BEIJING: On his first international trip since winning the presidency, Indonesia’s president-elect Prabowo Subianto visited Beijing on Monday, April 1. Chinese state media said that Subianto told President Xi Jinping that his goal was to maintain the tight connections under his predecessor, Joko Widodo.
China’s CCTV cited Prabowo as saying he “fully supports the development of closer Indonesia-China relations and wishes to continue President Joko’s policy of friendship with China”.
According to him, the new Indonesian administration would work to bring the two nations’ development goals closer together. It will demand more significant progress in areas like trade, the economy, and reducing poverty.
Xi called Prabowo a “old friend of the Chinese people” and stated that China is prepared to expand strategic cooperation. China sees its relations with Indonesia as strategic and long-term.
72-year-old Prabowo won’t take office until October despite being elected in February. He was a longtime competitor of the departing leader, also known as Jokowi. Still, it is now generally accepted that he had the backing of his predecessor and won handily, using Jokowi’s son as his vice presidential running mate.
It remains to be seen how Prabowo, now Indonesia’s defense minister, will navigate issues, including the jostling for influence between China and the United States in Southeast Asia.
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