TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi will meet with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi at the 5th Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) meeting in Beijing.

“At the invitation of Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi will visit China from August 22-24, where the two foreign ministers will co-chair the 5th JCBC Meeting between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Indonesia,” announced Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning at a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday, August 21.

The meeting follows Foreign Minister Retno's attendance at the 5th JCBC with Cambodian Foreign Minister Sok Chenda Sophea in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on August 21, 2024, which commemorated the 65th anniversary of Indonesia-Cambodia diplomatic relations.

The previous 4th JCBC Indonesia-China meeting took place in Jakarta on February 22, 2023, between Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang.

During the 4th JCBC, Retno emphasized the need to address various trade barriers and expressed Indonesia's commitment to enhancing investment cooperation with China. Given that Beijing was the second-largest investor in Indonesia last year and even became the top investor in the last quarter, Indonesia is keen to attract more Chinese investment.

Retno also highlighted Indonesia's openness to Chinese investment, including in sectors such as labor utilization, environmental protection, green investment, and infrastructure cooperation. However, she emphasized that Indonesia's investment climate would always prioritize the interests of the Indonesian people.

In the healthcare sector, Indonesia and China have successfully collaborated in combating the COVID-19 pandemic, underscoring the importance of strengthening healthcare infrastructure, including the pharmaceutical industry.

Indonesia has proposed a health partnership with China, such as implementing cooperation in vaccine and genomics research and development, strengthening the production capacity of pharmaceutical raw materials, implementing sister hospital collaborations, and establishing herbal centers in Indonesia.

Another area of discussion between the two nations is improving connectivity and people-to-people relations. To this end, Retno encouraged China to restore connectivity between the two.

The 4th Indonesia-China JCBC meeting marked a significant milestone, coming five years after the 3rd Indonesia-China JCBC held in Beijing in 2018. The meeting had been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic but has now been reinstated as an annual event.

ANTARA

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