RI-China trade grows 18.6 percent yearly

Beijing (ANTARA News) - Indonesia`s trade with China has experienced positive growth with its value having increased at an annual average rate of 18.6 percent in the past five years (2001-2006), an Indonesian diplomat here said on Tuesday.

Mohammad Oemar, deputy chief of mission at the Indonesian Embassy in Beijing, said Indonesia`s primary exports to China so far were chemical substances, timber products, pulp and paper, rubber and fertilizers.

In the meantime, Indonesia`s imports from China included semi-finished iron and steel products, spareparts, machines, electronics, data processing machines and various kinds of fruit.

Oemar said currently China was the fifth biggest export destination for Indonesian goods and the third biggest source of Indonesia`s imports.

He said the volue of Indonesia-China trade reached US$19.6 billion in 2006.

"The volue of Indoniesian-Chinese trade increased three-fold from US$6.7 billion in 2001," Oemar said.

Though it had increased significantly, Indonesia-China trade only accounted for 1.17 percent of Beijing`s total trade value, he said.

He said for this reason, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his Chinese couterpart Hu Jiantao had agreed to increase bilateral trade to US$20 billion in 2008 and US$30 billion in 2010.