RI, China need each other

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.