[China-Indonesia News] Ambassador Wang Lutong Grants Exclusive Interview to The Jakarta Post

On April 22, Ambassador Wang Lutong granted an exclusive interview to The Jakarta Post, in which he articulated China’s position on a range of global hot topics—including China-Indonesia economic and trade cooperation, the situation in the South China Sea, ASEAN cooperation, and global supply chains—as well as the Middle East situation. The full text of the interview is as follows:

The Jakarta Post: Indonesia has recently proposed playing a mediating role in several international crises, including those in the Middle East. From China’s perspective, is it worthwhile for a country like Indonesia to serve as a mediator in global conflicts, or does Beijing believe that, given the current international landscape, a different diplomatic framework is needed?

Ambassador Wang Lutong: Since the outbreak of hostilities in Iran, China has consistently and actively worked to promote peace and end the fighting, advocating the resolution of disputes through political and diplomatic channels so as to ultimately achieve long-term peace and stability in the Middle East and the Gulf region. President Xi Jinping has put forward four principles for safeguarding and promoting peace and stability in the Middle East: first, uphold the principle of peaceful coexistence. The countries of the Middle East and the Gulf are closely linked and share a common destiny; they are neighbors who cannot be moved apart. We should support these countries in improving their relations and in advancing the establishment of a common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security architecture for the Middle East and the Gulf, thereby consolidating the foundation for peaceful coexistence. Second, uphold the principle of national sovereignty. Sovereignty is the cornerstone of the survival and development of all nations, particularly the vast majority of developing countries, and must not be violated. The sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity of the Middle Eastern and Gulf states must be genuinely respected, and the safety of personnel, facilities, and institutions of all countries must be effectively protected. Third, uphold the principle of the rule of law in international affairs. The authority of the rule of law in international affairs must be upheld; it cannot be applied when it suits and discarded when it does not, nor can the world be allowed to revert to the law of the jungle. We must steadfastly safeguard the international system with the United Nations at its core, the international order based on international law, and the fundamental norms governing international relations grounded in the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. Fourth, uphold the principle of coordinating development and security. Security is the precondition for development, and development is the guarantee of security. All parties should create a favorable environment and inject positive energy into the development of the Middle Eastern and Gulf states.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi has held nearly 30 telephone conversations with the foreign ministers of relevant countries; China’s Special Envoy on the Middle East has undertaken shuttle visits to the Gulf region; and China, together with Pakistan, has put forward a five-point initiative for restoring peace and stability in the Gulf and the broader Middle East, which has been widely welcomed by the international community, including Indonesia. All of these efforts underscore China’s consistent stance and vigorous efforts to promote peace and end conflict, and to advocate dialogue as the means to resolve differences. As a responsible major country, China will continue to play a constructive role and work with the international community to contribute to the early restoration of peace and stability in the Middle East and the Gulf region.

Unilateralism and power politics only exacerbate conflicts, and confrontation does not help to resolve problems. Only by bridging differences through dialogue and consultation can we find an effective path toward lasting peace. All efforts by the international community to urge peace and facilitate talks and to promote political solutions to disputes should be welcomed and supported. As an important country in Southeast Asia, Indonesia has long adhered to an independent and autonomous foreign policy and plays a positive role in promoting regional and global peace and stability. China stands ready to further strengthen coordination and cooperation with Global South countries, including Indonesia, to jointly voice rational and impartial positions, foster broader consensus and stronger synergy within the international community, and contribute to easing the current tensions and restoring peace and tranquility in the Gulf and the Middle East at an early date.

The Jakarta Post: Tensions in the South China Sea continue to exert a ripple effect across Southeast Asia, including in the waters near Indonesia’s Natuna Islands. Although China has long advocated resolving disputes through greater bilateral engagement, recent armed clashes in other parts of the region have strengthened the resolve of the broader ASEAN community to uphold stability through unity. Does China now believe that the time is right to bring into force a legally binding Code of Conduct in the South China Sea? Or has China’s view of ASEAN’s role in managing maritime tensions undergone a shift?

