Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia and China signed an agreement on Further Expanding and Deepening Bilateral Economic and Trade Cooperation (BETC) on the sideline of the G20 Summit in Bali.
"The BETC signing between Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and me marked a new chapter to increase cooperation between Indonesia and China," Indonesian Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan noted in a statement received here, Thursday.
The signing was carried out directly by Minister Hasan and Minister Wentao and witnessed by Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Minister Hasan noted that the renewal of the BETC Agreement this year demonstrated the commitment between the two countries to optimize market potential while expanding the areas of bilateral economic, trade, and investment cooperation.
"Apart from that, BETC also serves as an umbrella for the formation of the Joint Commission on Economic and Trade Cooperation," he added.
BETC is a legal umbrella for economic and trade cooperation between Indonesia and China. Both countries agreed to renew this BETC Agreement since the previous BETC agreement expired in April 2021.
Hasan believes that the BETC update will be beneficial to further improve trade and economic performance of the two countries. He also noted that discussion efforts within the BETC framework will become a forum to address various trade issues, thereby facilitating the smooth running of trade between the two countries.
China is Indonesia's top trading partner, both in terms of exports and imports. During the January-September 2022 period, the value of Indonesia's exports to China had reached US$46.88 billion.
This value increased by 28.87 percent from the same period in the previous year. Meanwhile, the value of Indonesia's imports from China reached US$50.67 billion, an increase of 28.33 percent.
Total trade between Indonesia and China in 2021 had reached US$109.99 billion, an increase of 54 percent as compared to 2020.
Indonesia's exports to China during that period amounted to US$53.76 billion, while Indonesia's imports from China were worth US$56.22 billion.
With the signing of the BETC agreement, Hasan is optimistic that the value of trade and economic cooperation between the two countries, which had been going well, will continue to increase.
"I believe this agreement signing can further strengthen the cooperation between the two countries and be able to have a positive impact on the economies of Indonesia and China," he remarked.
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