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View all search resultsPrabowo set to open CEPA talks with Xi during APEC summit
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Chinese President Xi Jinping greets visiting President Prabowo Subianto (right) on Nov. 9, 2024, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. (Cabinet Secretariat/Republic of Indonesia)
P
resident Prabowo Subianto plans to start preliminary talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the two countries on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
The Foreign Ministry’s Asia Pacific and Africa director general, Santo Darmosumarto, told a news conference on Wednesday that Prabowo was scheduled to attend the APEC Economic Leaders meeting, slated to take place in Shenzhen, China, from Nov. 18-19.
“Our hope is, simultaneously, on the sidelines of the APEC summit,” there would be bilateral talks with other leaders, he said, adding that a meeting with Xi had been scheduled and was currently “being finalized”.
“On the CEPA [with China], I think what will be discussed is the agreement to start the discussion or dialogue about the plan to establish a CEPA. So, it has not taken shape at the moment, but there is goodwill from both sides to talk,” said Santo.
China is Indonesia’s largest trade partner by far, but there is no bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) connecting the world’s second- and fourth-most populous countries.
However, Indonesia is part of two FTAs with China through its membership in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), namely the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA) that entered into force in 2005 and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) signed in 2020.
The latter also includes Australia, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand, making it the largest FTA in the world.
