China, Indonesia move to boost ties

China, Indonesia move to boost ties

Susanto Pudjomartono, The Jakarta Post, Beijing

Indonesia and China moved to bolster bilateral diplomatic ties on
Sunday, signing a number of memorandum of understandings (MOUs)
including on the establishment of a joint Energy Forum and on a
US$6 million grant to Indonesia.

The MOUs were signed after President Megawati Soekarnoputri
held a meeting with her Chinese host President Jiang Zemin. Both
Megawati and Jiang witnessed the signing of the two MOUs.

Megawati arrived in Beijing on Sunday for a five-day state
visit aimed at boosting trade relations between the two
countries. She is accompanied by her husband Taufik Kiemas, a
number of cabinet ministers including Foreign Minister Hassan
Wirayuda, and over 100 Indonesian business executives.

On Sunday evening, Megawati and her entourage attended a state
banquet hosted by Jiang at the Great Hall of the People building.

During the dinner, Jiang surprised the guests by inviting
Megawati to dance with him. Unwilling to be outwitted by Jiang,
Megawati, who was wearing a maroon kebaya, took to the floor and
danced with Jiang for about six minutes.

Accompanied by a band from the People's Liberation Army, Jiang
also sang two Italian songs in Chinese. One of them was How Can I
Don't Miss Her for Megawati, while Megawati sang Bengawan Solo to
the delight of guests attending the banquet.

Megawati's visit to China, her first since assuming the
presidency in July 2001, is focused on promoting trade to pull
Indonesia out of its protracted economic crisis.

On Monday, she is scheduled to meet with Vice President Hu
Jintao, who is widely tipped to be the next Chinese leader, as
well as parliamentary chairman Li Peng and Premier Zhu Rongji.

She will also address an economic seminar and visit Fujian and
Sichuan provinces before going on to North and South Korea.

She was also scheduled to witness the signing of memoranda of
understanding on the construction of a bridge linking Java and
Sumatra, and the construction of a double track railroad between
Cirebon and Kroya in West Java.

China is Indonesia's fifth largest trading partner after the
United States, Japan, Singapore and Malaysia. Indonesia's annual
exports to China amount to $4.4 billion while imports stand at
$3.06 billion. Indonesia imports mainly electronic appliances and
motorcycles, and exports crude oil, palm oil and logs.
Indonesia's non-oil/gas exports to China reached $1.58 billion in
2001, a slight decline from $1.74 billion the previous year.

In late January, Indonesia's state-owned oil company Pertamina
and partner British Petroleum (BP) were shortlisted as potential
suppliers of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Guangdong, China.

Pertamina and BP jointly manage a 18.4 billion cubic feet gas
reserve in the Tangguh gas field in Papua and, according to
Pertamina President Director Baihaki Hakim, Pertamina and BP
could supply 1.5 million metric tons of LNG to China annually if
they won the bid.

Chinese investors have continued to pour in capital into
Indonesia, with their investments reaching $497 million spread
over 138 projects.

As many as 105 Indonesian businessmen are currently in Beijing
accompanying the President during her visit and exploring
business opportunities with their Chinese counterparts.

"We would like to seek out opportunities for exporting
agricultural commodities and information technology to China,"
Indonesian Chamber of Commerce chairman Sharif Sutardjo was
quoted by Antara as saying in Beijing.

Indonesia and China are also expected to sign MOUs on the
opening of Indonesian consulates in Shanghai and Guangzhou as
well as Chinese consulates in Surabaya, East Java and Medan,
North Sumatra.

Indonesia's diplomatic relations with China were severed in
1967 over China's close ties to the Indonesian Communist Party
(PKI).

However, in August 1990 diplomatic ties were normalized, and
were further strengthened by the visit of former President
Abdurrahman Wahid in 1999.

In November 2001, Prime Minister Zhu Rongji paid a courtesy
call on President Megawati after an informal meeting between
Chinese President Jiang Zemin and Megawati on the sidelines of
the APEC meeting in Shanghai in October 2001.