China-Indonesia foreign, defense ministerial meeting to be held in Beijing

The First Ministerial Meeting of China-Indonesia Joint Foreign and Defense Ministerial Dialogue will be held in Beijing on April 21, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Friday.

Member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Defense Minister Dong Jun will chair the meeting, the ministry said.

Indonesia's Foreign Minister Sugiono and Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin will attend the meeting in China, it said.

Noting that this year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Indonesia, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a regular news briefing that this is the first Joint Foreign and Defense Ministerial Dialogue between China and a foreign country, and it reflects the strategic nature and high level of China-Indonesia cooperation.

Last year, the two heads of state agreed that both sides should hold the First Ministerial Meeting of China-Indonesia Joint Foreign and Defense Ministerial Dialogue at an early date.

During the upcoming meeting, the Chinese officials and their Indonesian counterparts will exchange views on bilateral relations, political security and defense cooperation between the two countries, and international and regional cooperation, Lin said.

China is willing to work with Indonesia to follow the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, make good use of the dialogue mechanism and promote the continuous advancement of friendship, mutual trust and strategic coordination between the two countries to a higher level, the spokesperson added.