Govt asked to make trade with China easier

JAKARTA (JP): The Association of Indonesian-Chinese Economic, Social and Cultural Cooperation asked the Indonesian government on Monday to remove the cultural and political barriers hindering bilateral trade relations with China.

The association's chairman, Sukamdani, said the Indonesian government should change its traditional stance of opposing the use of Chinese languages by Indonesians of Chinese origin, for the sake of better trade between the two countries.

"I have talked to the related government officials and advised them to take concrete measures to allow a freer use of Chinese languages in Indonesia. And I have had a positive response from the government," Sukamdani told reporters during the gathering with delegates from the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) at the Sahid Jaya hotel.

CCPIT's 12 delegates, consisting of government officials and business people from China, are here from last Friday until Tuesday to promote trade ties. The group is led by CCPIT vice chairman An Chengxin.

Sukamdani said the government policy which bans the use of the Chinese language is hampering the development of Indonesia's trade with China.

The government, through a circular letter issued by the information ministry's Directorate General of Press and Graphics, in 1988 banned publications and advertisements using Chinese characters.

Sukamdani gave two reasons for the importance of Indonesian trade with China: China is a strong country with economic growth of 7.8 percent in 1998, and China can provide cheap technology for the development of Indonesia's agricultural industry.

Sukamdani, however, said the Indonesian government has made good progress in removing some of the political constraints.

"Now the Indonesian Embassy in China can issue visas to people who want to travel to Indonesia for business, vacation or cultural purposes without having to process it for three months," Sukamdani said.

He said the tedious procedure involved in getting a visa to Indonesia was due to the unnecessary checking and screening of applicants, and that this discouraged business travel from China to Indonesia.

Trade volume between Indonesia and China reached US$4.7 billion in 1997 and $3.6 billion in 1998, despite the economic crisis. (02)