Chinese trade mission expected to boost ties

Chinese trade mission expected to boost ties

JAKARTA (JP): A delegation of businesspeople from China will
arrive in Indonesia in the first quarter of next year to promote
trade and investment, according to the Indonesia-China Economic,
Social and Cultural Cooperation Association.

The association's chairman Sukamdani S. Gitosardjono said on
Wednesday the planned visit was a follow-up to President
Abdurrahman Wahid's trip to China last month.

Sukamdani said business delegations from the two countries
would sound out cooperation opportunities in agriculture and
state-owned firms' management, as well as cooperatives and small
and medium-scale businesses.

Potential industrial sectors to be offered for Chinese
investment would be textile, fertilizer, plywood, steel, rubber,
pulp and oil, among others.

Sukamdani said Indonesian businesspeople should not only see
China as a competitor in the international market, but also as a
potentially major trading partner.

He said the value of trade between Indonesia and China had
been increasing since Indonesia officially reopened diplomatic
ties with China in 1990.

He said the value of trade between the two countries rose from
$3.23 billion in 1995 to $3.65 billion in 1996 and reached $3.74
billion in 1997, but dropped to $2.7 billion in 1998 due to the
economic crisis.

This year, trade between the two countries would still be
laggard, with trade value reaching only $1.6 billion as of last
May, but it should recover next year.

Sukamdani predicted two-way trade would recover to about $3.7
billion next year.

Nevertheless, and most importantly, Indonesia always enjoyed a
surplus in its trade with China between 1994 and 1998.

Bilateral trade between Indonesia and China, however, has been
hampered by restrictive policies applied by the Indonesian
government on various matters, from visa applications to Chinese
language education.

"We demand the government lift the existing regulations which
ban the use and study of Chinese. Understanding Chinese will
certainly help our industry in using and maintaining imported
machines from China," he said.

As of the end of this year, China's investment in Indonesia
totaled $229.7 million with 58 approved projects.

According to official data, as of the end August the value of
Indonesia's investment in China reached around $300 million. But
unofficial reports claim Indonesian businesspeople have invested
more than $1 billion in China. (cst)