JAKARTA. Deputy Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China, Wang Yi, has said Indonesia plays a tremendous role in ASEAN and is an important "emerging market" in Southeast Asia.He was speaking after accompanying President Xi Jinping on a recent state visit to Indonesia and to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Nusa Dua, Bali. President Jinping and his entourage returned to Beijing, China, on Wednesday morning.Wang Yi said as quoted by Antara news agency many advances and opportunities for cooperation were being fostered between China and its ASEAN partners, in particular Indonesia.Several economic and trade partnerships were agreed upon during Jinping’s visit to Indonesia. China had agreed to a trade volume of US$80 billion in 2015 with Indonesia.Jinping and his Indonesian counterpart, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, also had agreed to increase strategic partnerships between the two countries.“This year marks 10 years of strategic partnership between China and ASEAN, and we will continue to nurture existing good relations.”Jinping said China would increase its trade volume with ASEAN up to $1 trillion by 2020. China also proposed the establishment of an Asian infrastructure investment bank to promote connectivity among regions in ASEAN. (The Jakarta Post)

Editor: Barratut Taqiyyah Rafie