Indonesia Reminds China Of Its Commitment To Raise Bilateral Trade

Nanning, China (Antara Bali) - Indonesia  has reminded China of its commitment to realize the target of bilateral trade and encourage its companies to increase their imports from Indonesia.

"China is the largest trade partner of Indonesia," Director General of National Export Development of the Indonesian Trade Ministry Nus Nuzulia Ishak said during the inauguration of an Indonesian product distribution center dubbed Window To Remarkable Indonesia (WTRI) at the China-ASEAN Plaza in Nanning, China, on Thursday.

He noted that trade between the two countries rose 6.65 percent during the past five years. Just in 2014, the bilateral trade reached US$48.2 billion, down 8.05 percent from US$52.4 billion a year earlier.

Furthermore, Indonesia has always seen a deficit in its trade with China. In 2014, the deficit was recorded at US$13 billion and in the first half of 2015 it reached US$8 billion.

Ishak said during the commemoration of the 60th anniversary  of the Asia-Africa Conference in Jakarta in May 2015  the leaders of the two countries agreed to realize the bilateral trade target of US$150 billion by 2020.

In addition, during the meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo in China in March 2015, the Chinese government agreed to encourage Chinese businessmen to import more products from Indonesia and to support Indonesian businessmen to conduct trade promotion in China, he said.

He said China's commitment to increase its trade with ASEAN member states under ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) is a good chance to enhance trade relations between Indonesia and China. (WDY)