RI, China need each other
Primastuti Handayani, Jakarta
Red-and-white flags were seen side by side with Chinese flags along Beijing's main road, including in front of the Tiananmen Square and the Renmin Dahuitang (the Great Hall of the People), indicating the arrival of Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to the world's emerging economic superpower, China.
A warm welcome by President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao showed that China was serious in improving diplomatic ties between the countries. Jakarta-Beijing ties were restored on Aug. 8, 1990, after being frozen by former President Soeharto due to China's involvement in an alleged coup attempt by the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) in 1965.
Susilo's visit -- rescheduled from July 13 due to the fuel crisis at home -- was a response to Hu's attendance at the Asian- African Summit in Jakarta in April.
Coming to Beijing with a 100-strong entourage, Susilo offered the country's vast energy resources -- with estimated reserves of nine billion barrels of oil, 188 trillion standard cubic feet (tscf) of gas and 19.3 billion tons of coal -- and infrastructure projects for Chinese businesses, as well as increasing two-way trade.
The signing of deals worth a total of US$9 billion -- $7 billion in the energy, transportation, technology and education sectors and an additional $2 billion in commitments from Chinese businesses for the energy and infrastructure sectors -- reflected how both sides have worked to follow up April's Strategic Partnership Agreement signed by the leaders.
China's assertion that its investments do not need an Indonesian government letter of guarantee reflected that country's trust toward Indonesia, despite ongoing problems with corruption, weak law enforcement and red tape. Those problems represent Susilo's homework, which he has promised will be resolved soon in a bid to create a more conducive investment climate.
Tradewise, both Indonesia and China aim at increasing trade, which last year stood at $9 billion, to $30 billion annually by 2010.
China needs Indonesia not only to supply its energy-hungry industries with oil, gas and coal, but Indonesia's 220 million population represents a huge market for Chinese products, which are known for their cheap prices.
Susilo also wants to learn from China, which has managed to maintain its economic growth at 8 percent to 9 percent annually. Its trade volume was $850 billion in 2003, and within the last three decades it reduced the number of people living under the poverty line -- those having a daily income of less than $1 -- from 80 percent to 15 percent.
In international relationships, Indonesia plays a pivotal role in China's international policy regarding Sino-Japan tensions, following their rows on United Nations reform and disputes over the history of Japanese occupation in China.
Japan, as part of the Group of Four (G-4) in addition to Brazil, Germany and India, has been seeking a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. China, a Security Council permanent member, opposes the idea.
With its free and active foreign policy, Indonesia has conveyed its disappointment over the increasingly heated debate on UN reform, which has deviated from the original purpose of cleaning up the body from corruption, improving its cumbersome bureaucracy and resolving its outstanding problems.
As the largest country in the Southeast Asian region as well as having the largest population of Muslims in the world, Indonesia has become a key nation for the world's superpowers to strengthen their influence in the region.
Susilo's decision to visit China, two months after his overseas trip to the United States and Japan, showed how he tries to politically befriend the superpowers as well to obtain economic advantage from such relationships.
All in all, despite all the political disputes, Susilo should focus on the purpose of his overseas visit, that is, to lure more foreign direct investment to boost the country's economic growth, which eventually will create jobs and improve the people's economic welfare.
The author is a staff writer for The Jakarta Post.