Jakarta. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Monday flew to Beijing to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping as Jakarta pursues stronger economic ties.

Jokowi has a quite packed schedule during his time in Beijing. The president will attend the Belt and Road Forum. The event celebrates the 10th anniversary of Xi’s Belt and Road Initiative which sees China investing in infrastructure projects across over 150 countries. An example of China’s Belt and Road projects in Indonesia is the $7.3 billion Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway. 

Aside from bilateral talks with Xi, Jokowi will also meet Chinese Premier Li Qiang and the country’s top legislator Zhao Leji.

“We will put forward several priority issues in our meeting with China, among others, on the increase of Indonesian exports, investments, as well as food security,” Jokowi told reporters at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport shortly before his flight.

Total trade between Indonesia and China rose from almost $110 billion in 2021 to $133.6 billion the following year. Indonesian exports to China grew from $53.8 billion to $65.8 billion over the same period. Jakarta, however, posted a $1.9 billion deficit with China in 2022. 

Chinese investments in Indonesia totaled $8.2 billion in 2022. This puts China as Indonesia’s second-largest foreign investor, ranking just behind Singapore ($13.3 billion).

On the food security front, ASEAN and China vowed to strengthen agricultural cooperation when the leaders gathered in Jakarta in September. Both sides agreed to deepen cooperation in agricultural supply chains, among others, by making full use of the existing free trade deals. Chinese Premier Li attended the ASEAN-China Summit.

Saudi Arabia Visit
Jokowi will immediately head to the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh on Wednesday following his Beijing trip. He is set to co-chair the ASEAN-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit. 

The GCC is a political and economic alliance made of the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, and Kuwait. Jokowi will also be meeting the Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman.

“I will discuss the strengthening of economic and investment cooperation, halal products, energy security, and the establishment of a supreme coordinating council,” Jokowi said, commenting on his plans for the Riyadh visit. 

The government reported that Indonesia-Saudi Arabia trade was on the rise. Indonesia posted $7.5 billion in bilateral trade with Saudi Arabia last year, up from $5.6 billion recorded in 2021. However, Jakarta’s trade deficit with Riyadh also widened from $2.4 billion (2021) to $3.5 billion (2022). Data showed foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows from Saudi Arabia to Indonesia stood at $1.7 million throughout last year.

Jokowi will arrive in Jakarta on Saturday.

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