China, Indonesia pledge closer economic cooperation

PHNOM PENH - Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono here on Sunday and pledged to boost economic cooperation with Indonesia to push bilateral ties to higher levels.

Both leaders spoke highly of the bilateral ties, according to Qin Gang, spokesman for the Chinese delegation to a series of meetings for East Asian leaders in Phnom Penh.

The meetings will include the 15th summit between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as well as the 15th summit between ASEAN, China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the 7th East Asia Summit.

Wen arrived here Sunday afternoon to attend the meetings and pay an official visit to Cambodia.

"(The bilateral) relations (between China and Indonesia) are based on mutual trust and mutual respect," Qin quoted Wen as saying at a press briefing on the bilateral meeting.

Wen highlighted frequent high-level interactions, important mechanisms of dialogue, fruitful achievements in cooperation in economy and culture, and close collaboration in major regional and global issues between the two nations in recent years.

During the meeting, Wen said China would like to make joint efforts with Indonesia to forge closer trade and economic ties, including formulating a plan of cooperation for the next five years and increasing two-way investment between the two nations.

China will continue to encourage Chinese enterprises to invest in Indonesia so that the two sides can achieve more balanced growth of trade, Wen said.

For his part, President Yudhoyono congratulated the Chinese side on the successful conclusion of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, adding that the Indonesian government looks forward to working closely with Chinese leaders to strengthen the bilateral relations.

The two leaders also exchanged views on the forthcoming East Asia meetings.

They agreed that all the participants should bear in mind the overall and long-term situation, seek unity and cooperation to appropriately address disputes and make concerted efforts to promote peace, stability and prosperity in the region, according to spokesman Qin.