The year 2025 marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Indonesia and the 70th anniversary of the Bandung Conference. Over the years, significant progress has been made in this specific bilateral relationship in various fields. The two countries have maintained close highlevel exchanges, deepened strategic synergy, expanded practical cooperation, and achieved smooth implementation of flagship projects such as the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway, demonstrating the great potential and broad prospects for bilateral cooperation.

　　Recently, China Report ASEAN conducted an exclusive interview with Wang Lutong, Chinese Ambassador to Indonesia, who looked back at the extraordinary journey of ChinaIndonesia exchange and cooperation, with an eye forward on the future of the relationship.

　　China Report ASEAN: How do you assess the development of ChinaIndonesia relations?

　　Wang Lutong: It’s my pleasure to review the achievements of ChinaIndonesia relations in recent years. A concise summary of this development would be these key phrases: “deepening mutual trust,” “mutual benefits and winwin results,” and “a shared future.”

　　First, mutual trust has been deepening. The two sides have maintained close high-level exchanges. President Prabowo Subianto visited China on his first overseas trip right after being elected and made his first state visit to China after officially taking office. President Xi Jinping and President Prabowo reached important consensus on deepening comprehensive strategic cooperation and building a ChinaIndonesia community with a shared future with regional and global impact. In October 2024, President Xi Jinping’s special representative and Vice President Han Zheng attended the inauguration of President Prabowo in Jakarta. And the two sides have established the 2+2 Dialogue Mechanism for Foreign Ministers and Defense Ministers.

　　Second, we are seeing mutual benefits and winwin results. The latest China-Indonesia joint statement upgraded the “four-wheel” cooperation covering political, economic, people-to-people exchange, and maritime affairs to “five-pillar” cooperation with the addition of security as the fifth pillar. The Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway has become a shining example of high-quality bilateral cooperation. Since its opening, it has transported more than 8 million passengers. In 2024, bilateral trade reached US$147.8 billion, up 6.1 percent year on year. China has been Indonesia’s largest trading partner for 12 years in a row. People-to-people exchanges between the two countries have become increasingly active. Last year, 1.44 million Chinese tourists visited Indonesia.

　　Third, we are embracing a shared future. As important members of the global South and representatives of emerging economies, China and Indonesia are firmly committed to upholding the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and promoting the Bandung Spirit of solidarity, friendship, and cooperation. The two countries have worked closely on international and regional affairs, highlighting the pursuit of peace and development and fairness and justice in bilateral relations.

　　China Report ASEAN: Over the last year, ChinaIndonesia relations have maintained strong development momentum. How should the consensus of the leaders of the two countries be implemented to promote the construction of a China-Indonesia community with a shared future?

　　Wang: Under the guidance of the consensus reached by the heads of state of the two countries, China and Indonesia will steadily promote construction of a community with a shared future through multi-level strategic coordination and practical cooperation.

　　First, strategic synergy will be enhanced. The two sides will maintain high-level exchanges, deepen exchange of experience in governance, and continuously enhance strategic and political mutual trust. We will seize the opportunity of the success of the first Senior Officials’ Meeting of the Joint Foreign and Defense Ministerial Dialogue to hone the “fivepillar” cooperation covering political, economic, people-to-people exchange, maritime affairs, and security. The two sides will continue promoting highquality Belt and Road cooperation, ensuring the high-quality operation of the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway, and exploring the feasibility of new flagship projects.

　　Second, we will expand practical cooperation. The two sides will work together to promote the construction of projects like the Regional Comprehensive Economic Corridor and “Two Countries, Twin Parks.” We will expand the scale of two-way trade and investment, facilitate usage of local currencies, tap the potential for cooperation in new-energy vehicles, lithium batteries, and photovoltaic power generation, and strengthen cooperation in new quality productive forces such as the digital economy and green development.

　　Third, people-to-people exchange will be promoted. The two countries will seize the opportunity of the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties to strengthen people-to-people exchange and deepen mutual learning among civilizations. We will continue to expand the scale of two-way student exchange and the exchanges between higher-education institutions and think tanks, strengthen coordination and communication on tourism policies and introduce more facilitation measures, properly implement cooperation documents including a memorandum of understanding on health cooperation, and continuously enhance cooperation on health care.

　　Fourth, China and Indonesia will intensify multilateral collaboration. The two countries will continue to maintain peace, security, and stability in the region and build an open, transparent, and inclusive regional architecture with ASEAN at its center.

　　China Report ASEAN: What is the significance of China-Indonesia relations to the peace, stability, and development of ASEAN and Asia as a whole?

　　Wang: In the current complex international environment, it’s imperative for China and Indonesia—two important countries in the AsiaPacific region—to further strengthen comprehensive strategic coordination, become closer comprehensive strategic partners, and build a community with a shared future with regional and global impact, which will not only benefit the two peoples, but also create a favorable environment for better achieving peaceful development in the region.

　　The two sides have promoted practical cooperation on the South China Sea issue, and supported negotiations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea. At the same time, we have strengthened cooperation in counter-terrorism, cybersecurity, and transnational crimes to jointly safeguard regional security and stability.

　　Indonesia is the largest economy of ASEAN and the host country of the ASEAN Secretariat. Close cooperation between China and Indonesia will contribute to the development of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, promote regional economic integration, and create more development opportunities for ASEAN countries. In particular, synergy between the Belt and Road Initiative and Indonesia’s Global Maritime Fulcrum strategy has promoted infrastructure construction and connectivity and the overall economic development of ASEAN. Flagship projects such as the JakartaBandung High-Speed Railway have provided models for the development of ASEAN countries and helped enhance regional economic resilience.

　　The impact of China-Indonesia relations has long transcended bilateral and regional scopes. This set of bilateral relations is of great significance to maintaining world peace and stability and promoting world multi-polarization and economic globalization. China looks forward to further strengthening cooperation with Indonesia in multilateral areas, lifting regional cooperation to higher levels, and contributing to regional and global prosperity and development.