China-Indonesia: Tangible Outcomes of Summit Between Xi Jinping and Prabowo Subianto
Two Asian countries renew cooperation on lithium, electric vehicles, and tourism. After China, the Indonesian president's round-the-world tour will include the USA, Peru, Brazil, and the UK
China and Indonesia have reached a strategic agreement that envisions much more intensive cooperation between the two major Asian countries in key sectors of the bilateral economic agenda, particularly in lithium mining, electric vehicle production, renewable energy promotion, and tourism. This is the outcome of a summit held in Beijing on November 9 between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Indonesian counterpart Prabowo Subianto.
The trip to Beijing was the Indonesian president’s first overseas trip since taking office on October 27. “China and Indonesia will work together to stimulate new driving forces of global development by exploring the potential for cooperation in areas such as new energy vehicles, lithium batteries, and photovoltaic power, as well as capitalizing on the opportunities offered by the development of the digital economy and green development sectors,” said a joint statement issued by the Chinese Foreign Ministry following the meeting between Xi Jinping and Prabowo.
The Chinese and Indonesian governments expressed their firm intention to “cooperate more intensively in the mining sector, maximizing the use of their respective resources and production capabilities.” In addition, in an effort to “restore tourism to pre-covid pandemic levels,” China and Indonesia will “introduce new measures to facilitate the issuance of entry visas to the two countries,” which includes the introduction of a new multiple-entry visa valid for an extended period of time. Beijing and Jakarta have announced that a series of direct flights will be launched between the two countries’ most important cities.
In this context, several cooperation agreements were signed on the margins of the summit between Xi Jinping and Prabowo, particularly in construction and coconut trade. As the Chinese press recalls, the two countries share “close economic relations, with Chinese companies increasingly involved in the extraction of Indonesia’s natural resources, particularly nickel, to which lithium, a crucial mineral for the electric car industry, is now being added.”
As for political and military relations between China and Indonesia, Prabowo’s visit to Beijing has eased tensions between the two countries in the rivalry over control of South China Sea resources. At a press conference on Thursday, November 7, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning expressed hope that “Prabowo’s visit can strengthen mutual political trust” and take bilateral relations “to a new, higher level.”
During his visit to Beijing, the Indonesian president held a series of intensive talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Zhao Leji, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. On Sunday, November 10, Prabowo traveled to Washington, DC, at the invitation of outgoing US President Joe Biden before wrapping up his tour of Peru, Brazil and the United Kingdom.
