Lu Kang (fourth from left), the newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to the Republic of Indonesia, arrives in Jakarta on February 22, 2022. Photo: Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Republic of Indonesia

Lu Kang, the newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to the Republic of Indonesia, arrived in Jakarta and delivered written remarks upon arrival at the airport on Tuesday afternoon, according to the official website of the Chinese Embassy in Indonesia.

Lu expressed his great pleasure to come to Indonesia to serve as the 13th Chinese ambassador to the nation of the archipelago and shared his heartfelt appreciation and great respect to friends from all walks of life who have long cared about and supported the development of China-Indonesia relations.

Indonesia is an important ASEAN member and a large developing country with increasing influence in international and regional affairs. China-Indonesia relations have kept developing steadily at a fast speed under the guidance of the leaders of both sides, Lu noted.

Lu mentioned that he is ready to step up contacts with all walks of life in Indonesia and strengthen cooperation to improve comprehensive friendly relations between China and Indonesia for the benefit of the two countries and peoples.

China and Indonesia have achieved plentiful achievements in various fields of cooperation and have set a fine example of state-to-state relations with equality, mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, Lu added.

Upon their arrival at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, Ambassador Lu Kang and his wife were received with warm hospitality by Counsellor Maradona Abraham Runtukahu, representative of the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mme Chen Yun, Minister of the Chinese Embassy and Mme Jiang Qin, Minister of the Chinese Mission to ASEAN.

As a veteran Chinese diplomat, Lu Kang served as Director-General of the Department of North America and Oceania Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs prior to this mission. This is the first time that Lu Kang has held the post of ambassador to Indonesia.

Among his extensive resume, Lu has drawn the most attention as the head of the Information Department of the Foreign Ministry and a spokesperson, from 2015 to 2019. During his more than four years as spokesperson of the ministry, Lu has been known for his steady style.

As an important country in Southeast Asia and ASEAN, Indonesia has always been in the focus of China's regional diplomacy. In recent years, China-Indonesia relations have been developing steadily at a fast speed.

The Chinese side fully supports Indonesia in hosting the G20 Leaders' Summit in 2022 and stands ready to jointly enable the G20 to play an active role in promoting world economic recovery and improving global economic governance, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said On December 5, 2021 during a meeting with Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Indonesia's Coordinator for Cooperation with China and Coordinating Minister.