Zhu's visit set to boost China's ties with RI<\/p>\n
Agencies, Beijing<\/p>\n
Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji will bring pledges of financial
\nassistance to Indonesia on a trip there next week due to focus on
\nstrengthening economic ties between the countries, an official
\nsaid Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Zhu will visit Indonesia from Nov. 7 through Nov. 11,
\nimmediately after attending the summit of the Association of
\nSoutheast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Brunei.<\/p>\n
His visit to Indonesia will be the first there by a Chinese
\npremier for 11 years.<\/p>\n
"China-Indonesia relations have achieved great progress," said
\nHong Liang, deputy director of the Chinese foreign ministry's
\nAsian department.<\/p>\n
The replacement of deposed former Indonesian president
\nAbdurrahman Wahid by Megawati Soekarnoputri had not affected
\nties, Hong said.<\/p>\n
Megawati's father, Indonesia's founding president Sukarno,
\n"was very friendly toward China," Hong told a press briefing
\nabout the trip.<\/p>\n
"Megawati herself has always had very good feelings, friendly
\nfeelings for China," he added.<\/p>\n
During the three-days visit Zhu would meet Megawati and other
\nsenior officials in Jakarta before visiting the city of
\nYogyakarta and Bali island, Foreign Ministry officials said.<\/p>\n
During Zhu's visit the two sides will sign several agreements,
\nincluding one on cooperation in tourism, an extension of an
\nagreement last year designating Indonesia as one of the countries
\nto which Chinese citizens can travel freely.<\/p>\n
China has provided financial assistance of US$1 billion to
\nIndonesia through the International Monetary Fund and will
\ncontinue to give assistance through bilateral channels, Hong
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The amount Zhu would pledge on his visit had not been
\nfinalized, he added.<\/p>\n
Zhu's delegation, including the governor of the central
\nPeople's Bank of China, will also try to iron out the technical
\nproblems of reopening Bank of China branches in Indonesia which
\nwere closed after diplomatic relations were suspended in the
\n1960s.<\/p>\n
President Sukarno enjoyed close relations with China during
\nhis rule. But his successor Soeharto cut diplomatic ties with
\nBeijing in 1967, restoring them only in 1990.<\/p>\n
Zhu, in the coming ASEAN, plus China, Japan and South Korea
\nsummit, will discuss ways of dealing with a slowing global
\neconomy as well as security issues, officials said.<\/p>\n
Terrorism would be an important issue in the wake of the Sept.
\n11 attacks on the U.S. but there were no details as yet on any
\ndeclarations that may be signed, senior Foreign Ministry official
\nLuo Zhaohui told reporters.<\/p>\n
"The ASEAN plus three meeting will mainly focus on economic
\ncooperation and the domestic situation of countries," Luo said of
\nnext week's meeting in Brunei with the 10 members of the
\nAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations.<\/p>\n
"China supports the discussion and the inclusion of this topic
\n(terrorism) in the lunchtime discussion," said Luo, referring to
\na lunch meeting scheduled for Nov. 5.<\/p>\n
"The ASEAN countries themselves have not come up with a
\ndecision whether documents or text will be issued at the
\nconference," he said.<\/p>\n
China would also discuss historical issues in the meeting with
\nKorea and Japan, he said, referring to long-standing rifts over
\nJapan's wartime aggression.<\/p>\n
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
\nMyanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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