Chinese premier to visit Indonesia, attend ASEAN-GCC-China summit in Malaysia

BEIJING -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang will pay an official visit to Indonesia from May 24 to 26 at the invitation of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, the Chinese foreign ministry announced on Thursday.

Li will also attend the ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations)-GCC (the Gulf Cooperation Council)-China Summit in Kuala Lumpur from May 26 to 28 at the invitation of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia, ASEAN's rotating chair, said the ministry.

Mao Ning, a spokesperson for the ministry, told a daily news briefing on Thursday that the China-Indonesia relations, with a history of 75 years, have developed steadily with fruitful results achieved through practical cooperation. Last year, the two heads of state reached important consensus on building a China-Indonesia community with a shared future with regional and global influence, elevating bilateral relations to a new level.

Li's schedule in Indonesia will include talks and meetings with Indonesian leaders, including President Prabowo, during which they will engage in in-depth discussions on deepening high-level and all-round strategic cooperation. Li will also attend activities of local business community, Mao said.

She said China hopes to carry forward the traditional friendship with Indonesia, deepen solidarity and cooperation, continuously consolidate cooperation in the "five pillars" of politics, economy, people-to-people and cultural exchanges, maritime affairs and security.

It is hoped that the two countries, along their respective modernization paths, will constantly enrich the connotation of the China-Indonesia community with a shared future, and make greater contributions to peace, stability, development and prosperity in the region and beyond, she added.

On the ASEAN-GCC-China Summit to be held for the first time, Mao said that both ASEAN and GCC countries are emerging economies in Asia, important members of the Global South, and important partners in the Belt and Road cooperation.

China supports Malaysia, ASEAN's rotating chair, in proposing to hold the ASEAN-GCC-China Summit, she said.

Under the current international and regional circumstances, it is of great significance for the three parties to jointly discuss plans for solidarity, cooperation, development and prosperity, and promote mutually beneficial cooperation across regions, she said.

China looks forward to expanding practical cooperation with ASEAN and GCC countries in various fields, leveraging complementary advantages and achieving win-win results, jointly safeguarding the multilateral trading system and defending the common interests of the Global South, Mao said.