VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

As many as 2,278 Indonesian companies have been included in the list of foreign companies that have received approval from the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), as of April 14, 2022.

"As predicted, the implementation of GACC Decree 248 will have a significant impact on us," Marina Novira Anggraini, Trade Attache at the Indonesian Embassy in Beijing, said in response to Antara's questions.

The GACC data in Beijing on Sunday showed that the number of Indonesian companies registered with the China Customs is the largest among ASEAN member countries.

The number of Indonesian companies exceeds those of Vietnam (2008), Thailand (1,631), Myanmar (1,052), and Malaysia (1,021).

The GACC Decree 248 issued in 2021, requires all overseas food manufacturers, processors, and storage facilities to register with the GACC. After obtaining approval from GACC, the foreign products will get export labels.

"The validity period of this registration is five years," Marina Novira Anggraini added .

In 2021, the value of Indonesia's exports to China reached US$63.63 billion (Rp914.16 trillion), up 70.02 percent from that in 2020. Indonesia's imports from China stood at US$60.71 billion, an increase of 47.87 percent from the previous year.

Hence, Indonesia enjoyed a trade surplus of US$2.92 billion (Rp41.95 trillion) last year, according to GACC data in early February.

The value of bilateral trade between Indonesia and China in the same period reached US$124.34 billion (Rp1.79 quadrillion) or an increase of 58.43 percent.

Indonesia's main exporting products that experienced an increase by more than 100 percent included mineral fuels, nickel derivative products, milling industry products, ceramic products, precious metals, processed vegetables, natural pearls, cultured pearls, and processed fish meat.

The country's exports of food, coffee, tea, and spice to China jumped by more than 60 percent in 2021.

Among ASEAN countries, Indonesia ranks third as China's trade partners. In 2019 and 2020, Indonesia ranked fifth and fourth. (Antaranews)