Indonesia Wants to Strengthen its Ties With ChinaThe government of Indonesia considers China as an important partner in its diplomatic relations and wants to make the ties between them stronger and stronger from time to time, a senior official said in Jakarta May 5.In a interview Indonesian Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab said, "Our relations with China are good and many things can be done (to enhance the relations) with China." Shihab revealed his plan to pay an official visit to China on Sunday. "Yes, I am going to pay a visit to China on Sunday especially to sign a memorandum of understanding on the establishment of the Joint Commission on Economy with the Chinese government and all at once (we are going) to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Indonesia and China," Shihab said. "(With my forthcoming visit to China) We also truly want to show that China is our good partner and we carry on to enhance our good relations especially in trade sectors, as our political ( relations) have no problem," Shihab added. The minister also reaffirmed Indonesia's 'One China" policy, saying that there is no need at all to doubt on Indonesia's 'One China Policy' which is strongly held by the Indonesian government, Shihab added. "That is clear (on One China Policy)," Shihab said. He also said there is a good progress in the Sino-Indonesia relationship, adding that the government of Indonesia has decided to simplify its administrative procedures in providing visa permits to the Chinese in order to attract more and more Chinese tourists to visit Indonesia without any obstacle. "We even hope that in due course, there will be direct flights from China to Singapore and (and from China) to Indonesia's Batam Island (the country's tourist destination island). We will discuss that points (during my visit) in a bid to promote the flow of (Chinese) tourists to Indonesia," Shihab said, citing that China with its huge population is a very potential market for tourism in Indonesia. |
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