Indonesia says China has pledged $21B in new funding to strengthen ties

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Visiting Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Friday pledged $21.7 billion in new Chinese funding in Indonesia to strengthen the international locations’ financial and political ties, an official mentioned.

Li arrived in Jakarta on Tuesday to attend the three-day summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and meet with Indonesian leaders.

President Joko Widodo hosted Li on the colonial-style Merdeka palace in Jakarta on Friday and mentioned methods to broaden commerce and funding. He sought China‘s assist in plans to maneuver Indonesia‘s capital from congested and polluted Jakarta on the primary island of Java to Nusantara on Borneo island.

After the assembly, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi introduced the brand new Chinese funding pledge, which follows a earlier $44.89 billion funding dedication made when Widodo met Chinese President Xi Jinping in July. Details of the brand new funding weren’t introduced.

Marsudi mentioned Widodo requested China, Indonesia‘s largest commerce and funding accomplice, to “realize these commitments immediately” and urged it to discover funding in different sectors, corresponding to maritime and fisheries.

The two leaders additionally oversaw the signing of six agreements on e-commerce, assist for enterprises, industrial cooperation, agriculture, fisheries and science and expertise, Marsudi mentioned.

On Wednesday, Li took a take a look at journey on Indonesia‘s new $7.3 billion high-speed rail line, which was funded largely with Chinese loans. It connects Jakarta and Bandung, the heavily populated capital of West Java province, and is part of China’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.

Commercial service on Southeast Asia’s first high-speed railway is to start on Oct. 1 and can minimize journey time between the cities from the present three hours to about 40 minutes.

Indonesia needs a bigger position in supplying nickel and different uncooked supplies for China’s fast-growing electrical automobile makers. Nickel smelting crops in Indonesia are a part of China’s Belt and Road transnational improvement program.

Indonesia and China are each members of the Group of 20 main developed and rising economies. The two leaders have been to depart Jakarta on Friday afternoon for New Delhi to attend the G20 summit.

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