Beijing and Jakarta uphold true multilateralism for region's good

Vice-President Han Zheng's presence at Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto's inauguration in Jakarta, capital of Indonesia, on Sunday, and his visit to the country from Saturday to Monday are expected to further boost China-Indonesia relations at a time of changing regional and global dynamics.

The past 10 years have seen high-level development in China-Indonesia relations, with the heads of the two countries jointly leading the upgrading of bilateral ties to build a community with a shared future. When China and Indonesia mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties next year, it will create new opportunities to advance bilateral cooperation on the basis of mutual benefits and win-win outcomes.

In recent years, China has been advancing cooperation with countries around the world under the Belt and Road Initiative, in which Indonesia is an important participant. As a landmark project under the initiative, the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway, which became operational in October last year, has demonstrated the far-reaching significance of China-Indonesia cooperation at multiple levels.

While greatly shortening the travel time between Jakarta and Bandung, reducing logistics costs and promoting economic development in areas along the route, the high-speed railway has also injected new vitality into Indonesia's overall economy.

The fruits of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway show the huge potential of China-Indonesia cooperation, and its steady progress in the future will inject new impetus into the continuous development of relations, apart from creating new opportunities for closer regional connectivity in Southeast Asia, while further enhancing economic integration within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

China always attaches importance to the development of ties with Indonesia as a key member of ASEAN, and the two countries established a dialogue mechanism for foreign and defense ministers in 2023. This is China's first "2 plus 2" ministerial dialogue mechanism with a foreign country, showing that the development of comprehensive strategic cooperative relations between China and Indonesia has reached a new level.

A good relationship between China and Indonesia is also necessary for the stability, development and solidarity of Southeast Asia and the vast developing community. As two major emerging economies and important members of the Global South, China and Indonesia should pursue strategic autonomy in the international arena and uphold multilateralism, which is also a foundation for the further advancement of bilateral relations. At the same time, the two countries should avoid interfering in and sabotaging bilateral ties by any third-party force with ulterior motives.