Xi sends greetings as Prabowo takes office

Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message to Prabowo Subianto on Sunday on his assuming the presidency of Indonesia, pledging to work with the new president to promote bilateral ties.

Xi said in his message that China and Indonesia are traditionally friendly neighbors, and the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries has been growing steadily, entering a new era of building a community with a shared future.

Noting next year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Indonesia, he said the anniversary will provide a new opportunity for both countries to advance bilateral cooperation.

Xi expressed his willingness to maintain close strategic communication with Prabowo to guide the building of a China-Indonesia community with a shared future to a higher level, and write a new chapter of seeking strength through unity, promoting solidarity and coordination, and achieving mutual benefit and win-win results between the two major developing countries.

China's Vice-President Han Zheng, as the special representative of President Xi, attended the inauguration of Prabowo in Jakarta on Sunday.

On Saturday, Han met with the outgoing Indonesian president Joko Widodo in Jakarta, with both sides speaking highly of the development of bilateral relations in recent years.

Over the past decades, under the guidance of the two heads of state, the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Indonesia has been developing with sound momentum and bilateral cooperation has achieved fruitful results. The Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway is a landmark cooperation project between the two countries and a symbol of their friendship.

Prabowo has vowed to reduce poverty and attain food security as he starts his five-year term as the leader of Southeast Asia's biggest economy.

Prabowo and his running mate, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, were sworn in on Sunday at the Parliament building in Jakarta.

Prabowo, a former defense minister, replaced Widodo, who concluded his second five-year term. Gibran is Widodo's eldest son.

The challenges Indonesia is facing include food and energy insecurity, Prabowo said, and his administration is committed to attaining food resilience by four to five years, and will continue to extend subsidies to the underprivileged.

He said many Indonesians live below the poverty line and that "many of our children go to school without having breakfast".

One of Prabowo's campaign promises is to provide free lunch to all primary and secondary school students. This program is estimated to cost more than 1 trillion rupiah($65 million).

Apart from poverty alleviation, Prabowo will lay the groundwork, especially in infrastructure, for building regional connectivity and consequently for eliminating regional disparities as expressed in his election campaign.

Shinta Widjaja Kamdani, deputy chairwoman of international relations at the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the business community "needs consistency in the maintaining of development continuity", alluding to the downstreaming policy initiated by Widodo.

The downstreaming policy has led to the banning of nickel ore and bauxite exports so that Indonesia can develop the processing industry and export more value-added products.

Josua Pardede, chief economist at PermataBank in Jakarta, said China plays a key role in Indonesia's aim to develop the downstreaming industry.

"The new administration will likely encourage more investment from China to sustain growth in the mining, energy and infrastructure sectors," Pardede said.

The Ministry of Finance will need to increase the state revenue while ensuring the tax increases do not burden the economy, especially the middle class who are vulnerable to the rising costs of living, Pardede added.

Sawidji Widoatmodjo, dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business at Tarumanagara University in Jakarta, said the new government would find it easier to deal with economic challenges as the country has a consumption-driven economy.

He added that Indonesia has to work harder to tap the huge Chinese market.

Fahmy Radhi, a senior economist at Gadjah Mada University in Indonesia, said Prabowo would need to fulfill his commitment to bring in more Chinese investments. He said Indonesia needs stronger technology transfer from China to develop the downstreaming industry.

Leonardus Jegho is a freelance journalist for China Daily.

Contact the writers at caodesheng@chinadaily.com.cn