Trade links with SE Asian power increasingly vital

China sees Indonesia as one of its most important partners among the ASEAN countries, said an expert in regional trade relations.

Trade between the two has developed rapidly since they resumed diplomatic relations in 1990, said Wu Chongbo, a professor specializing in Southeast Asian studies at Fujian-based Xiamen University.

Statistics show that bilateral trade between China and Indonesia hit $66.2 billion in 2012, a 9.4 percent increase over the previous year.