Premier arrives in Indonesia for official visit

2018-05-06
Xinhua

JAKARTA — Premier Li Keqiang arrived in Jakarta on May 6 for an official visit to Indonesia, the first stop on his first overseas trip since the new cabinet took office in March.

Premier Li’s visit comes as this year marks the 5th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Indonesia comprehensive strategic partnership and the 15th anniversary of the strategic partnership between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

He was welcomed by Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan and other senior officials at the airport.

Since President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to Indonesia in 2013, the two countries have been promoting the synergy of their development strategies, yielding fruitful results in their cooperation in various fields, Premier Li said upon his arrival in Jakarta.

The Premier will hold talks with Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Vice-President Jusuf Kalla, and attend a China-Indonesia business summit. The schedule also includes witnessing the signing of cooperation documents.

The Premier will visit the ASEAN Secretariat to underscore China’s commitment to its relations with the 10-member community, meet with ASEAN Secretary General Lim Jock Hoi, and attend celebration activities of the anniversary.

China has been Indonesia’s largest trading partner for seven years in a row. In 2017, two-way trade reached $63.3 billion, up 18 percent year-on-year. Good results have been achieved in building the China-Indonesia industrial parks and steady progress is being made in the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway, Premier Li said in a signed article published by the Jakarta Post on May 5.

China is also Indonesia’s largest source of foreign tourists and second-largest host of Indonesian students, the article noted.

After the trip to Indonesia, Premier Li will leave for Japan on May 8 to attend the 7th China-Japan-ROK leaders’ meeting and pay an official visit to Japan.