JAKARTA – The Ministry of Trade of Indonesia and China will reinforce its economic cooperation by signing the Bilateral Economic and Trade Cooperation (BETC) agreement amidst the series of activities related to the G20 Summit in Nusa Dua, Bali, yesterday (16/11).
Zulkifli Hasan, Minister of Trade of Indonesia, claimed that BETC agreement will become the legal reference for the establishment of the Joint Committee of BETC. “The signing of BETC agreement is a new phase in reinforcing bilateral cooperation between Indonesia and China,” he said in the press release quoted Thursday (17/11).
Both countries have agreed upon the amendment of BETC, whose term effectively ended in April 2021. With this latest and upgraded agreement, trading activities between Indonesia and China are expected to rise and flourish even more compared to the previous years.
Throughout January-September 2022, Indonesia’s export to China had reached USD 46.88 billion, increasing 28.87% from the same period in last year. Similarly, Indonesia’s import from China also grew 28.33% year-on-year (yoy) to USD 50.67 billion.
In 2021, the total value of trades between Indonesia and China reportedly hit USD 109.99 billion, scoring export value of USD 53.76 billion and import value of USD 56.22 billion. (LK/ZH)