Chinese Xi holds talks with Indonesian President Widodo in Beijing ahead of G20 Summit

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday met with Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Beijing, local media reported, noting a rare visit under China's so-called zero COVID policy.

Notably, the Indonesian President's three-nation tour of East Asia comes ahead of the G20 summit under its presidency in November. China, Japan, South Korea and Indonesia are all members of the G20, a group of 19 countries and the European Union.

The Indonesian leader arrived in Beijing last night, ahead of the first in-person meeting with Xi since the Winter Olympics in February.

The visit will take place from July 25 to 26.

The last time China hosted foreign leaders was at the start of the Winter Olympics in February, with Russian President Vladimir Putin among those who visited Beijing in a highly-guarded bubble.

"It's the first high-level visit we're going to receive after the Beijing Olympic Winter Games, and I would like to say that we have gained useful experience during the Olympics," Zhao Lijian, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday.

Earlier, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi co-hosted the Second Meeting of China-Indonesia High-level Dialogue Cooperation Mechanism with Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Cooperation with China, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan.

It comes after China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was confronted about its global influence in the Group of Seven (G7) Summit held in Germany. His visit aimed to reassert China's ties with these countries.

US President Joe Biden during the NATO summit announced plans to raise USD 600 billion in order to create a new G7 initiative -- also known as the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) -- in an effort to counteract China's global influence through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), as well as a number of recent developments in its naval and military programmes.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan had said that the new G7 initiative aimed to curb China's growing military prowess and business operations via its BRI project.

( With inputs from ANI )