The Chinese people, too, offered their sympathy and assistance in a variety of ways to the Indonesia people hit by the disaster. An old man in Hangzhou, who was not rich himself as his wife was hospitalized for a long time and he himself had just gone through a surgery, donated 1,000 yuan of his hard earned money to Indonesian kids in disaster-affected areas for their continued schooling. The donation, though not a bit sum, speaks to the profound goodwill of the Chinese people to the Indonesian people.

Likewise, the Indonesian people have extended a helping hand when the Chinese people experienced major natural disasters. On 12 May 2008, a massive earthquake hit Wenchuan, China. People in the affected areas were in dire need of assistance and relief. Indonesia responded immediately and sent its medical team to quake-hit areas. As soon as it arrived, the Indonesian medical team worked around the clock in spite of the many aftershocks. They treated 260 earthquake victims and provided free medical treatment to 844 local residents and 120 students. Before returning to Indonesia, they donated all their valuable belongings to the quake-affected areas. Back in Indonesia, people made donations both in cash and kind to the quake-stricken Wenchuan. Some Indonesians personally visited the Chinese Embassy in Indonesia to express their prayers and blessings to the people in Wenchuan. What they did has deeply moved the Chinese people.

Indonesia’s medical team treated 260 earthquake victims and provided free medical treatment to 844 local residents and 120 students in quake-hit areas of Wen county, Gansu province after the May 12, 2008 Wenchuan earthquake.

There are countless touching stories like these about friendly ties between our peoples. They are all examples of what is captured by one common proverb in both the Chinese and Indonesian languages, namely “going through thick and thin together”.

People in Indonesia often say, “It’s easy to make money but difficult to make friends.” The sincere friendship between the Chinese and Indonesian people is indeed our cherished, priceless treasure.

On 26 December 2004, a sudden massive earthquake of magnitude 9 hit the once tranquil Indian Ocean and triggered a large tsunami. The whole world was shocked to see Aceh of Indonesia suffering huge losses of life and property. After the tsunami, China immediately activated the emergency response mechanism and announced on the day of the earthquake that it would provide assistance to Indonesia and other disaster-affected countries. It became the largest overseas rescue and relief operation that China had ever launched after the founding of the People’s Republic. Trucks carrying relief supplied were given green lights all the way and rushed from factories to airport, and airplanes, loaded with the love and sympathy of the Chinese people toward the Indonesian people, flew to Aceh and other disaster-hit areas. The Chinese international rescue team was the first foreign team to arrive at Aceh. They provided medical treatment to over 10,000 victims in a short span of 13 days. Many local people learned to speak Chinese and hailed members of the Chinese rescue team in Chinese, “zhongguo, beijing, wo ai ni”(China, Beijing, I love you.)

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Dear Friends,

During my current visit, President Yudhoyono and I have jointly announced our decision to upgrade our bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership, with a view to building on past achievements and bringing about all-round and in-depth growth of our relationship.

The growing mutual trust between the two countries has put our bilateral relations on a more solid political basis. Our practical cooperation has expanded from such traditional areas as economy, trade, finance, infrastructure, energy, resources and manufacturing to include new fields such as space and maritime affairs. Our wide-ranging cooperation, from space to ocean, has delivered tangible benefits to the two peoples.

The Surabaya –Madura Bridge, a China-Indonesia joint project, is the longest cross-sea bridge in Southeast Asia. The cooperation project of Jatigede Dam is about to finish. Once completed, it will have an irrigation area of 90,000 hectares, which will greatly facilitate the work and life of the local people. We have enhanced our cooperation on major regional and international issues. Our relations have increasingly gained regional and international influences. All this is of positive significance to the building of a more just and equitable international political and economic order.

All these are important landmarks of China-Indonesia friendship in the new era.

11:47

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Dear Friends,

China and Indonesia face each other across the sea. The friendly ties between us have a long history. Together, our peoples have composed one piece after another of beautiful music about their exchanges and interactions over the centuries. Just as the Indonesian folk song Bengawan Solo, a household musical piece in China, goes “Your water springs forth from Solo, caged by a thousand mountains. Water flows to reach far distances, eventually to the sea.” Like the beautiful river Solo, China-Indonesia relations have traversed an extraordinary journey, past mountains and eventually to the sea.

As early as the Han Dynasty in China about 2,000 years ago, the people of the two countries opened the door to each other despite the sea between them. In the early 15th century, Zheng He, the famous Chinese navigator of the Ming Dynasty, made seven voyages to the Western Seas. He stopped over the Indonesian archipelago in each of his voyages and toured Java, Sumatra and Kalimantan. His visits left nice stories of friendly exchanges between the Chinese and Indonesian peoples, many of which are still widely told today.

I visited Indonesia 20 years ago, during which I personally experienced the development, colorful scenery and diversified culture of Indonesia. How time flies. But what I saw 20 years ago is still vivid in my mind, as if it only happened yesterday. As I set foot on this beautiful land again this time, I am even more impressed by the robust vitality of our bilateral relations and the profound friendship between the two peoples.

In recent years, under the leadership of President Yudhoyono, the Indonesian people have pulled together, made tremendous efforts and achieved success in economic development, social stability and growing national strength. I sincerely wish the Indonesian people further success in forging a better future through hard work and creativity.

Dear Friends,

Apa Kabar! Good morning. It gives me great pleasure to come to the People’s Representative Council of Indonesia and meet all the friends here.

I am visiting Indonesia, known as “country of thousands islands”, at the invitation of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. This is the first leg in my current visit to Southeast Asia. It is a journey for carrying forward traditional friendship and also for planning future cooperation.