JAKARTA (AFP): Indonesian president-elect Prabowo Subianto will visit China next week, Beijing’s foreign ministry announced Friday, his first visit to a key Jakarta trade partner since his election.
On the invitation of President Xi Jinping, Prabowo — who takes office later this year — will visit China from Sunday until Tuesday, foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying announced.
Xi this month congratulated Prabowo, Indonesia’s defence minister, on his victory and said he attached “great importance” to relations with the archipelago nation of nearly 280 million people.
China is one of the biggest sources of foreign direct investment in Indonesia.
Last year, Jakarta inaugurated Southeast Asia’s first high-speed rail line, a multibillion-dollar project backed by Beijing.
Chinese companies have poured billions into natural resources in Indonesia in recent years, particularly the nickel sector.
That spending has stoked unrest over pay and working conditions at several Chinese-funded nickel-processing plants, as Jakarta pushes to become a major player in the supply chain for electric vehicles.
