BEIJING - Indonesia’s President-elect Prabowo Subianto met Chinese President Xi Jinping on April 1 to discuss their countries’ growing bilateral economic and strategic ties, in Mr Prabowo’s first overseas trip since he won the presidential election.
At the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Mr Xi told Mr Prabowo that China viewed bilateral ties with a long-term perspective, and Beijing was willing to “deepen all-round strategic cooperation with Indonesia”, reported China Central Television. The visit was the top item in its daily evening news bulletin, Xinwen Lianbo, on April 1.
Mr Xi cited the China-built Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway, which started running in October 2023, as a “golden-lettered signboard” for the high-quality cooperation between both countries.
According to the Chinese report, Mr Prabowo said he is willing to continue current Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s policy of friendship with China, and the new government will push for more cooperation to develop the relationship more comprehensively.
“Regarding defence cooperation, I view China as one of the key partners in ensuring regional peace and stability,” Mr Prabowo was quoted as saying in a statement by Indonesia’s Ministry of Defence.
The ministry added that Mr Xi emphasised Beijing’s readiness to make a positive contribution to maintaining regional and global peace and stability, stressing the importance of cooperation between China and Indonesia in maintaining maritime security in South-east Asia.
China and Indonesia have deepened ties under Mr Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi. But Mr Prabowo’s decision to visit China before his inauguration in October surprised some observers. Mr Widodo did not make any official visits when he was president-elect in 2014, and met Mr Xi only during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ summit in Beijing in November that year.
China had announced Mr Prabowo’s visit on March 29, with a Foreign Ministry spokesman saying that bilateral relations “have sustained a strong momentum of growth” under Mr Xi and Mr Widodo. The spokesman added that this would be Mr Prabowo’s first overseas visit as President-elect, demonstrating the “robustness of China-Indonesia ties”.
Mr Muhammad Habib Abiyan Dzakwan, a researcher with the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Indonesia, noted that Mr Prabowo is officially visiting China in his current capacity as defence minister.
It is likely that this visit had been scheduled before Mr Prabowo’s election victory, Mr Habib told The Straits Times, adding that Mr Prabowo had visited the United States but not China in 2023.
Beijing may have seen it in its interest to describe the trip as Mr Prabowo’s first as President-elect, said Mr Habib. Such framing would also gain Mr Prabowo recognition in this capacity in the eyes of his domestic audience, he added.
A key message Mr Prabowo would have sought to convey is that he is a reliable partner to China and will continue existing cooperation, said Mr Habib. This is despite the fact that he had expressed views in the past that could be perceived as anti-China.
Mr Prabowo, a three-time presidential candidate, had made economic nationalism a political issue in past campaigns. During the 2019 election, he had pledged to review Chinese investments in the country if he won against the incumbent Mr Widodo.
In inviting Mr Prabowo so soon after his polls win, Beijing may be hoping to draw the President-elect to its side, said Associate Professor Yohanes Sulaiman of the Jenderal Achmad Yani University. “My guess is that Prabowo has a reputation of being close to the US, United Kingdom and Australia, and not that friendly towards China. By pushing the visit as soon as possible, Beijing is hoping that it could play on Prabowo’s ego.”
China is Indonesia’s top trading partner, with trade valued at more than US$130 billion (S$176 billion) in 2022 – nearly double that in 2014. China was also Indonesia’s second-largest investor in 2022 with US$8.2 billion, behind only Singapore at US$13.3 billion.
Observers previously said economic priorities would continue to figure strongly in the bilateral relationship, including those with broader strategic considerations, like the supply of critical minerals. Indonesia produced about 40 per cent of the world’s nickel in 2023, and most nickel projects in the country include Chinese firms as partners.
In a nod to geopolitical considerations, Mr Prabowo will head to Japan after visiting China. He is set to meet Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and other officials, including Defence Minister Minoru Kihara, Japanese media reported.
The US, Japan and the Philippines are expected to hold their first trilateral summit in Washington in April, amid heightened tensions between Beijing and Manila over competing claims in the South China Sea in the past year.
- With additional reporting by Linda Yulisman
