Chinese issue is RI 'internal affair'

JAKARTA (JP): China considers the issues raised by the presence and activities of ethnic-Chinese Indonesians a domestic matter and will not interfere in it, visiting Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan said at a media briefing yesterday.

"The problems relating to the ethnic Chinese are Indonesia's internal affair," Tang replied when asked about the anti-Chinese riots which flared in several cities earlier this year as the effects of the economic crisis began to hit hard.

"The economy of the ethnic Chinese here is a component of Indonesia's overall economy," Tang said after a 45-minute meeting with President Soeharto at the Bina Graha presidential office.

"As a foreign minister, I personally hope that Indonesia will stabilize the economic situation peacefully and in harmony with all ethnic groups in the country," Tang said, without elaboration.

But he said the matter was not discussed in his talks with either Soeharto or Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas.

During his meeting with the President, Tang delivered a personal message from Chinese President Jiang Zemin, expressing his solidarity and support for the Indonesian people during their time of crisis.

In return Soeharto praised China's decision not to devalue its currency (the yuan), thereby not disrupting exports from other Asian countries hit by the crisis.

Any devaluation of the yuan would have made Chinese exports more competitive on the world market. Soeharto said China had made a great effort to escape the region's worst economic crisis in 30 years.

He noted that China, as a member of the Asian family, considered maintaining the current yuan exchange rate as a helpful element in ensuring financial stability in Asia by stimulating its agriculture, highway, railway and housing industries while slowing down its exports.

Citing a pledge made by Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji during a meeting with Indonesian Vice President B.J. Habibie in London earlier this month, Tang said China was "ready to provide as much food and grain as Indonesia wants (to import)".

Alatas said that Beijing had offered medical and food aid worth US$3 million in addition to export credit facilities worth $200 million over two years.

Beijing is also willing to barter sugar, medicine and maize in exchange for Indonesian oil, rubber and timber, explained Tang, who left Jakarta, after a three-day working visit, for Singapore yesterday afternoon.

This is Tang's first overseas trip since being appointed foreign minister last month. (ego)