Chinese premier arrives in Indonesia for official visit

JAKARTA - Chinese Premier Li Keqiang arrived in Jakarta Sunday for an official visit to Indonesia, the first stop on his first overseas trip since the new cabinet took office in March.

Li's visit comes as this year marks the 5th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Indonesia comprehensive strategic partnership and the 15th anniversary of the strategic partnership between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Li was welcomed by Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan and other senior officials at the airport.

Since Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to Indonesia in 2013, the two countries have been promoting the synergy of their development strategies, yielding fruitful results in their cooperation in various fields, Li said upon his arrival in Jakarta.

Li will hold talks with Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla, and attend a China-Indonesia business summit. The schedule also includes witnessing the signing of cooperation documents.

The Chinese premier will visit the ASEAN Secretariat to underscore China's commitment to its relations with the 10-member community, meet with ASEAN Secretary General Lim Jock Hoi, and attend celebration activities of the anniversary.

China has been Indonesia's largest trading partner for seven years in a row. In 2017, two-way trade reached 63.3 billion US dollars, up 18 percent year-on-year. Good results have been achieved in building the China-Indonesia industrial parks and steady progress is being made in the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway, Li said in a signed article published by the Jakarta Post on Saturday.

China is also Indonesia's largest source of foreign tourists and second-largest host of Indonesian students, the article noted.

After the trip to Indonesia, Li will leave for Japan on Tuesday to attend the 7th China-Japan-ROK leaders' meeting and pay an official visit to Japan.