Illustration: Liu Xiangya/GT

Recently, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto attended a launch ceremony for Chinese-backed mining downstream projects, jointly organized by Indonesia's Ministry of Investment and Downstream Industry and the Weda Bay Industrial Park. At the ceremony, Prabowo expressed gratitude to Chinese investors for their cooperation and trust in Indonesia, emphasizing that "those who trust Indonesia, who are willing to work with us in new areas, we will treat them as brothers." A spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry subsequently expressed appreciation for President Prabowo's remarks, stressing that "we are confident that the Indonesian government will continue to protect Chinese companies' legitimate rights and interests and provide an open, fair, transparent and friendly business environment." 

This positive interaction between China and Indonesia on economic and trade cooperation reflects the two countries' active efforts to implement the strategic consensus reached by their leaders, promote the sustainable and sound development of bilateral economic and trade cooperation, and continuously strengthen their strategic coordination. These efforts are injecting strong momentum into the continued advancement of the China-Indonesia comprehensive strategic partnership and the building of a China-Indonesia community with a shared future.

The Weda Bay Industrial Park, where President Prabowo delivered his speech, is located in Central Halmahera Regency, North Maluku Province, Indonesia. For a long time, the region ranked relatively low in Indonesia's domestic economic development. The establishment and development of the industrial park have stimulated local mining, manufacturing and infrastructure construction, dramatically transforming the region. 

Recently, the park launched 11 Chinese-invested downstream mining projects, with a total investment of more than $10 billion, covering sectors such as new-energy power batteries, construction machinery, commercial vehicles and electrolytic aluminum. These projects will further help Indonesia establish a complete electric vehicle battery supply chain. According to statistics, the Weda Bay Industrial Park has so far created 100,000 local jobs, contributing to the development and prosperity of North Maluku Province.

The Weda Bay Industrial Park is just one example of China-Indonesia economic and trade cooperation. Many outstanding Chinese enterprises have established a strong presence in Indonesia, continuously transforming the country's resource advantages into drivers of economic growth. They have helped promote Indonesia's rapid and sound economic and social development, enabled the country to keep pace with global trends in industrialization and intelligent technologies, and delivered tangible benefits to the Indonesian people. Meanwhile, many leading Indonesian enterprises have long invested and operated businesses in China. In addition to exporting high-quality Indonesian products to China over the years, some have become deeply involved in China's modernization drive. 

The two-way engagement of Chinese and Indonesian enterprises, together with pragmatic measures taken by both governments to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of each other's businesses, has contributed to the steady improvement and upgrading of bilateral economic and trade cooperation. These efforts have injected sustained momentum into the stable and healthy development of China-Indonesia relations. This is not only one of the most important experiences drawn from the development of bilateral relations over the past two decades, but also one of the key visions for their future development at this critical historical juncture.

China and Indonesia are both major developing countries, emerging markets and important forces in the Global South. They share similar stages of development, compatible development philosophies and paths, and closely connected cultural traditions. Their bilateral relationship is of major strategic significance, with far-reaching global implications that extend beyond the two countries, particularly in maintaining regional peace and stability and promoting a more just and equitable global governance system. 

China and Indonesia should fully draw on the successful experience and effective practices of their economic and trade cooperation, follow the strategic consensus reached by their leaders, continuously deepen mutually beneficial cooperation across various fields, and overcome all interference and distracting voices in order to deliver more tangible benefits to both countries and their peoples.

In August this year, China and Indonesia held the first Conference of China-Indonesia Comprehensive Strategic Dialogue Mechanism in Jakarta, reaching a series of important agreements that fully demonstrated the high level and strategic nature of bilateral relations. The developments show that the two sides are building an increasingly clear consensus and that China-Indonesia strategic coordination holds broad and promising prospects. Both countries should cherish the current positive momentum, continue advancing bilateral relations to a higher level, and work together to promote an equal and orderly multipolar world and universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, bringing greater certainty and stability to a world marked by turbulence and change.

The author is deputy director and associate research fellow of the Department for Asia-Pacific Studies, China Institute of International Studies. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn