Jakarta, IO – He conveyed this during a meeting with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in Beijing, China.
In their second meeting, Xi called the Whoosh (Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Railway) a “golden point” of cooperation between China and Indonesia in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a Chinese-funded ambitious infrastructure development project to boost connectivity and trade.
Xi said that after Whoosh, China is willing to expand and strengthen cooperation with Indonesia in new industries such as the digital economy, photovoltaics and new energy vehicles.
“China is also willing to increase imports of Indonesian agricultural and fishery products,” he said, per CNBC Indonesia, Thursday (19/10).
In October, Jokowi inaugurated a US$7.3 billion (Rp108 trillion) bullet train connecting Jakarta and Bandung. The bullet train was recently branded Whoosh, which stands for “time saving, optimal operation and reliable system” in Indonesian. It can travel at a maximum speed of 350 kmph, cutting the travel time between the two cities from three and a half hours to under less than an hour.
Read: Disgraced Governor Of Papua Sentenced To 8 Years In Prison
Xi also expressed his hope that the two sides could work closely together to maintain the centrality of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), promote open regionalism, and demonstrate the responsibility of major developing countries.
In response, Jokowi said that Indonesia considers China an important strategic partner in national economic development and development. He hopes to further strengthen communication and cooperation with China. (rr)