Megawati leaves for China
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 Ziang 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 President Ziang at the Great Hall of the People building.
During the dinner, President Ziang surprised the guests by inviting Megawati to dance with him. Unwilling to be outwitted by Ziang, Megawati, who was wearing a maroon kebaya, took to the floor and danced with Ziang for about six minutes.
Accompanied by a band from the People's Liberation Army, Ziang also sang two Chinese songs and one Italian 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 Ziang Zemin and Megawati on the sidelines of the APEC meeting in Shanghai in October 2001.