Indonesian president-elect Prabowo to visit China
by AFP Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) Mar 29, 2024

Indonesian president-elect Prabowo Subianto will visit China next week, Beijing's foreign ministry announced Friday, his first visit to a key Jakarta trade partner since his election.

On the invitation of President Xi Jinping, Prabowo -- who takes office later this year -- will visit China from Sunday until Tuesday, foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying announced.

Xi this month congratulated Prabowo, Indonesia's defence minister, on his victory and said he attached "great importance" to relations with the archipelago nation of nearly 280 million people.

China is one of the biggest sources of foreign direct investment in Indonesia.

Last year, Jakarta inaugurated Southeast Asia's first high-speed rail line, a multibillion-dollar project backed by Beijing.

Chinese companies have poured billions into natural resources in Indonesia in recent years, particularly the nickel sector.

That spending has stoked unrest over pay and working conditions at several Chinese-funded nickel-processing plants, as Jakarta pushes to become a major player in the supply chain for electric vehicles.

France's top diplomat to visit China on Monday: Beijing
Beijing (AFP) Mar 29, 2024 - French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne will visit China on Monday, Beijing's foreign ministry has announced, as the two countries mark 60 years of diplomatic relations and seek to strengthen ties.

"At the invitation of Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister, French Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs Sejourne will visit China on April 1," foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Friday.

France and China have sought to strengthen ties in recent years and, during meetings in Paris last month, Wang told President Emmanuel Macron that Beijing appreciated his country's "independent" stance.

Sejourne's visit is the second to China by a French foreign minister in less than six months, following a trip by his predecessor, Catherine Colonna, in November.

Macron also visited last April, receiving a rock star welcome at a university in southern China from hundreds of screaming students and fans.

But he faced accusations of cosying up to Beijing and sparked controversy by saying Europe shouldn't be a "follower" of the United States in the event of conflict with China over Taiwan.

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