In challenging times, SE Asia steps forward

China's role

Analysts and business leaders have likewise stressed China's significant role in leading a sustainable recovery. They highlighted the importance of speeches delivered by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 Summit and APEC meetings of business leaders and economic leaders where he stressed the value of cooperation and a more inclusive and resilient global development toward a community with a shared future.

"China has been the consequential party to make the G20 Indonesia successful," Kamdani said.

Kamdani said that China is one of the world's biggest economies, and its influence goes without question, "even more so today with the world in the process of recovery".

She said that at the B20 Summit Indonesia, Chinese business leaders contributed to discussions on how to advance innovative, inclusive and collaborative growth.

These discussions ended with a concrete commitment — the launch of a $2 billion fund for electric vehicles, or EVs. The fund brings together the Indonesia Investment Authority with Chinese battery maker CATL and financial services company CMB International. It will invest in the EV value chain. The investment authority said the EV fund is in line with Indonesia's aim to achieve net zero carbon emissions by accelerating the country's green transition.

"China's commitment to supporting Indonesia's leadership has brought to us a strategic advantage to engage all major powers," Kamdani said.

She welcomed China's presence at the G20 and cited the importance of the meeting between Xi and US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the Leaders' Summit. It was the two leaders' first in-person talks since 2017 when Biden was vice-president.

Xi and Biden met for about three hours in Bali on Nov 14. Xi said China and the United States need to put the relationship on the right course, and bring it back to the track of healthy and stable growth to the benefit of the two countries and the world as a whole.

Michael Vatikiotis, senior adviser at the Geneva-based Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, said the meeting between the two leaders was "extremely important". The meeting was "probably the main outcome of the G20 Summit, in a sense that everyone was hoping for them to meet and address issues of concern", Vatikiotis said in an earlier interview with China Daily. "The main achievement is they agreed to engage on different issues at the senior official level."

But China's key role in the three meetings goes beyond the Xi-Biden talks. Thong Mengdavid said that for ASEAN, China is a reliable trade partner that adheres to rule-based international laws and principles of multilateralism.

He said Xi "opposes any protectionism and unilateralism" and supports strong partnerships, as well as open and inclusive development under win-win cooperation with other APEC and G20 members and the rest of the world.