On 18 May 2016, H.E. Mme. Yang Xiuping, Secretary-General of the ASEAN-China Centre (ACC) attended China (Hebei)-Indonesia Investment and Business Forum. Secretary-General Yang Xiuping and H.E. Mr. Soegeng Rahardjo, Ambassador of Indonesia to China, Mr. Zhang Jiehui, Deputy Governor of Hebei Province, and Mr. Liu Haiquan, Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Commerce of China, delivered speeches.
Secretary-General Yang remarked that 2016 marked the 25th anniversary of ASEAN-China dialogue relations and the Year of ASEAN-China Educational Exchange. Over the 25 years, ASEAN-China political mutual trust had been deepened and functional cooperation had been promoted, which made important contributions to the social-economic development of the region and laid down the foot-stone for the regional peace, stability and prosperity. ASEAN-China relations had become the most active and robust one among the relations between ASEAN and its dialogue partners. Indonesia had the biggest population, area and economy among the ASEAN Member States. China and Indonesia were both large developing countries in Asia and members of G20. In recent years, the exchange of high level visits had been frequent, which had yielded fruitful results. Local governments and enterprises of both Indonesia and China should seize the opportunities, give full play to their respective advantages, enhance business matching, and therefore contribute to the building of the 21st century maritime Silk Road and a win-win result.
Ambassador Soegeng Rahardjo said, as a big developing economy in Asia, Indonesia attached great importance to its economic relations with China. The Investment Coordinating Board of Indonesia had set up a “China Desk” to serve the needs of Chinese investors. In the future, Indonesia would focus on infrastructure construction. The interested Chinese entrepreneurs were welcome to invest in Indonesia.
Deputy Governor Zhang Jiehui introduced the basic information of Heibei Province and its developing strategy. He said that Hebei had seven major industries and a complete industrial system. In recent years, Hebei became more open in trade relations with foreign countries. The forum today set up a good platform for strengthening the cooperation between Hebei and Indonesia. He hoped both sides could make joint efforts to boost bilateral trade and broaden cooperation areas for more achievements.
Assistant Minister Liu Haiquan said that China-Indonesia cooperation had a very good foundation. China’s “Belt and Road” Initiative and Indonesia’s “Global Maritime Nexus” Strategy highly accorded with each other. Both sides should strive for active business matching, and lay a solid foundation for functional cooperation. Hebei was a dynamic province in China. The Ministry of Commerce fully supported Hebei’s cooperation with Indonesia.
Mr. Tamba P. Hutapea, Deputy Chairman of Investment Coordinating Board of Indonesia, briefed the audience on Indonesia’s recent economic development and investment policies. He said that since President Djoko took office, Indonesia focused on infrastructure construction by means of PPP. It was planned that more emphasis would be laid on the construction of highways, electricity, reservoirs, etc. Indonesia and China were each other’s important trade partner. Indonesia highly valued its trade relations with China. From 2010 to 2015, China’s realized investment in Indonesia reached 2.2 billion USD, focusing on energy, electricity, machinery, food crops and plantation. By the end of 2016, an “Indonesia Investment Promotion Centre” would be set up in Beijing as an information platform for Chinese entrepreneurs to invest in Indonesia. Mr. Tamba also answered questions from the audience.
About 200 participants from China and Indonesia’s enterprises, associations, academics and media attended the Forum.