Bilateral cooperation and challenges that lie ahead

This year marks the completion of a decade following Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to the Indonesian Parliament on Oct 3, 2013.

It was then that the Chinese leader proposed the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, one of two integral parts of the Belt and Road Initiative, in his address. He also mentioned the historical relationship between China and the archipelago.

During his speech, he emphasized that the Asian-African Conference of 1955 in Bandung remains the fundamental cornerstone for international collaboration. Now, although Indonesia, China and other Asian-African nations have begun similar development journeys, it is apparent that the outcomes have diverged. China is experiencing rapid growth, but Indonesia and other Asian-African nations have not achieved a comparable level of development as China.

In June, Insider Monkey's research revealed the ranking of the world's largest economies. China became a world economic power with a GDP of18.1 trillion. The United States is in the first position with a GDP of25.4 trillion. Following China, Japan, Germany, and India have significantly lower GDP figures, ranging from approximately4.2 trillion to3.4 trillion.

China is a successful nation among Asian-African members. Therefore, China is obligated to "pull the carriage" of other nations so that the nations can build together based on the Ten Principles of Bandung, namely "advance common interests and cooperation".

President Xi described the Belt and Road Initiative as a huge undertaking to build infrastructure and connect China with Asia, Africa, and even Europe.

Since its launch, the BRI has brought numerous benefits to various nations, including Indonesia. In order to accelerate infrastructure and connectivity development, the BRI creates new opportunities for trade and investment.

However, there are a number of concerns that must be addressed such as the lack of transparency and the environmental impact of each infrastructure initiative. Additionally, some nations have difficulty repaying debts for infrastructure projects. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic also impacted BRI project implementation.

Since the BRI's launch, Indonesia's cooperation with China has experienced significant development, including infrastructure, trade, investment, tourism and maritime cooperation. However, Indonesia is also hindered by land acquisition, coordination between the central and regional administrations, local regulations that impede investment, and other issues.

Indonesia is exerting great effort to improve regulations by drafting the Job Creation Law. The public believes that the Law, while creating opportunities for foreign investment, particularly from China, should also benefit workers, laborers or society. Therefore, it is necessary to address the constraints on public suspicion of Chinese investment.

The potential and opportunities for cooperation between Indonesia and China depend on each other's policies and strategies. In order to accomplish a mutually beneficial relationship in the future, it is essential for both nations to maintain dialogue and cooperation and to overcome potential differences and obstacles.

There are several new opportunities that can be developed in the relations. At the 2022 G20 summit, the two leaders witnessed the signing of a collaboration consisting of a Joint Promotion Cooperation Plan within the World Maritime Axis Framework and the BRI, Memorandum of Understanding on Joint Development of the Indonesia-China Centre for Conservation/Research& Medicinal Plant Innovation, Memorandum of Understanding on Vocational Training in the Industrial Sector, Memorandum of Understanding on Increasing Digital Economy Cooperation, and Agreement on Further Expansion and Deepening of Bilateral Economic and Trade Cooperation.

At the end of July, President Joko Widodo also visited China. The visit marked a significant development in the progress of cooperation between the two nations.

The views don't necessarily represent those of China Daily.

The author is the speaker of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia (2009-14).