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Indonesian Vice-President on Sino-Indonesian Ties
Indonesian Vice-President Megawati Soekarnoputry said in Jakarya Sunday that the relationship between Indonesia and China is important and hoped the ties will be better and better in the future.
In an exclusive interview with Xinhua, she stressed that the ongoing official visit of Chinese Vice-President Hu Jintao to Indonesia is an important step to make the Sino-Indonesian ties much stronger.
Chinese Vice-President Hu Jintao arrived in Indonesia on Saturday afternoon for a four-day official visit to Indonesia, the third leg of his current five-nation tour, at the invitation of Indonesian Vice-President Megawati Soekarnoputri.
Megawati said, "Of course, I am very happy with the visit of Chinese Vice-President Hu Jintao to Indonesia. This is the first visit of the Chinese leader after the formation of the new government of Indonesia. This, I hope will make the relationship between the two countries much better and will be beneficial to the development of China-Indonesia relationship."
Megawati also said that there are actually no significant barriers in enhancing the ties between Indonesia and China.
"So far, our relations with China have a strong foundation. And since 1955, when the Asia-Africa Conference took place, the relations between the two countries have been well. Maybe we have some differences, but I am optimistic, that is not a significant thing. And we will be able to deal with that. I don't see there are major obstacles which may hamper the relations between Indonesia and China," she said.
There are cultural similarities between Chinese and Indonesians, she added.
She also said that Indonesia and China play a significant role in maintaining political stability in the region.
"I also hope that China will give its support to Indonesia in a bid to maintain the territorial integrity from disintegration threats," she added.
In connection with Taiwan issue, Megawati insisted that Indonesia will stick to its "One China Policy". She viewed Taiwan as a domestic affair of the Chinese government. "For me that is the Chinese government affair. We will be consistent with 'One China Policy'. But we hope that this problem can be settled peacefully," Megawati added.
In tourism sector, Megawati said that the Indonesian government will hammer out a plan to attract Chinese tourists to come to Indonesia.
"We admit that we still have a little problem in that point. The number of Chinese tourists visiting Indonesia is still lower compared with the number of Chinese tourists visiting Malaysia or Thailand. But in a bid to attract more Chinese tourists, I hope that the Chinese government will declare Indonesia as a tourist destination for its people," she said.
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