Xi says China to cooperate with Indonesia against "vaccine divide"

Health workers wait for registration before receiving doses of China's Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine during mass vaccination program for health workers as a main priority group in Jakarta, Indonesia, Feb. 4, 2021. (Xinhua/Agung Kuncahya B.)

BEIJING, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday that China, while comprehensively promoting domestic vaccination, will continue to carry out vaccine cooperation with Indonesia, help Indonesia build a regional vaccine production center, and jointly resist the "vaccine divide."

In a phone conversation with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Xi stressed that both China and Indonesia attach great importance to people's lives and health and oppose "vaccine nationalism," noting that vaccine cooperation between the two countries is at the forefront of the world.

China, Xi added, has included foreign citizens on its soil, including those from Indonesia, in its inoculation plan, and hopes that Indonesia will also provide active support for Chinese nationals in the Southeast Asian country.

In the face of profound changes and a pandemic both unseen in a century, Xi emphasized, China stands ready to join hands with Indonesia to enhance strategic mutual trust, deepen strategic consensus, strengthen strategic coordination, uphold multilateralism, safeguard fairness and justice, promote global climate governance, defend the common interests of developing countries, and advance the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

Xi noted that trade and investment cooperation between China and Indonesia has kept growing despite the COVID-19 pandemic, showing strong resilience and great potential.

With China having embarked on the new journey of fully building a modern socialist country, and Indonesia marching towards its centennial goal of leapfrogging development, the two countries now face broad prospects for cooperation, Xi pointed out.

China welcomes Indonesia to seize the opportunity created by China's fostering of a new development paradigm and advance bilateral practical cooperation in various areas in a coordinated way, he said, suggesting that the two countries better synergize the Belt and Road Initiative and Indonesia's vision of Global Maritime Fulcrum, and cooperate on a larger scale with higher quality.

The two sides, Xi added, should continuously push forward infrastructure cooperation projects such as the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway, earnestly implement key projects including the regional comprehensive economic corridor, foster new growth areas like new energy and maritime cooperation, and strengthen cooperation in digital economy and other fields.

Xi said China welcomes Indonesia to expand exports of quality products to China, and supports Chinese enterprises in increasing investment in the Southeast Asian country.

The two sides should push for the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and promote regional trade liberalization and economic integration, he added.

For his part, Widodo extended congratulations on the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Under the strong leadership of the CPC, China has achieved success in various areas of development, and especially has scored tremendous accomplishments in poverty alleviation and economic development, making positive contributions to the development of Indonesia and other countries in the region, he said.

Noting that Indonesia and China are good friends and good brothers, Widodo said Indonesia hopes to learn from China's relevant experience, and stands ready to deepen bilateral economic and trade ties, actively promote the construction of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway, strengthen people-to-people exchanges, and jointly build the Belt and Road.

Widodo thanked China for overcoming difficulties to provide valuable assistance for Indonesia's fight against the COVID-19 epidemic, and expressed his hope to continue to strengthen cooperation with China on vaccine production.