Xi arrives in Jakarta for state visit

JAKARTA - Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived here Wednesday for a state visit to Indonesia, the first leg of his maiden trip to Southeast Asia since he assumed presidency in March.

During his stay in Indonesia, Xi is scheduled to meet with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Vice President Boediono and parliamentary leaders. He will also attend a luncheon with the business community.

Xi will deliver a speech to Indonesian lawmakers and elaborate on China's vision to promote bilateral ties and relations between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as well as China's peaceful development.

The Indonesian people anticipate Xi's visit to their country and attendance of the 21st informal economic leaders' meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) to be held in Bali Island of Indonesia, said Yudhoyono at a meeting with Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi on September 19.

The Indonesian president said he is looking forward to in-depth exchanges of views with Xi on bilateral ties and key international and regional issues to cement friendship, promote cooperation and advance the Indonesia-China strategic partnership.

Indonesia is the first Southeast Asian country Xi visits since he became president, reflecting the country's important role in China's diplomacy with neighboring countries.

Bilateral relations have seen rapid growth with new achievements in friendly cooperation since the establishment of the China-Indonesia strategic partnership in 2005, said Chinese ambassador to Indonesia Liu Jianchao in an interview with Xinhua.

With bilateral trade reaching 66.2 billion U.S. dollars last year, four times that of 2005, China has become Indonesia's second largest trade partner. Bilateral trade in the first half of 2013 hit 33.84 billion dollars, up 4.6 percent from the same period of last year.

For three successive years, Indonesia has been China's largest market for project contracting in Southeast Asia.

The two countries scored positive achievements in cooperation in the areas of science, technology, education, culture, people-to-people exchanges, defense and security, maritime affairs and aerospace.

After the Indonesia trip, Xi will also pay a state visit to Malaysia.

The Chinese president will later return to Indonesia for the APEC meeting from October 7 to October 8.