China, Indonesia to Resume Relations

China and Indonesia agreed Tuesday to resume diplomatic relations that were suspended 23 years ago over Beijing’s alleged support for a coup attempt by Indonesian Communists.

Chinese Premier Li Peng will travel to Jakarta on a goodwill visit to mark the official resumption of ties, which is set for Aug. 8, according to a communique issued by the two governments.

“We have just signed a document of historic significance,” Chinese Foreign Minister Qian Qichen told reporters Tuesday at a joint press conference held with his Indonesian counterpart, Ali Alatas, after the communique-signing ceremony.

Qian and Alatas, who acted like old friends as they fielded questions, said resumption of diplomatic ties would lead to a major expansion of economic links between the two countries and contribute to peace in the Asia-Pacific region.

Indonesia, which with 177 million people is the world’s fifth most populous country, first recognized Beijing’s Communist regime in 1950 but suspended relations in 1967, two years after an attempted Communist coup in Jakarta that Indonesia alleged was backed by China.

Resumption of relations, which has been under negotiation since early last year, marks an important diplomatic breakthrough for Beijing as it attempts to repair international ties damaged by its violent crackdown on pro-democracy protests last year.

As part of the normalization process, each country pledged non-interference in the other’s internal affairs. Indonesia also agreed to repay $84 million owed China from loans made before 1965.

Resumption of Sino-Indonesian ties also lays the groundwork for Singapore to extend diplomatic recognition to Beijing. Singapore, which is primarily populated by ethnic Chinese, has long said it would not establish ties with Beijing until Indonesia did so. The explanation for this has been that it did not want to be perceived as a beachhead for Chinese influence in Southeast Asia.

Qian said Tuesday that preparations are now under way for talks with Singapore on establishment of diplomatic relations.

China has long sought renewed ties with Indonesia, but Jakarta held back largely from fear that Beijing would seek influence among Indonesia’s 4 million ethnic Chinese. Ethnic Chinese are a major force in Indonesian trade, banking and manufacturing, and are a frequent target of envy and distrust by ethnic Indonesians.

Before 1965, ethnic Chinese also were a major force in the Indonesian Communist Party. The abortive 1965 coup was followed by a right-wing backlash and a wave of killings directed largely against suspected Communists and ethnic Chinese. The violence, in which hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have died, basically wiped out the Indonesian Communist Party, which at the time was the third largest in the world.

Qian, in a statement Tuesday reiterating that Beijing would have no relations with Indonesian Communists, said that China does not even know whether the Indonesian Communist Party still exists.

Direct trade between Indonesia and China was resumed in 1985, with two-way trade last year totaling $920 million.

Alatas said Tuesday that “after the resumption of full diplomatic relations, one of the first things to follow will be to work for a new trade agreement between us.”