Trade Attaché of the Indonesian Embassy in Beijing, Marina Novira, has encouraged businesspersons to boost the exports of commodities, with added value, to China.
"In order to reduce the deficit (of Indonesia's trade with China), we need to increase the exports of products, with added value," she told ANTARA in Beijing, Friday.
In terms of exports, Indonesia stood 15th in the ranking of largest exporter country to China.
During the January-October 2019 period, Indonesia's exports were valued at US$28.2 billion, lagging far behind other ASEAN member nations.
During the same period, Malaysia's exports to China were valued at $58.5 billion and those to Vietnam reached $50.6 billion.
During the January-October 2019 period, the volume of Indonesian exports to China had reached 182.3 billion kilograms.
In comparison with the corresponding period in 2018, the figure only reached 152 billion kilograms, thereby indicating a 19.91-percent rise in Indonesia's export volume.
Meanwhile, Malaysia's export volume to China between January and October 2019, as recorded by China's customs, reached 41.2 billion kilograms, while Vietnam's export volume to China had reached 35.8 billion kilograms.
"Based on our data, among other competing countries, such as Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Philippines, and Thailand, the position of exports in terms of quantity, Indonesia is currently in the lead," she added.
(source: Antara News Agency)