Ambassador Wang Lutong: Over the years, thanks to the joint efforts of China and ASEAN member states, the situation in the South China Sea has generally remained peaceful and stable. The South China Sea continues to be one of the safest and busiest maritime areas for global navigation and overflight. In the past year, cooperation in the South China Sea has maintained strong momentum. China has engaged in in-depth discussions with Indonesia on joint maritime development, held bilateral dialogues with Malaysia on maritime issues, and collaborated with Vietnam on the sustainable development of fisheries. Recently, the Chinese Coast Guard also successfully rescued more than ten Filipino seafarers who were in distress in the South China Sea. These developments fully demonstrate that peace, cooperation, and friendship are the true reality of the South China Sea and the shared aspiration of the littoral states.

In recent years, the frequent outbreaks of conflict in other parts of the world have underscored just how precious the tranquility of the South China Sea truly is. This peace and stability are the hard-won result of many years of concerted efforts by the countries in the region and must be cherished all the more. China and the ASEAN member states are both beneficiaries of peace and stability in the South China Sea. An important lesson from this experience is the comprehensive, thorough, and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea by China and the ASEAN countries. The more cooperation takes place under the framework of the Declaration, the fewer the differences and frictions will be. The Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, as the successor and further development of the Declaration, is a mechanism for managing disputes, primarily aimed at preventing crises from escalating and laying the groundwork for cooperation in low-sensitivity maritime areas while territorial issues and maritime delimitation disputes remain unresolved. China and the ASEAN countries have already set the goal of concluding the Code this year, and recently the pace of consultations on the Code has noticeably accelerated, with success now within reach. We should remain firmly confident, act in good faith, adopt a flexible and pragmatic approach, and ensure that the Code is concluded smoothly and on schedule. Looking ahead, China stands ready to work together with the ASEAN countries to strengthen dialogue, remove obstacles, seek common ground while setting aside differences, and truly transform the South China Sea into a sea of peace, friendship, and cooperation.

The Jakarta Post: Under President Prabowo’s leadership, Indonesia has reaffirmed its “free and active” foreign policy. In light of Indonesia’s recent efforts to strengthen ties with the United States—including through the Reciprocal Trade Agreement (ART) and a Washington-led peace commission—what is China’s geopolitical perspective on these developments?

Ambassador Wang Lutong stated: “A ‘free and active’ foreign policy is a time-honored tradition that Indonesia has consistently upheld, embodying the spirit of independent and autonomous diplomacy and playing an important and constructive role in safeguarding regional peace and stability. As a sovereign nation, China welcomes any cooperation that helps enhance mutual trust among regional countries and contributes to the region’s peace, stability, and prosperity.”

The current international landscape is complex and ever-changing. China has consistently maintained that interactions among nations should align with the trends of our times; they should not give rise to closed, exclusive “small circles,” nor should they be driven by Cold War mentality or bloc confrontation. Regardless of how the international situation evolves, China remains steadfast in upholding the UN-centered international system, the international order based on international law, and the fundamental norms governing international relations grounded in the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. Whether it involves economic and trade arrangements or security cooperation mechanisms, such initiatives must be open and inclusive, pursue mutual benefit and win-win outcomes, and refrain from exclusivity—let alone exacerbating geopolitical tensions. Approaches oriented toward bloc confrontation are detrimental to long-term regional stability.

The development of the global economy and the prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region should be built on the foundations of mutual respect and mutually beneficial, win-win cooperation, rather than at the expense of other countries’ security interests or the stability of regional industrial and supply chains. China firmly opposes any country’s use of unilateral sanctions or other measures to interfere with and undermine normal cooperation among nations, and rejects any attempt to coerce third countries into taking sides. With regard to actions that undermine China’s sovereignty, security, and development interests, China will respond in a necessary and legitimate manner.

There is only one universally recognized and reasonable solution to the Palestinian question: the two-state solution. Any other arrangement or the establishment of new mechanisms must promote, rather than undermine, the two-state solution, and the international community cannot accept the further marginalization of the Palestinian issue. The United Nations, in particular, bears the primary responsibility for playing a leading role in this process.

China and Indonesia are both major developing countries and important members of the Global South, sharing extensive common interests and a solid foundation for cooperation. China–Indonesia relations wield significant regional and international influence. We should continue to work hand in hand to uphold the UN-centered international system, safeguard international equity and justice, and practice true multilateralism.

The Jakarta Post: The signed ART imposes zero tariffs on 99% of U.S. goods and includes specific “safeguard provisions” related to third countries. As Indonesia’s largest trading partner, how concerned is China about these provisions, which could affect trade and draw Indonesia into the U.S.–China trade rivalry?

