"It's hard to imagine that an event initially inviting just 100 corporate representatives eventually saw participants from over 200 companies, creating an exceptionally vibrant atmosphere." On May 4, Yuan Fei, Chairman of Indonesia Rancy International Trade Co., Ltd., was still enthusiastically recalling the event from over 10 days ago, as he prepared for his upcoming speech at President University in Indonesia.
On April 23, the China (Sichuan) - Indonesia Economic, Trade, Cultural and Tourism Exchange Promotion Conference was held in Jakarta. Through dialogue, signing agreements, and deepening consensus on cooperation, the collaboration between Sichuan and Indonesia has advanced to a new stage, under the joint witness of representatives from enterprises and government departments of both China and Indonesia.
This event is just the beginning. From April 22 to 28, the Sichuan delegation visited Indonesia and Laos, traveling from Jakarta to Bandung, and then to Vientiane, visiting over 20 locations. The in-depth communication covered a wide range of aspects, including economic and trade cooperation, education, culture, and tourism.
This is a moment of profound significance: this year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Indonesia and the 70th anniversary of the Bandung Conference, and a new phase following the central conference on work related to neighboring countries in April, which proposed "jointly creating a better future with neighboring countries". The delegation's primary objectives are to implement the important agreements reached by the two heads of state, better serve the country's overall diplomatic work, and promote the construction of a strategic highland for opening up to the west and a new base for participating in international competition.
Guided by the national strategy, Sichuan takes the lead in opening up new opportunities of cooperation with neighboring countries, specifically Indonesia and Laos, to accelerate its "Southward Advance" initiative.
Stepping into a New Stage
Cooperation First! Cooperation Foremost!
Though the China (Sichuan)-Indonesia Economic, Trade, Cultural, and Tourism Promotion Exchange lasted just one hour, Yuan Fei devoted three full days to analyzing its implications. One question particularly occupied his thoughts: What is the current development status of representative Sichuan-based enterprises that have expanded their presence to Indonesia? "Sichuan boasts a substantial consumer market. Which high-quality Indonesian consumer products are in demand there?" "Sichuan's total investment in Indonesia has hit 1.29 billion yuan, placing Indonesia at the top among ten ASEAN countries." In three days, he continued to update 12 messages on WeChat Moments.
His excitement, like that of all the other entrepreneurs present at the packed venue that day, was a vivid expression of eager anticipation for prospective collaborations.
"The influx of so many entrepreneurs came as a surprise, yet made perfect sense." Having been engaged in entrepreneurial endeavors in Indonesia for 21 years, Yuan Fei has a profound understanding of the current cooperation and exchanges between China and Indonesia: In the face of the erratic U.S. tariff policies, the increasingly complex and severe geopolitical situation, and the growing challenges in the international economic and trade landscape, all parties—Indonesian enterprises with Chinese investment, local Indonesian businesses, and Chinese companies—share aspirations for increased support in joint construction and mutual benefit, more opportunities for engagement, and a deeper level of cooperation.
Durian offers a unique lens for observation. In recent years, it has emerged as a celebrated tropical fruit from Southeast Asia, deeply favored by Chinese consumers. Sichuan, serving as a pivotal gateway for China's opening to the west and south, imported over a thousand tons of durian last year, marking a year-on-year increase of 145.8 percent. This growth rate ranks among the top three for all imported fresh agricultural commodities. The Chinese durian market is anticipated to expand at an average annual growth rate of 20 percent over the next five years.
"Indonesia, while being a significant supplier of durian exports, confronts numerous challenges," explained Adia, Secretary-General of the Indonesian Durian Plantation Association, highlighting these concerns during the promotion conference. Indonesia is home to 21 of the 27 known varieties of durian globally. As the world's largest producer of durian, Indonesia experiences a higher quantity of exports than imports. However, its export value notably trails behind its import value. Concurrently, Indonesia's durian exports to China predominantly consist of frozen durian pulp, primarily used in ice cream manufacturing. This not only involves a complicated production process but also fetches a lower market price compared to whole durian fruits.
A further noteworthy point is that durians sourced from Indonesia's Sulawesi island are required to be shipped to Thailand before entering the Chinese market. This indirect routing has a direct effect on profit margins.
"The Indonesian government is working on a plan to export durians directly to China." Adia added that, in order to streamline the process, the Indonesian Quarantine Agency intends to carry out direct inspections of Indonesian durians destined for China this year, facilitating a smoother entry into the Chinese market.
