JAKARTA, March 6 -- The cooperation between Indonesia and China would be beneficial not only to the two countries but also to whole region, according to Sugeng Rahardjo, the new Indonesian ambassador to China.

During a recent interview here with Xinhua before taking his post in China, Ambassador Sugeng said that since China and Indonesia are the two largest economies in Asia, their comprehensive cooperation would certainly hasten the realization of what economists dubbed as the "Asian Century."

Sugeng, the former Inspector General in the Indonesian Foreign Ministry, has served as Indonesian ambassador to South Africa in 2005-2009. He was named ambassador to China and Mongolia last December, replacing Ambassador Imron Cotan. He left for China at the end of last month.

The 60-year-old veteran diplomat said he will boost Indonesia- China cooperation in many sectors not only in the bilateral level but also in the regional and global levels.

"One of the areas that need to be highlighted in the growing Indonesia-China cooperation is connectivity," Sugeng said.

The Ambassador noted that Indonesia-China cooperation in infrastructure development will contribute towards greater connectivity between ASEAN and China, and in a larger scale, these efforts would enhance connectivity within the Asia Pacific region.

The visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping and the agreement to establish a comprehensive strategic partnership last year serve as the foundation of a stronger Indonesia-China cooperation, the ambassador said.

To further promote the Indonesia-China cooperation, the new ambassador said that he will work for the expansion of the bilateral trade between Jakarta and Beijing to 100 billion U.S. dollars during his tenure until 2017 from the 66 billion dollars in 2012.

Besides, Sugeng said, he will make efforts to attract more Chinese investors to Indonesia and further boost the two countries ' tourism cooperation.

"I hope to develop Indonesian study centers in some of the bigger cities in China as an effort to boost the exchange of the two countries' culture, tradition and way of life," Sugeng said.

Sugeng said that Indonesia-China relations are solid, mutually beneficial, and continuously growing.

"Since the normalization of bilateral diplomatic relation in 1990, the ties between the Indonesian and Chinese people have become stronger," the ambassador added.

Indonesia will hold a general parliamentary and presidential election in 2014 and produce a new parliament and government, but that will not influence the current bilateral relations with China, Sugeng said.

Sugeng said the ties between Indonesia and China are not based on a single event but on shared agenda for regional growth and stability. He said that as a comprehensive strategic partner, China's importance to Indonesia goes beyond the country's domestic politics.

"Governments and leaders may change, but Indonesia's interest in building a strong cooperation with China will not change," the ambassador stressed.