[Epoch Times, July 25, 2022](Epoch Times reporter Xu Jian comprehensive report) On Monday (July 25), Indonesian President Joko Widodo was invited to visit Beijing. Under the “clearing” policy, Xi Jinping rarely invited foreign leaders to visit. According to external analysis, the two sides have asked each other for this visit.
Widodo is due to meet Xi and Premier Li Keqiang on Tuesday before holding talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo on Wednesday and South Korean President Yoon Suk-wook in Seoul on Thursday.
Indonesia is the host of the G20 (G20) summit held in mid-November this year, and will also serve as the rotating chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) next year.
Indonesian Foreign Minister: Talks focus on trade and investment
On Thursday, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi told media ahead of the president’s visit that Widodo’s talks with Xi would focus on trade and investment.
China is Indonesia’s largest trading partner, and the two-way trade between the two countries reached US$110 billion last year.Chinese investment in Indonesia32One hundred million U.S. dollars,China has also maintained the status of Indonesia’s largest exporter for several consecutive years.
Al Jazeera reported that Trissia Wijaya, a researcher at the Indonesian Policy Research Center, said Widodo’s visit would be an economic benefit for Indonesia.
Vijaya said the topics of the two sides may include the long-delayed high-speed rail project of Chinese companies in Indonesia. “This fast train will be Widodo’s (political) legacy, and he certainly hopes that the project will be operational by at least 2024.”
The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway project is funded by the China Development Bank under the “One Belt, One Road” initiative of the Chinese government, and the India-China High-speed Railway Company established by a consortium of Chinese and Indonesian companies is responsible for the actual construction of the project. In the India-China high-speed rail company, Indonesian companies account for 60% of the shares, and Chinese companies account for 40% of the shares.
The high-speed rail project is about 142 kilometers long. After construction started in 2018, there were disputes over land ownership, and the project was criticized for its high economic costs and adverse impact on the environment.
The Voice of America reported in February this year that Dwiyana Slamet Riyadi, president of the India-China High Speed Rail Corporation (PT KCIC), disclosed on February 7 that the high-speed rail project from Jakarta to Bandung, funded by the Chinese government, will overrun by about $2 billion. In addition, the Indonesian government is planning to move the capital, which will inevitably lead to a significant reduction in the flow of people after the completion of the railway. It is estimated that the project will take 40 years to recover the cost.
What kind of attempts did Beijing unleash?
When China has not given up the “zero policy”, Xi Jinping invited the Indonesian president to visit. What is the consideration?
Some analysts believe that Xi Jinping’s meeting with Widodo this time indicates that the CCP is trying to get out of the self-imposed epidemic restrictions in diplomacy. In addition to sending high-level personnel to visit abroad, it has also resumed receiving foreign dignitaries. Find yourself a step down.
Earlier, the South China Morning Post exclusively disclosed that the Beijing authorities attempted to invite the leaders of the four major European countries, Italy, France, Germany and Spain, to visit Beijing in November, which was dismissed as “fake news” by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. However, a follow-up report from “Nanzao” pointed out that Beijing has indeed made this move, in order to celebrate Xi Jinping’s continued rule at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, and to create an atmosphere.
The Washington Post quoted analysts inside and outside China as saying that Xi Jinping, who attended international conferences by video during the epidemic, may travel to Indonesia in person in November to attend the G20 summit.
“I think Xi Jinping will go to the G20 after his third term,” said Bonnie S. Glaser, director of the Marshall Fund’s Asia program.
Siwage Dharma Negara, a senior researcher at the Iseas Yusof Ishak Institute, said that although China and Indonesia have no disputes in the South China Sea, “part of Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) is drawn within the nine-dash line by China, which has always been the main source of diplomatic tension between the two countries. One of the roots.”
Over the past decade, Chinese coast guard ships have repeatedly entered Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone and entered within 12 nautical miles of the country. Since 2019, Indonesian authorities have also recovered suspected Chinese drones in the waters off South Sulawesi, Riau Islands and East Java.
According to a 2021 survey by the Lowy Institute, an Australian think tank, Indonesians’ trust in the Chinese Communist Party has declined.
When asked which country is most important to the Indonesian economy, 18% of respondents chose the United States, 12% of respondents chose China, 30% of respondents supported Chinese investment, and 42% of respondents supported US investment .
A 2011 poll by the institute found that a majority of Indonesians believed China would become Asia’s leading economic power, but only 31 percent now think so.
Responsible editor: Lin Yan #