The demand for cooperation with neighboring Laos is also increasingly expanding. Laos is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia and thus depends predominantly on road, water and air transportation. As a landmark project of the Belt and Road cooperation, the China-Laos Railway has transported over 40 million passengers and 44.71 million tons of freight since its full operation in December 2021. In April 2023, the China-Laos Railway initiated the service of international passenger trains. As of now, it has cumulatively carried over 282,000 passengers originating from 101 countries and regions, showcasing strong performance in both passenger and freight transportation.
The southward opening-up channel and the China-Laos Railway are pivotal areas of cooperation between Sichuan and Laos. During this visit, significant destinations include the Lao Ministry of Public Works and Transport and Vientiane South Railway Station, among other key locations.
"The stable operation of the China-Laos Railway, a golden passage, has created more favorable conditions for Sichuan and Laos to expand their economic and trade cooperation." Through in-depth exchanges, the two sides deepened their consensus on future cooperation. They will further smooth the China-Laos Railway route, create a faster, more convenient, and more stable international railway transportation channel for goods trade, and promote closer and deeper cooperation between the two places in fields such as trade, agriculture and infrastructure.
Mutual sincerity and in-depth communication will enable Sichuan and Southeast Asian countries to take a major step forward in their relations.
Accelerating the Southward Advance
Expanding a Broader Space for Opening Up
At present, China's relations with its neighboring countries are at their best in modern times, and are also entering a critical phase of deep linkage between the regional landscape and the world changes. China sends a clear message in its opening up: working together with its neighboring countries to accelerate regional economic integration and inject robust momentum into our respective modernization processes.
Sichuan is a major economic powerhouse in China. The Sichuan delegation's visit to Indonesia and Laos comes at a particularly pivotal moment.
On a national level, the visit represents Sichuan's proactive efforts to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, better serve China's overall diplomatic interests, and deepen practical exchanges and cooperation between Sichuan and neighboring countries in various fields.
In line with Sichuan's own strategic vision, this visit corresponds with the provincial Party committee's plans for opening up and development, and marks a significant move toward establishing a strategic highland for opening up to the west and south and a new base for participating in international competition.
A set of data marks the current coordinates of Sichuan's opening up. In recent years, Sichuan has been steadfast in broadening its openness and strengthening foreign trade efforts. In 2024, the province achieved a total import and export value of 1,045.72 billion yuan, marking a 9.4 percent increase year on year. The three indicators—the volume of imports and exports, the contribution to China's overall foreign trade growth, and the size of the foreign trade participant base—all reached historical highs simultaneously. This signifies that Sichuan's foreign trade has regained the trillion-yuan level after a two-year interval.
To break new ground in pursuing all-dimensional and multi-tiered opening up at a faster pace, Sichuan further proposed adhering to the guidelines of "expanding westward, advancing southward, connecting eastward, and integrating northward" at the provincial conference on opening up and development held in November last year. Within this framework, "advancing southward" specifically refers to actively entering the South Asian and Southeast Asian markets, with the objective of reinforcing and enhancing the existing achievements in opening up.
Sichuan is confidently accelerating its southward advancement strategy. With the deepening implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), ASEAN has consistently ranked as Sichuan's top trading partner in import-export volume. According to Chengdu Customs District statistics, among Sichuan's trade engagements with over 230 countries and regions, the trade volume with ASEAN increased by 23.7 percent year on year, establishing ASEAN as Sichuan's largest trade partner.
As the largest economy in ASEAN, Indonesia reached a GDP of 1.4 trillion U.S. dollars in 2024, accounting for 36 percent of ASEAN's total economic output, while its population makes up 41 percent of ASEAN's total. Economic and trade cooperation between Indonesia and Sichuan has also shown sustained rapid growth.
"Trade between Sichuan and Indonesia has grown at an average annual rate of 6.8 percent in recent years, reaching 14.37 billion yuan in 2024," stated a leading official from the Department of Commerce. Sichuan primarily imports ferronickel and palm oil from Indonesia, while its exports to Indonesia span multiple categories, including laptops, mobile phones, auto parts, steam boilers and toys.
Cooperation between Sichuan and Laos, Sichuan's second-largest investment destination among Belt and Road partner countries, has also kicked into accelerated mode. In 2024, the total import-export volume between Sichuan and Laos reached 470 million yuan. In this trade, Sichuan primarily exported new energy vehicles (NEVs), wax, automobile engines, and fertilizers to Laos, while mainly importing cassava starch, plant extracts, iron ore, and bananas, among others. As logistics channels continue to improve, Sichuan now accounts for one in every ten China-made NEVs imported by Laos. Additionally, goods departing from Chengdu can reach Vientiane, Laos, in just three days via the China-Laos Railway, which highlights a more pronounced trend toward market integration.
