At a meeting in Jakarta, top ministers from Indonesia and China discussed expanding defense cooperation and strengthening food and energy security between their countries, as reported by infohub.kz.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono said the parties aim to ensure that a new bilateral dialogue delivers concrete results on priorities for strengthening cooperation in the political, economic, security, maritime, and people-to-people relations.
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi noted that the two countries have agreed to better coordinate on their major priorities of development and security, providing strong safeguards for the modernization of both nations. "We will jointly oppose unilateral bullying and power politics. We must also remain vigilant against attempts in the region to challenge the outcomes of victory in World War II and turn back the wheel of history. We should safeguard international fairness and justice, as well as the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries," Wang said in a joint statement.
Sugiono said they discussed strengthening food, energy, and mineral security through the development of industries that support national resilience, which in the future will encompass areas such as artificial intelligence, the joint development of communications satellites, and other advanced technology initiatives. "We also agreed to facilitate trade, including market exploration and the expansion of market access for Indonesia's flagship commodities," Sugiono said.
Wang emphasized that the new bilateral dialogue will "send a clear signal to the world of solidarity and cooperation between our two major emerging-market countries."
The defense ministers of the two countries—Indonesia's Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin and China's Dong Jun—met separately and discussed expanding defense cooperation, including material cooperation, strengthening personnel, and the two countries' defense industries. "We also invite the Chinese armed forces to participate in joint exercises, such as the Heping Garuda exercise, which is a concrete example of the relationship between the Indonesian National Armed Forces and the Chinese armed forces," Sjamsoeddin said.
Indonesia's economic ties with China have grown significantly in recent years, reaching approximately $167 billion in 2025. China has become Indonesia's largest trading partner and has invested billions in major infrastructure projects such as the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway and Cirata, Southeast Asia's largest floating solar power project, located on a reservoir in West Java, 130 kilometers (80 miles) from the capital. Despite disagreements over pricing and timing, China has been committed to implementing these projects in line with President Xi Jinping's signature "Belt and Road" initiative to build infrastructure throughout the region.