Indonesia confident to build stronger relations with China

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Indonesian Ambassador to China Juwana who took up his post two months ago is confident of building a stronger Indonesia-China ties as reflected in his interview with Harry Bhaskara of The Jakarta Post in Beijing recently.

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As a new Indonesian ambassador in Beijing how do you see our current bilateral relations?

Ever since we restored our ties in 1990 there has been a significant improvement in our relationship and with no obstacles whatsoever.

As a new ambassador I feel there has been a strong desire in both countries to forge stronger ties albeit inside the boundary of "correctness".

What do you mean?

Correctness is my catch-phrase. When I submitted my credentials to Minister of Foreign Affairs Qian Qichen he openly discussed our up and down relationship and he hinted upon taking careful and gradual steps toward forging a stronger relationship, an approach analogous to those dictated from Jakarta.

Is there any immediate agenda?

Improvement of bilateral ties is at the top of our agenda, as a conducive political climate will contribute to stability and peace in Southeast Asia which will be favorable for development in both countries. Secondly, creating an economic tie that can be beneficial to both countries. Another important task is to kick off progress in other spheres using the improved political and economic ties as a basis.

You mentioned economic ties... could you elaborate on this?

Our mission is to increase the volume of trade without jeopardizing our trade balance. I have conveyed this message to both Chinese officials and company managers.

What products are being offered by the Chinese?

They are offering a variety of products, especially medium technology machinery which we really need for our development in our far flung provinces, and they have plenty of them to sell. However, I always remind them that selling these items should always be reciprocated with purchases on their part, lest our trade balance be disturbed. This would have an effect on other sectors including politics and they fully understand it.

What should we do in this respect?

We need to boost counter-trade to prevent a possible trade deficit. Statistically with our trade balance with China there is a surplus in our favor, although it is a declining surplus, whereas most other countries' trade with China have been in deficit. We might follow suit in one or two years if the selling of machinery from China is not reciprocated with more buying of our products.

That's the reason why I always keep in touch with Chinese state companies and semi-government firms which are willing to link their selling of their machinery with buying of our products such as crude oil and plywood. But I am still in the dark as to how the Indonesian government will respond to it. It seems that our government is still working out the quota for each of those compensation commodities.

Although demand for these compensation commodities is high?

The demand is high and in the absence of a direction I have asked Chinese delegations, be it from state companies or semi- government companies, to come over to Jakarta to hold direct negotiations.

If I may come back to politics, why did the Chinese government feel the need to comment on the recent Medan riot?

It was an answer by a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman to a question from a Singapore journalist in a routine weekly briefing. The question implied that the riot was an anti-Chinese one. A foreign news agency which later carried the story had mixed up the question and the answer.

So, there was actually no statement from the Chinese foreign ministry?

Yes, there was no statement. It was an answer from a question in which the spokesman said that based on the good relationship between the two countries the Indonesian government would be able to handle whatever problem comes to the surface.

This episode shows that there are still sensitive issues to be reckoned with in our bilateral ties and the Chinese government is fully aware of this. Hence the importance of correctness in our relationship, the ability to look at an issue in a comprehensive way.

Is there any pertinent issue in the near future?

After the normalization of our relationship the embassy has received 32,000 visa applications from Chinese people to visit Indonesia. I don't know how many Indonesians have applied for Chinese visas but one source said that it was more than 100,000.

Immediately after I presented my credentials, I paid a visit to the Chinese chief justice and attorney general to set up a rapport in anticipation of a problem that might come out of this rapid flow of people.

Coincidentally our attorney general has just made a visit here and plans are afoot to set up a cooperation in the legal matters.

So, this is a kind of preventive action?

That's right. In so doing, we also have to rid ourselves from undue suspicion (toward the Chinese) as better cooperation in legal matters will yield better understanding between the two countries, as the case of Singapore in the late 1970s has proven. At that time it was very difficult to get trade statistics from them, for example. But after a cooperation in the field of law had been established all went on smoothly.

What is the purpose of the visit of the 32,000 Chinese?

Most of them are visits by various delegations and trade purposes. The others are family visit and tourists. However, Indonesia has not been put in the tourist destination list by the Chinese government, although this is now in the process of being negotiated. But as their living standard improves more and more Chinese can afford to travel abroad. Malaysia, for example, receives 20,000 Chinese visitors per month primarily for trade purposes since the country is a close trading partner of China.

We have streamlined our visa application procedure to ensure a smooth process by working closely with our foreign ministry, our immigration department and related institutions. Yesterday I met with operators of 35 travel agencies which are based in Hong Kong and China to discuss about visa application.

Referring to the flow of people between the two countries, what about the former members of the banned Indonesian Communist Party who took refuge here since the 1960s?

So far no one has ever showed up here. Also the issue has never crept up in our bilateral relations. In this case we have to appreciate the correctness of the Chinese government.

Or perhaps they have become Chinese citizens?

That may be. I don't know. Or perhaps they haven't changed their citizenship and become stateless, since the Chinese government also recognize stateless people.

What about visits by Indonesian conglomerates, do they contact the Indonesian embassy while they are here?

We will much appreciate it if Indonesian citizens will contact their embassy while they are abroad. So far only a few of them drop by at the embassy. Actually, China is a large country anyway and those who go to Shanghai, Shenshen or Guangzhou may have not time to come here.

It will be helpful if they contact us or at least inform us where they are because should something happens we will be held responsible.

Besides, I have set up a program to invite visiting Indonesians, be they from the government or private sector, to give a lecture to our embassy staff. If they have something to share for the improvement of our mission, why not?

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