Stronger investment is an essential component of relations between China and Indonesia, which needs to be enthusiastically promoted, Indonesia's Trade Minister said here on Saturday.
China is the world's second largest economy, and Indonesia is the 15th in the tally, and naturally greater collaboration, especially in economic matters would be mutually beneficial, Indonesian Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan spoke to media on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministerial Meeting.
"The combined economies of the two countries is around 9 trillion U.S. dollars and China remains Indonesia's largest trade partner, which during the last year translated to 52 billion U.S. dollars," he noted.
Recently the two countries inked 28.2 billion U.S. dollars' worth of investment deals, he added.
"This sort of undertaking would be relevant in making sure that trade relationship stays balanced between the two countries," he said.
At the start of the month, representatives from the two countries' business communities signed deals in the mining, manufacturing, energy and transport sectors.
Among the deals was a 1.5 billion U.S. dollar investment from state-run China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) to build a 30-km monorail network through the capital Jakarta.
The China Development Bank will invest in projects with Indonesia's OKI Pulp and Paper Mills, while Chinese companies and financial institutions will invest in coal mining, as well as electricity generation and aluminum smelters.
State-owned Industrial and Commercial Bank of China also signed a deal to lease five Boeing 777 and six Airbus 320 planes to Indonesia's flag carrier Garuda.
The Indonesian and Chinese central banks agreed on Tuesday to a 100 billion yuan (about 16.3 billion U.S. dollars) currency swap deal to shore up the ailing rupiah if necessary.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has pledged to improve the investment climate and promote options for international business, including China.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, during a visit this week, became the first foreign leader in history to address the Indonesian parliament.