Upon closer review, the context behind the Sichuan delegation's visits to Indonesia and Laos comes into sharper focus.
On April 13 this year, the two heads of state of China and Indonesia exchanged congratulatory messages, proposing to set an example of solidarity between major developing countries, a model of common development, and a vanguard of South-South cooperation. This timely visit by the Sichuan delegation to Indonesia undoubtedly marks a solid step forward in deepening practical exchanges and cooperation between the two sides in various fields. Simultaneously, this visit further strengthens the friendly relations between Sichuan and Laos, contributing to the continuous and solid progress in building the China-Laos community with a shared future.
Cultivating New Growth Drivers
Making Cooperation Blossom Ever More Vibrantly
Sichuan's cooperation with Indonesia and Laos extends far beyond the present. The itinerary of the Sichuan delegation offers a revealing glimpse into the scope of their engagement. In Indonesia, the delegation engaged with both government officials and prominent local conglomerates such as Sinar Mas Group and Lippo Group, major players in manufacturing and financial services, while also conducting site visits at Chinese enterprises operating in Indonesia, including Dongfang Electric (Indonesia) and Huawei (Indonesia). Through a mix of dialogues, exhibitions and presentations, they showcased Sichuan's multidimensional strengths to their Indonesian counterparts, including the province's rich history, culture, ecological assets, technological innovation, industrial progress, and market potential. In Laos, alongside meetings with representatives from government departments, the Sichuan delegation conducted visits and research at significant sites, including the Vegetables and Fruits Research Center of the Lao National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute and the Vientiane South Railway Station, announced the "Study in Sichuan" Scholarship Program and the Educational Tour in Sichuan Initiative, as well as launched the Sichuan Vehicle Trade Global Tour (ASEAN Station) event.
This trip represents a comprehensive and multi-faceted effort to deepen collaboration. During the China (Sichuan) - Indonesia Economic, Trade, and Cultural Tourism Promotion Exchange held in Jakarta, the two sides extended olive branches to each other, igniting new opportunities for collaboration. At the promotion event, the new opportunities for cooperation between the two sides were summarized in three points: Sichuan's robust industrial base drives strong demand for Indonesia's bulk commodities, such as agricultural produce and mineral resources; With its vast consumer market, Sichuan welcomes more high-quality Indonesian products into households; and Sichuan's competitive enterprises stand ready to engage more extensively in Indonesia's industrial upgrade endeavors.
During the China (Sichuan) - Laos Education, Economic and Trade Promotion Conference in Vientiane, participants conveyed a persistent desire for enhanced collaboration.
The envisioned partnership includes leveraging the China-Laos Railway as a golden passage to co-develop a logistics hub radiating Laos and neighboring countries, jointly creating industrial cooperation clusters for international market expansion, and scaling two-way exchanges of local premium agricultural specialties, thereby continually enlarging the farm produce trade between the two sides.
The conference commitments have rapidly progressed from discussion to execution, with several signed agreements being implemented promptly. Enterprises from Sichuan and Indonesia have concluded 12 cooperation pacts, covering multiple fields such as international trade, two-way investment, and engineering contracting, with a total investment of 4.5 billion yuan. Additionally, Sichuan has entered into 21 educational, economic and trade cooperation agreements with Laos, worth a combined 2.65 billion yuan.
While the total investment volume remains modest, the cooperation has yielded significant dividends, from expanding the volume and scope of merchandise trade to linking resources in cultural tourism and education, and promoting mutual exchanges of students and tourists. The two sides continue to identify new areas of economic complementarity and cooperation growth, steadily unlocking fresh opportunities and injecting renewed momentum into the partnership.
"A series of collaborative efforts reflect not only the robust bilateral relations between Indonesia and China, but also mark a significant milestone in expanding economic cooperation and deepening two-way openness between Indonesia and Sichuan," remarked Todotua Pasaribu, Deputy Minister of Investment and Downstreaming of Indonesia.
Concluding the visit, Sichuan extended invitations to both countries again: This year, the province will host major events including the Western China International Fair, Belt and Road Conference on Science and Technology Exchange, and The World Games 2025 Chengdu, and we warmly welcome investors and enterprises to explore Sichuan's vast market potential and shared development opportunities.
Creating a better future with neighboring countries—this marks yet another beginning.
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