ENVOY : STILL AMPLE ROOM FOR MORE RI-CHINA COOPERATION

Jakarta, May 14 (ANTARA) - Chinese ambassador to Indonesia Zhang Qiyue said here on Thursday that there was still ample room for increasing bilateral relations between Indonesia and China.

"The relations between the two countries are closer and stronger but there are still potentials that could still be further developed," he said.

He said the volume of trade between the two countries in 2008 reached US$33 billion.

"However Indonesia is still ranked fourth below Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia. The figures may still rise because Indonesia still has a lot of potentials for development," he said at a seminar on "The World's Leading Transformers: How They did it, Why and What Next."
The cooperation between Indonesia and China would be beneficial for the two countries as a lot of progress would be made through it.

"I am enthusiastic towards the relations. I hope they will be closer." he said.

The two countries developed their diplomatic relations since April 13, 1950. The relations found their momentum with the signing of "Joint Declaration between the Republic of Indonesia and the People's Republic of China on Strategic Partnership" on April 25, 2005 in Jakarta.

The partnership covers various cooperation areas such as politics and security, economy and development as well as socio-cultures.