Multiple eye-catching Chinese elements are seen at the 17th G20 summit, which will kick off on Tuesday in Bali, Indonesia, including new-energy shuttle vehicles sponsored by SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile (SGMW), a joint venture based in Liuzhou, South China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Global Times reporters observed at the site of the summit on Monday.
SGMW sponsored 300 new-energy vehicles (NEVs) for the summit. With an appearance adopting local artistic batik themes and car bodies covered with G20 logos, the vehicles are colorful, in sharp contrast with other vehicles.
The SGMW’s Air ev series can travel 200 kilometers per charge, which can meet the demand of the summit meetings, according to a statement sent to the Global Times by the company.
Behind the Chinese elements showing up at the summit, there is increasingly close cooperation of the two countries in the NEV sector. Indonesia plans to reduce its carbon emissions by 31.89 percent by 2030.
“We will see more Air EV shuttles in Bali, and we hope Wuling will become an important part of the ecological development of electric vehicles in Indonesia,” Pratikno, Minister of the State Secretariat of Indonesia, said at the delivery ceremony in October.
As the first Chinese NEV landing in the Indonesian market, the Air ev has received more than 4,000 orders since its debut, becoming the NEV with the highest monthly sales in Indonesia, the company said.
In addition to the shuttle vehicles, the Global Times learned that many local staffers working at the summit chose China-made COVID-19 vaccines. Reporters and staffers at the scene are required to be vaccinated.
China-based CanSino Biologics Inc signed an agreement with Indonesian biopharmaceutical Company Etana on Sunday, planning to conduct cooperation on the development of inhaled vaccine technology and a vaccine for epidemic meningitis.
CanSino will work with partners in Indonesia to promote the joint development and commercialization of innovative vaccine products and contribute to the development of a regional vaccine production hub in Indonesia, the company said in a statement sent to the Global Times.
Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the two countries have joined hands to combat the virus. Indonesia was one of the earliest countries and regions to send epidemic prevention supplies to China, and China was the first to cooperate with Indonesia in the research and development of COVID-19 vaccines and specific drugs. It’s also the largest supplier of vaccines to Indonesia, according to media reports.
In particular, the much-anticipated Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Railway, which links China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Indonesia’s Global Maritime Fulcrum strategy, will be put into test operation during the G20 summit.
With a design speed of 350 kilometers per hour, the railway will cut the journey between Jakarta and Bandung from over three hours to around 40 minutes, boosting economic growth and enhancing the competitiveness of the local economy.
Since the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership, the two countries have seen rapid growth of cooperation in various fields. In 2021, bilateral trade totaled $124.4 billion, surging 58.6 percent year-on-year. China has been Indonesia’s largest trading partner for nine years in a row, according to data released by China’s General Administration of Customs.
Meanwhile, Indonesia has become the second-largest investment destination for China in the ASEAN bloc.
Chinese tech giant Tencent launched its first internet data centre in Indonesia in April 2021, providing global access and a rich array of services to governments and organizations that need advanced infrastructure and a resilient environment, such as those in the online games, live broadcast, and financial services sectors, the company told the Global Times in a statement on Monday.
