time China hosted foreign leaders was during the Winter Olympics in February, with Russian President Vladimir Putin among those who visited Beijing in a highly guarded bubble.
Travel by foreign dignitaries to China has been exceedingly rare since the new coronavirus pandemic broke out over two years ago, with Chinese borders largely shut due to domestic COVID concerns.
Indonesia, one of China’s biggest trading partners, is an important source of ferronickel, coal, copper and natural gas for the world’s second-largest economy.
In the first half of 2022, Chinese imports from Indonesia, mostly commodities, surged 34.2 per cent on year, the most ater Russia.
China has expressed commitment to import an additional one million tonnes of crude palm oil from Indonesia, said the Indonesian state palace ater a meeting between Jokowi and Li.
Jokowi met Li and Xi at the historic Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, part of a sprawling complex of villas, lakes and gardens where many foreign leaders, including the late US President Richard Nixon, have been received.
COMMUNICATION BRIDGE:AS president of the G20 this year Jokowi has sought to mend rits within the group exposed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Last month he travelled to Ukraine to meet President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and also to Moscow to hold talks with President Putin. Jokowi said Indonesia was willing to be a “communication bridge” between the two.
China, while not condemning its strategic partner Russia for the invasion, has repeatedly called for a cessation of hostilities and has offered to help promote peace talks.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, who was part of the travelling delegation, said Xi had appreciated Jokowi’s peace efforts such as his trips to Kyiv and Moscow.
“The visits were deemed by President Xi as Indonesia’s responsibility as a big country,” the Indonesian state palace cited Retno as saying.
Both Indonesia and Russia are part of the G20, with the former holding the group’s presidency this year. Some G20 member states have threatened to boycot this year’s leaders summit, on the island of Bali on Nov. 15-16, if Putin atends.
Earlier G20 meetings this year have focused on global food security and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a “special military operation”.
The war in ukraine has caused major disruptions to global trade, with prices of grain and wheat soaring amid a blockade of Ukrainian seaports and sanctions on Russian commodities such as oil, gas and fertiliser.
Shanghai stocks rose on Tuesday ater a threesession slide, as real estate developers rallied further on news that Beijing was planning to set up a fund to aid the troubled industry.
The blue-chip CSI300 index rose 0.8 per cent to 4,245.98, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.8 per cent to 3,277.44.
The Hang Seng index rose 1.7 per cent to 20,905.88, while the China Enterprises Index gained 1.5 per cent to 7,185.19.
Chinese real estate companies and mainland developers listed in Hong Kong both jumped more than 5 per cent, extending gains from the previous session.
China will launch a real estate fund to help property developers resolve a crippling debt crisis, aiming for a war chest of up to 300 billion yuan ($44 billion) to restore confidence in the industry, a state bank official told Reuters on Monday. Foreign investors bought 7.25 billion yuan ($1.07 billion) of Chinese shares through the stock connect scheme on Tuesday. Investors are waiting for the Federal Reserve’s rate decision and China’s Politburo meeting this week, while details of the property policy are also expected, said Wang Mengying, a stock index futures analyst at Nanhua Futures. China will step up financial support to aid a recovery in the cultural and tourism sectors, the central bank and the industry’s ministry said, helping shares of tourism-related companies rise 1.8 per cent.
Energy shares added 2.4 per cent, non-ferrous metal companies rose 1.7per cent, and new energy firms gained 1.4 per cent. COVID-19 outbreaks remained a worry, with the daily caseload hovering around 1,000 in recent days. Shenzhen vowed to “mobilise all resources” to curb a slowly spreading outbreak, ordering strict implementation of testing and temperature checks, and lockdowns for Covid-affected buildings.