Indonesia’s Prabowo meets China’s Xi on first overseas visit since being sworn in

BEIJING/JAKARTA – China is an important friend and partner, said Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto as he met Chinese President Xi Jinping and Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Nov 9, on his first overseas stop since he was

sworn in on Oct 20

.

That Beijing was Mr Prabowo’s first stop was no surprise, observers noted, as he has signalled a keen interest in strengthening relations with China, Indonesia’s largest trading partner and one of its most important foreign investors.

Indonesia’s approach to foreign policy has long been to maintain its autonomy and avoid involvement in power rivalries, and the trip underscores its strategic balancing act between the United States and China, they said.

From China, Mr Prabowo

will fly to the US

at the invitation of US President Joe Biden, with a possible meeting with President-elect Donald Trump on the cards. From there, he will continue to Peru for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, Brazil for the Group of 20 summit, and then the UK.

Mr Prabowo, who

won the presidency in February,

has been working to make the world’s fourth-most populous nation more active on the international stage. While he was president-elect, he visited 21 countries.

The three-day China state visit, which ends on Nov 10, is Mr Prabowo’s second trip to Beijing in 2024, following

a visit in April

.

More than US$10 billion (S$13.3 billion) worth of business contracts between Chinese and Indonesian companies will be signed on Nov 10, Mr Prabowo said during his meeting with Mr Li on Nov 9, live-streamed by the Indonesian Presidential Secretariat’s press bureau.

“I think this shows the close collaboration and increased participation and integration of Chinese corporations with Indonesian corporations to benefit both our countries,” Mr Prabowo said.

Trade between both countries has exceeded US$100 billion annually. China has also been among the top three foreign investors in South-east Asia’s biggest economy for eight consecutive years, with US$7.4 billion invested in 2023.

Among China’s flagship investment projects in Indonesia in the past decade was the US$7.3 billion

Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail, Whoosh,

the first high-speed rail in South-east Asia.

During the meeting with Mr Li, Mr Prabowo expressed Indonesia’s interest in learning from China’s experience in eradicating poverty, noting that his government will step up efforts to eradicate poverty in Indonesia.

Mr Bhima Yudhistira, executive director of Jakarta-based think-tank Centre of Economic and Law Studies, said that by going to Beijing first, Mr Prabowo showed he is keen to continue economic cooperation with China as Indonesia did under his predecessor, Mr Joko Widodo.

“China plays a key role which Mr Prabowo wants to retain, especially as he seeks to realise his ambitious projects on food and energy security,” he said. “China is his first stop as he aims to secure investments from China.”

Assistant Professor Dylan Loh from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, who specialises in Chinese foreign policy, said Mr Prabowo’s visit shows that he sees closer ties with China as helping him to achieve both domestic development goals and the foreign policy aim of raising Jakarta’s profile.

“I think China will very much welcome that, given that Indonesia has traditionally been seen as the ‘leader’ of South-east Asia,” said Prof Loh.

At a regular briefing on Nov 5, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said: “China is ready to work with Indonesia to take this visit as an opportunity to consolidate high-level political mutual trust.”

Earlier on Nov 9, Mr Prabowo also met Mr Zhao Leji, chairman of the National People’s Congress, considered the third-ranking official in the ruling Communist Party of China, and laid a flower tribute at the Monument to the People’s Heroes in Tiananmen Square.

However, his trip comes amid rising tensions in the South China Sea, where Indonesia said it

drove Chinese coast guard vessels from contested waters on three separate occasions in October

.

Professor Shi Yinhong of Renmin University’s School of International Studies dismissed the symbolism of China being Mr Prabowo’s first stop, saying that “after half a year, he probably won’t even remember”.

While Mr Prabowo is trying to find a balance between China and the US, Prof Shi believes he is likely to lean more towards Trump’s America.

“China is dissatisfied with Indonesia’s stance on the South China Sea, and the Biden administration disapproves of the new president’s human rights record,” said Prof Shi. “However, the newly elected US president doesn’t care about human rights issues, so US-Indonesia relations may be closer than China-Indonesia relations in the coming years.”