President Jokowi, China's Wang Yi Hold Meeting in Jakarta

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Monday met with China’s Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi at Jakarta’s Merdeka Palace where the two discussed multiple bilateral and international issues, such as the Ukraine and Russia war, up to the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway project.

Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi, who was also present at the meeting, said Wang Yi also mentioned the peaceful resolution that Indonesia is seeking to achieve. Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan was also in attendance. 

“The peaceful resolution against the situation that is happening in Ukraine was specifically mentioned, also the President’s visit to Kyiv and Moscow,” Retno explained about the meeting.

Prior to this meeting, Wang Yi met with Marsudi in Bali during the second High-Level Dialogue Cooperation Mechanism, where Yi’s presence in Indonesia is to attend the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. 

President Jokowi and Wang Yi also discussed other bilateral issues, including priority projects of the two countries, such as the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway project, vaccines, and a joint genomic laboratory.

"And lastly, the two parties' efforts to encourage stronger interactions between the private sector or the private sector of both parties were also discussed," said Retno.

Reuters previously reported that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Saturday he had discussed Russian aggression in Ukraine during more than five hours of talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and raised concerns over Beijing's alignment with Moscow.

Both diplomats described their first in-person talks since October as "candid", with the meeting taking place a day after they attended a gathering of G20 foreign ministers on the Indonesian island of Bali.

"I shared again with the state councilor that we are concerned about the PRC's alignment with Russia," Blinken told a news conference after the talks, referring to the People's Republic of China.

He said he did not think China was behaving in a neutral way as it had supported Russia in the United Nations and "amplified Russian propaganda."

After the meeting, a U.S. official said "neither side held back."

"We were very open about where our differences are ... but the meeting was also constructive because, despite the candor, the tone was very professional," the official said. Blinken said Chinese President Xi Jinping had made it clear in a call with President Vladimir Putin on June 13 that he stood by a decision to form a partnership with Russia.

FAJAR PEBRIANTO | REUTERS

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