Ambassador Wang Lutong: China has consistently advocated for mutually beneficial and win-win economic and trade cooperation among all countries, believing that relevant arrangements should promote the liberalization and facilitation of global trade rather than serve as tools for imposing exclusive standards. With regard to the trade agreement reached between Indonesia and the United States, China’s position is clear and consistent: no bilateral economic and trade arrangement should be directed against third parties or undermine their legitimate interests. Trade rules should not be used as instruments to impede the normal international division of labor or to disrupt the stability of regional industrial and supply chains.

We remain vigilant about the U.S. imposition of “exclusionary” or “restrictive” provisions in trade agreements. Such practices, masquerading as “reciprocity” while in fact seeking to “decouple and sever supply chains,” fundamentally undermine multilateralism. We support Indonesia in safeguarding its economic sovereignty and are confident that regional countries can discern the true intent behind the U.S. effort to use trade agreements to advance its geopolitical self-interests and disrupt the broader process of Asia-Pacific integration.

China has remained Indonesia’s largest trading partner for many consecutive years, and the two sides have achieved abundant results from their long-term cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative. On the basis of mutual respect, equality, and mutual benefit, China stands ready to further strengthen practical cooperation with Indonesia in such areas as industrial-chain synergy, new energy, and infrastructure, so as to continuously advance bilateral economic and trade relations and make greater contributions to the development of both countries and the well-being of their peoples.

The Jakarta Post: The ART has established a new framework that grants the United States broad preferential market access. China has previously raised questions within the World Trade Organization as to whether such agreements are consistent with the Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) principle. How does China expect Indonesia to strike a balance between the ART’s new commitments and its existing obligations under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the WTO?

Ambassador Wang Lutong: At present, the global economic governance system is facing an unprecedented and severe test. All parties should stand on the right side of history, jointly voice their firm commitment to upholding the multilateral trading system, and unequivocally oppose unilateralism and protectionism. Economic globalization is an irreversible historical trend, and multilateralism is the only viable option for addressing global challenges. The international economic and trade order must not revert to the “law of the jungle”; only win-win cooperation can pave the broadest and most promising path forward.

China advocates replacing confrontation with dialogue, countering power politics with rules, and steering the future through reform. All parties should uphold multilateralism, consolidate the foundations of global trade, firmly support the WTO-centered, rules-based multilateral trading system, resolutely safeguard the WTO’s fundamental principles such as most-favored-nation treatment, and jointly oppose unilateralist and protectionist practices.

We look forward to Indonesia upholding independence and self-reliance in its foreign economic and trade cooperation, striking a balanced approach that takes into account both its own development needs and the interests and concerns of all parties, and making choices that serve its long-term development as well as the overall interests of the region. China stands ready to strengthen coordination and collaboration with Indonesia to continuously advance bilateral cooperation, thereby better serving the respective development agendas of both countries and the broader goals of regional prosperity and stability.

The Jakarta Post: According to a recent report by the World Economic Forum (WEF), global supply chains are entering an era of “structural uncertainty” driven by fragmentation and geopolitical shifts. As a major investor in Indonesia’s downstream mineral projects, how does China assess the risks that global trade fragmentation poses to the stability of these critical supply chains? What joint strategies can China and Indonesia adopt to ensure that the flow of materials and technologies essential for the energy transition remains resilient in the face of such external shocks?

Ambassador Wang Lutong: The root cause of global trade fragmentation lies in the rise of unilateralism and protectionism. The primary measure for addressing these risks is to uphold the multilateral trading system centered on the World Trade Organization and to firmly oppose the politicization, weaponization, and over-safeguarding of economic and trade issues. China calls on all countries to resolve their differences through dialogue and consultation, to safeguard the public-good nature of global industrial and supply chains, and to ensure their function of optimizing resource allocation on a global scale.

China advocates deepening practical cooperation with all countries through high-quality joint efforts to build the Belt and Road Initiative and through the full implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). By promoting “re-globalization,” China encourages countries to establish mutually beneficial, win-win coordination mechanisms in strategic areas such as semiconductors, new energy, and critical minerals—mechanisms that are inclusive and open, rather than exclusive “small-circle” arrangements. We are committed to building a resilient, mutually beneficial global industrial and supply chain system, and to facilitating the cross-border flow of production factors worldwide through platforms such as the China International Import Expo and the Canton Fair, thereby using the stability of cooperation to offset the uncertainties in the trade environment.

Source: Chinese Embassy in Indonesia