JAKARTA, April 19 – Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday in Jakarta in an effort to strengthen ties with China ahead of the handover to his successor in October.
During the meeting, Wang Yi stated that China firmly supports Indonesia in playing its role as a major country so as to strengthen coordination and cooperation between the two sides.
He said China and Indonesia should work together and resist all kinds of acts that create division and confrontation in the region.
Indonesian foreign minister Retno Marsudi who briefed the media on the meeting said that Jokowi requested China’s cooperation in range of areas, including developing the country’s new capital, Nusantara, especially its transportation system, and for investment in the petrochemical sector in North Kalimantan.
On the flagship high-speed railway project connecting Jakarta and Bandung, Jokowi raised the need to accelerate feasibility studies to extend the route to Surabaya, the country’s second-largest city, in East Java.
