The year 2019 marks the beginning of the second decade for the G20 summit mechanism. Looking back, and forward, peace and development remain the theme of the times, though there is risk of instability and uncertainty along with an economic downturn and other global challenges.

In the new decade, and against the backdrop of rising Unilateralism and protectionism that are affecting world economic stability, deep thought should be given to the direction for the development of major economies. As the Chinese ambassador to Indonesia, I offer some thoughts, taking the mutual development of China and Indonesia as an example.

China and Indonesia are both important emerging markets and key members of the G20. Both resolutely safeguard the interests of developing countries, and share a similar stance on global economic development and governance -- advocate multilateralism and oppose protectionism and unilateralism. Indonesian President Joko Widodo once used the Game of Thrones as an analogy, indicating multilateral cooperation is the only way forward instead of isolated competition to avoid an "economic winter".

Consensus on cooperation should be implemented. In 2013, it was in Indonesia where President Xi Jinping for the first time proposed the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road Initiative, one of the two key prongs of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Six years on, China and Indonesia are working together for the construction of BRI in earnest, which have proved to be a strong driving force for the development of the two countries, and even the whole world.

Principles promoted in the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative are highly consistent with the development concepts of both countries. Thomas Lembong, chairman of the Indonesian Investment Coordinating Board, comments that the Belt and Road Initiative is one of the most comprehensive and effective schemes to harness opportunities presented by the current global economy, and plays the role of a growth engine.

With regard to cooperating within a grand development initiative such as BRI, building mutual trust is the key. President Xi and President Joko have met seven times in the past six years and reached consensus on a series of issues on linking the Belt and Road Initiative with Indonesia's maritime strategy.

As the first high-speed railway in Southeast Asia, the Jakarta-Bandung high speed railway stepped into a comprehensive phase in 2018. This year sees the start of 22 key works under the project such as the tunnel near Walini station, which is the first of 13 tunnels to be completed.

During Premier Li Keqiang's visit to Indonesia in May 2018, the two countries officially launched inter-governmental cooperation and signed a memorandum of understanding on the project under the synergy of strategies in the second phase, which is the Regional Comprehensive Economic Corridor. The cooperation scheme on construction of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Corridor was signed during the Second Belt and Road Initiative Forum for International Cooperation in April 2019. The cooperation, which covers four provinces of Indonesia -- North Sumatra, North Kalimantan, North Sulawesi and Bali -- further expands synergy between the two countries' development strategies and will also add impetus to Indonesia's development.

New, solid achievements have been made through practical cooperation. Over the past six years, China has remained Indonesia's largest trading partner. Last year, bilateral trade reached a record $77.4 billion.

Indonesia's trade deficit with China narrowed further and the trade structure of the two countries was further optimized and balanced. From 2013 to 2018, China's annual direct investment in Indonesia soared from $300 million to $2.4 billion, jumping from the 12th place to the third place in the ranking of Indonesia's foreign investment sources. The two sides renewed their currency swap agreement and expanded it to 200 billion yuan ($29 billion).

Infrastructure cooperation between the two countries has deepened. Thanks to the joint efforts of the two sides, some of Indonesia's major projects have been completed, including the largest steel arch bridge in Indonesia -- Tayan Bridge; the first light rail system -- Palembang Light Rail Transit; and Indonesia’s second largest dam -- Jatigede Dam. The construction of infrastructure with Chinese support contributes to Indonesia's economic growth and improvement in people's lives.

Cooperation is now rapidly expanding from traditional areas such as infrastructure, resources and communications to emerging areas such as industrial manufacturing, financial innovation, digital economy and artificial intelligence, in which new driving forces and growth points keep emerging.

Prosperous economic cooperation greatly promoted people-to-people and cultural exchanges. In the past six years, China has been the major source of tourism. In 2018, the number of Chinese tourists hit another high, reaching 2.14 million. Full scholarships offered by the Chinese government to Indonesian students have tripled in the recent six years. The number of Indonesian students studying in China exceeded 15,000 and is till increasing, making China Indonesian students’ second most popular overseas study destination. Beloved China’s giant pandas Caitao and Huchun in Indonesia also enhanced the bonds between people in the two countries.

In August 2018, President Xi’s special envoy, Vice-premier Sun Chunlan, attended the opening ceremony of Jakarta Asian Games with the most high-level government delegation from China for the Asian games in the past 20 years. The gold medal in wushu won by an Indonesian player who trained in China marked a new achievement on sports cooperation between the two countries. Scientific cooperation in fields like high-speed rail technology and disaster prevention is also conducted actively. The Southeast Asia Center built by Tsinghua University in Indonesia will accelerate the development of local human resources. Exchanges covering all areas at a comprehensive level will continue to deepen between China and Indonesia.

The common development of the two countries is not only a grand narrative of the Belt and Road Initiative contributing to the world economy, but also demonstrates that in today's world, what we need is an open global economy, not isolation; what we should advocate is cooperation, not confrontation; what we should insist on is win-win benefit, not winner-takes-all.

The leaders of China and Indonesia will gather together with other leaders in Osaka late this month to discuss ways to promote world economic development. As a staunch supporter, defender and builder of multilateralism and an open global economy, China is ready to enhance cooperation with all members such as Indonesia to jointly promote strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive world economic growth.

Xiao Qian is ambassador of People’s Republic of China to Indonesia.

The author contributed this article to China Watch exclusively. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of China Watch.

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