简体中文
APD Hannah
Indonesia's GDP growth in 2022 reached 5.31%, a new high in nine years. Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati expressed confidence in Indonesia's strong economic growth in 2023. On February 15, Asia Pacific Daily interviewed the President of the Economic and Industrial Commission of the Republic of Indonesia, Mr. Soetrisno Bachir, on the economic and trade cooperation plan between China and Indonesia in 2023. Bachir appealed excitedly: "Chinese investors, don't hesitate! Come to Indonesia to invest!"
Bachir believes that Indonesia has always maintained a neutral position and does not choose sides between the East and the West. Bachir said: "From the economic point of view, I think the cooperation between Indonesia and China is deeper. Both the RMB and the Indonesian rupee are common in Indonesia. In the future, Indonesia will also continue to strengthen the economic and trade cooperation between the two sides. I think China is more suitable to be an economic partner of Indonesia than the western countries, because the cultural similarity between China and Indonesia is higher. In terms of geographical location, the distance between Indonesia and China is closer than that between Indonesia and the West 。”
Bachir said in an interview that among the foreign enterprises in Indonesia, there are the largest number of Chinese enterprises. Many Chinese companies have opened factories in Indonesia, creating a lot of employment opportunities for the local people, such as the Chinese manufacturer of Nikon, which we like to see. In view of the cultural similarities between China and Indonesia, economic and trade cooperation will bring mutually beneficial results to both sides. In the future, the cooperative relationship between the two sides will continue to deepen and help the development of the two countries.
Bachir also used examples to illustrate the importance of Chinese investment to Indonesia. Bachir said: "My friend's company used to import wheat in large quantities from Brazil, but now they import wheat from Indonesia because the cost is lower. But in wheat planting, we need foreign technology and investment, especially Chinese technology and investment. If we further promote China-Indonesia economic and trade cooperation, both sides will benefit from it."
When it comes to setting up factories, Bachir believes that few countries can compare with China. Japan was a major competitor of China before, but now it is also slightly inferior to China. China's investment has helped Indonesia increase productivity and create a lot of jobs. In contrast, the United States and other western countries prefer Indonesia's oil and gas, metallurgy and other high-return investment fields. Only China is willing to invest in Indonesia and set up factories. The total population of Indonesia is about 274 million, with a large labor force and a strong demand for employment. China's investment can help many small and medium-sized enterprises in Indonesia to participate and share the dividends of investment. If foreign investment only focuses on metallurgy, there will be few beneficiaries. If more funds are used to set up factories, more Indonesian people will benefit from it. In this respect, China has helped Indonesia more than Europe and the United States.
Finally, Bachir stressed that Indonesia will not stop here. "We are looking forward to seeing higher GDP growth. If all countries in the world, including China, can increase their investment in Indonesia, I believe that Indonesia's GDP will rise to another level."
(APD)
