China, Indonesia to enhance ties

President Widodo receives COVID-19 vaccine developed by Chinese firm

China is ready to further advance cooperation with Indonesia regarding COVID-19 vaccines and jointly promote the vaccines' accessibility and affordability in developing countries, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.

Wang made the remarks during a two-day official visit to the Southeast Asian country that ended on Wednesday, the same day Indonesia initiated its nationwide COVID-19 vaccination campaign.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo received on Wednesday morning the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech.

After the president, the Indonesian military chief, the national police chief and the health minister were also vaccinated.

"We need to do the vaccination to stop the chain spread of COVID-19 and give health protection to us and safety to all Indonesian people," Widodo said.

Despite the rapid surge of vaccine demand in China, Beijing is willing to further support the enterprises from both countries in cooperating on vaccine production and procurement, Wang said when meeting with the Indonesian president on Wednesday.

Vaccine cooperation between the two countries has been fruitful, and China attaches great importance to the needs of Indonesia, Wang said in a meeting on Tuesday with Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Indonesia's coordinator for cooperation with China and minister of maritime affairs.

China is willing to further strengthen medical and health cooperation with Indonesia to jointly build a community of health for mankind, Wang added.

In the face of the pandemic, the two countries have helped each other to overcome difficulties together.

President Xi Jinping has spoken on the phone with President Widodo three times since the outbreak of COVID-19 about unity in the fight against the virus and in economic recovery, said Xiao Qian, Chinese ambassador to Indonesia.

Bilateral trade reached $62 billion in the first 10 months of last year, and China was the second-largest source of investment in Indonesia.

Shortly after Wang arrived in Indonesia on Tuesday, the two governments signed documents, one focused on cybersecurity capacity buildup and technology cooperation and the other about industrial parks.

Both sides expressed their shared commitment to advancing cooperation in jointly building the Belt and Road, pushing for progress on the Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Railway and industrial parks, and fostering teamwork on cybersecurity and maritime cooperation.

Wang said that bilateral relations have shown great resilience and potential amid the pandemic. The joint efforts of the two major developing countries and emerging economies are of strategic significance not only to ensuring regional peace and development, but also to promoting global stability and prosperity, Wang said.