BEIJING: This week marked another milestone in Indonesia-China diplomatic relations as China’s Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, finished a two-day visit to Indonesia. This visit took place shortly after Indonesia’s incumbent Defense Minister and President-elect, Prabowo Subianto, met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. While the sequence may be coincidental, what appears to be deliberate is the message the two countries want to convey: greater strategic convergence. This article examines three areas in which a degree of convergence seems apparent.
The first area is regional stability. Considering the increasing tensions across the Asia-Pacific region, an open communication channel between two significant regional parties, such as Indonesia and China, is a recipe for maintaining bilateral stability.
Through this visit, China re-affirms Indonesia’s indispensable role in the regional order while indicating its continuing eagerness to preserve the habit of dialogue among its partners. Likewise, Indonesia views the visit as a chance to express any interest and concerns through the High-Level Dialogue and Cooperation Mechanism. Indonesia values how Wang Yi’s visit has still taken place, regardless of other globally pressing issues. Not many partners can afford to exercise such a commitment.
This leads to the second area of greater strategic convergence between Jakarta and Beijing: economic relations. In his meeting with Wang Yi, President Joko Widodo highlighted his desire for greater access to the Chinese market and greater knowledge sharing on Chinese agricultural practices. –The Daily Mail-CGTN news exchange item
