Xi's interview with media from Indonesia and Malaysia
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E-mail Xinhua, October 2, 2013
Chinese President Xi Jinping gave a joint written interview to media from Indonesia and Malaysia on bilateral relations, the 21st leaders' meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), economic development prospect of Asia-Pacific region, China's economic situation, and the relationship between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), before his state visits to these two countries, and attendance to the APEC leaders' meeting.
The media include Indonesia's Jakarta Post and Kompas, Malaysia's Utusan Malaysia, Sin Chew Jit Poh, and New Straits Times.
Following is the full text of the interview:
1. We have noticed that Indonesia is the first stop of your first visit to Southeast Asia as China's President. What are your expectations for the visit? The national football teams of China and Indonesia will compete in the 2015 Asian Cup Qualification in Jakarta in mid October. I heard that you are a football fan. What is your forecast of the result of the match?
Indonesia is a beautiful country known as the "Emerald of the Equator". Indonesian folksongs such as "Ayo Mama" and "Sing Sing So" are very popular in China. I was in Indonesia some twenty years ago, and was deeply impressed by the dynamic growth of this country, which was called one of the four "little tigers" in Asia.
Since the end of the 20th century, Indonesia has worked hard to tide over the impact of the Asian financial crisis and the international economic and financial crisis, and has turned itself into a remarkable emerging market economy with political stability, economic growth, social progress and ethnic harmony.
It has been 63 years since China and Indonesia established diplomatic relations. Bilateral ties have traversed an extraordinary course. Since the start of the 21st century, particularly since the establishment of strategic partnership between the two countries in 2005, our dialogue and cooperation across the board have embarked on a new journey of comprehensive and rapid development. Between 2005 and 2012, the two countries put in place multi-tiered and multi-field cooperation mechanisms including vice prime ministerial dialogue, defense consultation and maritime cooperation. Bilateral trade volume reached US$66.2 billion, four times that of 2005. China's direct investment in Indonesia increased 10 times to US$2 billion. And personnel exchanges between the two countries rose three times to 1.33 million person-times. The two sides also worked closely on regional and international affairs and effectively safeguarded the common interests of the developing countries.
Both China and Indonesia are major developing countries in the region, and their strategic cooperation carries a great significance and boasts a broad prospect. The purpose of my state visit to Indonesia is to carry forward our traditional friendship and plan for our cooperation. I look forward to an in-depth exchange of views with President Susilo on ways to advance our friendship and cooperation on all fronts and bring China-Indonesia relations to a new high.
Talking about football, it is a team sport that calls for good coordination. Important as individual skills are, team work holds the key to the result of the match. That's one of the reasons why I like football. The charm of the game also lies in its unpredictability as the situation on the ground may change every minute it goes. I hope that the national teams of China and Indonesia will present an enjoyable, friendly and spectacular match. I also hope that the two teams will make it to the World Cup finals in the not-so-distant future.
2. Both China and Malaysia have put in place a new government this year. How do you see the current China-Malaysia relations and what are your expectations for the future course of this relationship?
China-Malaysia relations have come a long way in recent years and are well on track to an all-round, steady and results-oriented expansion. China has been Malaysia's largest trading partner for four consecutive years, and Malaysia China's largest trading partner in ASEAN for five years running. In 2012, two-way trade reached a historical high of US$94.8 billion. Malaysia is expected to become the third Asian country, following Japan and the ROK, with a bilateral trade volume with China topping US$100 billion. The opening of the China-Malaysia Qinzhou Industrial Park and the Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park made history in the mutual establishment of state-level industrial parks between China and ASEAN countries. Financial cooperation between the two countries has registered fast growth. We have signed a bilateral currency swap agreement worth RMB180 billion which helped put our business cooperation on a solid footing. People-to-people exchanges continued to expand with annual personnel exchanges exceeding two million person-times for three year running and the number of exchange students topping 15,000. Cooperation between China and Malaysia has brought benefits to both sides.
At present, both China and Malaysia are working hard to improve the people's living standards and achieve national development. China is ready to work together with Malaysia so as to create a better future for both sides. I look forward to in-depth exchange of views with Malaysian leaders on ways to promote all-directional cooperation and build a stable framework for long-term and sound growth of our bilateral relations. I am convinced that with our joint efforts, China-Malaysia strategic cooperation will grow from strength to strength and bring greater benefit to the two peoples.
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