China is willing to work with Indonesia to elevate the building of the China-Indonesia community with a shared future, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a press briefing in Beijing on Tuesday when speaking of Indonesian president's upcoming state visit to China.
President of the Republic of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto will pay a state visit to China from Nov 8 to 10 at the invitation of President Xi Jinping.
"China and Indonesia are good neighbors facing each other across the sea and good partners with a shared future. Under the strategic guidance of the two countries' heads of state, China-Indonesia relations have maintained a robust momentum of development and entered a new stage of jointly building a community with a shared future," said Mao.
"President Prabowo chose China as the first country to visit as President-elect in March this year, and he once again chose China as the first country to visit after his inauguration. This manifests the great importance he attaches to developing bilateral relations and demonstrates the high level of China-Indonesia ties," she said.
"President Xi Jinping will hold a welcoming ceremony for President Prabowo and the two heads of state will hold talks. Premier Li Qiang and Chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee Zhao Leji will meet with President Prabowo respectively. China stands ready to work with Indonesia to take this visit as an opportunity to strengthen high-level political mutual trust, deepen all-round strategic cooperation, and continuously push forward the building of a China-Indonesia community with a shared future to a new level, so as to inject strong momentum into the modernization process of both countries and contribute to the prosperity and development of the region and the world," said Mao.
Prabowo was sworn in as Indonesia's eighth president on Oct 20.
FM spokeswoman on Indonesian president’s state visit to China
Three sisters who weave high-quality carpets in Afghanistan's Kabul see an opportunity for their craft to reach global buyers at the China International Import Expo (CIIE), ongoing from November 5 to 10 in Shanghai.
Zahra, Fatima and Marzia, three sisters who were deprived of school and higher education, have mastered the art of carpet weaving over the last few years.
The time-honored craft is now the best possible way for them to bring food to the table. They are known as "the three carpet master sisters" in their neighborhood in western Kabul.
Their mother, Roqia Amiri, said she lost her husband, a well-known cleric, due to cancer after a long struggle with illness, and her daughters are now the only breadwinners of the family.
"I'm glad that my daughters have taken responsibility for their brothers and father by weaving carpets and are doing okay," said Roqia Amiri.
The three sisters weave not just carpets, but dreams and resilience into every thread, turning tradition into a tapestry of hope and strength.
They see the CIIE as a ray of hope, promising better wages and a better life for their family.
"These Afghan carpets are being exported from Afghanistan and the CIIE plays a vital role in selling these carpets worldwide, which expands weaving opportunities inside Afghanistan," said Zahra.
The young women take deep pride in their work and are eager to share their carpets with Chinese consumers.
"Weaving carpets is really hard work. It takes months to weave carpets with the threads. But as a result, a life-time guarantee carpet is being produced," said Marzia.
In Afghanistan, most carpets are weaved by girls and women in many provinces of the country, including the capital city Kabul.
The CIIE, the world's first national-level exposition dedicated to imports, has provided a broader market for handmade Afghan carpets, an industry that employs thousands of families.
China Int'l Import Expo provides opportunities to Afghan handmade carpet weavers
