Li heading to Indonesia for key leaders' meetings

Premier Li Qiang will attend the 26th China-ASEAN (10+1) leaders' meeting, the 26th ASEAN-China, Japan and Republic of Korea (10+3) leaders' meeting and the 18th East Asia Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia from Tuesday to Friday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Friday.

Wang said that Li was invited by President Joko Widodo of Indonesia, which holds the rotating presidency of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The premier will also pay an official visit to Indonesia during his stay in Jakarta, Wang added.

The visit is the first by Li to an Asian country since taking office as premier in March, and also coincides with the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Indonesia.

The series of leaders' meetings of East Asian cooperation in Jakarta, including the ASEAN Summit, take place at a time when the international landscape is becoming increasingly complex and the world is facing mounting challenges arising from the sluggish economic recovery, increasing geopolitical competition and the ongoing Ukraine crisis.

China hopes that the meetings will help promote solidarity, deepen cooperation, focus on development and inject more stability and positive energy into the international and regional situations, Wang said.

China and ASEAN upgraded their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership in October 2021. China has remained the largest trading partner of ASEAN for 13 consecutive years. ASEAN became China's largest trading partner in 2020. Trade between China and ASEAN reached 6.52 trillion yuan ($898 billion) in 2022, up 15 percent year-on-year.

The two sides have also joined hands to safeguard regional peace and stability, promote regional economic integration and enhance bilateral people-to-people exchanges.

Wang said that China expects the meetings in Jakarta to further strengthen international cooperation in various fields such as the economy, trade and emerging industries, and build a regional growth hub to promote common development.

It is hoped that the meetings will promote regional economic integration, help to maintain the stable and unimpeded supply chains in the region, and build an open regional economy, he said.

China also expects that the meetings will uphold the regional cooperation framework with ASEAN at the center based on openness and inclusiveness, advocate true multilateralism, and oppose the creation of "small circles" that cause divisions and harm regional peace and stability, Wang added.

Regarding Li's official visit to Indonesia, Wang said the premier will hold talks with Widodo to exchange views on bilateral ties as well as international and regional issues of common concern.

China hopes that the visit will step up the development of a China-Indonesia community with a shared future, deepen alignment of development strategies, expand pragmatic cooperation in various fields, and contribute to regional development and prosperity, he added.