China and Indonesia signed deals worth at least US$17 billion yesterday in fields such as hydroelectricity and mining during a visit to Beijing by the Southeast Asian nation’s leader, state media said.
The agreements come as the two countries, both highly dependent on exports, seek to make up for sagging demand in Europe’s debt-hit economies and a US economy still struggling to recover from the 2008 housing mortgage crisis.
They cover a wide range of industries, including hydroelectric generation, mining and steelmaking, and were signed by business representatives from the two countries during Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s three-day visit to China.
“Indonesia welcomes Chinese enterprises to expand their investment in Indonesia and to participate in major infrastructure projects,” Yudhoyono said, according to a statement posted on the Chinese foreign ministry Web site.
Trade between the two Asian nations has steadily increased in recent years, reaching US$60.5 billion last year compared with just US$2.9 billion in 2000, according to the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.
The two countries aim to increase bilateral trade further to US$80 billion by 2015, and Yudhoyono said he was confident this previously announced target would be met.
Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤), meanwhile, told Yudhoyono Beijing wanted to increase cooperation with Jakarta “in the fields of oil and gas, minerals, electricity and clean and sustainable energy.”
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