China and Indonesia are willing to push forward the development of their strategic partnership to a greater depth, senior leaders from both countries said as they met in Jakarta Monday.

 

Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, held talks with Hidayat Nur Wahid, chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly of Indonesia.

 

In the same day, Jia also met with Ginandjar Kartasasmita, head of the Regional Representatives Council of Indonesia.

 

During the meetings, Jia made positive comment on the development of bilateral relations. He said China and Indonesia have been friendly neighbors ever since ancient times. The people of the two countries have forged deep friendship through the communications over the past nearly 2,000 years.

 

Since the two countries established diplomatic links 56 years ago, bilateral relations have made great progress, especially in the past few years, Jia said. He noted that the two countries have maintained frequent exchanges of high-level visits, continuously deepened political trust, achieved remarkable results in trade and economic cooperation and expanded exchanges and cooperation in such fields as science, technology, culture and education. The two countries have maintained close communication and cooperation on international affairs.

 

Jia said people of the two countries have shown mutual understanding and mutual support during Asian financial crisis, the strikes of SARS and bird flu and natural disasters of earthquake and tsunami, hence deepening their traditional friendship.

 

Jia said the year 2005 is a milestone in the history of bilateral relations. President Hu Jintao and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono jointly declared the establishment of strategic partnership between the two countries last year. This move lifts bilateral relations and mutually beneficial cooperation to a higher level of all-round development, Jia said.

 

Jia said this year is an important year for both countries to add more substantial content to and develop the strategic partnership. He said China is ready to join hands with Indonesia to implement the important consensus that the heads of state reached last year by expanding and deepening mutually beneficial cooperation in such fields as trade, economy, investment, infrastructure development, energy and resources development.

 

Jia expressed the willingness to expand exchanges and cooperation between CPPCC and the People's Consultative Assembly of Indonesia at all levels.

 

Hidayat and Ginandjar both agreed that China has become a major economic partner of Indonesia. They said bilateral relations are now in the best times in history.

 

The Indonesian officials expressed the willingness to have even closer high-level contact and expand trade and economic cooperation with China so as to lift the strategic partnership to a higher level.

 

They expressed the wish to further strengthen exchanges and cooperation between the People's Consultative Assembly, Regional Representatives Council of Indonesia and CPPCC.

 

Both Hidayat and Ginandjar reiterated that Indonesia will as always firmly pursue the one-China policy and wish early realization of reunification of China.

 

(Xinhua News Agency March 28, 2006)