April 13 marks the 72nd anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Indonesia. Chinese ambassador to Indonesia, Lu Kang opened a new Twitter account and expressed his gratitude for the welcome he received after taking his new post and shared his expectations for the future of China-Indonesia cooperation.

"I would like to thank my friends from all walks of life in Indonesia for their blessings, encouragement and support upon my arrival," wrote the new Chinese ambassador on his Twitter account on Wednesday.

"Since I arrived in Jakarta at the end of February, I already submitted my Letter of Credence to President Joko Widodo in early March, followed by many courtesy calls to friends in the Indonesian parliament, government, religious groups and think tanks," Lu posted on Twitter in Chinese, English and Bahasa Indonesia.

The ambassador said that he will work together with his Indonesian colleagues and friends to promote cooperation between the two countries and enhance the friendship among the two peoples.

On Tuesday, Lu called Airlangga Hartarto, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs of Indonesia and exchanged views on deepening the bilateral economic and trade relations, cooperation between the Communist Party of China and the Party of Functional Groups of Indonesia, and the 2022 G20 Bali Summit.

Since his arrival in Jakarta, Lu has met with Indonesian parliamentarians, government officials, religious leaders and think tanks, including Indonesia's Coordinator for Cooperation with China and Coordinating Minister, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, and Defense Minister, Prabowo Subianto.

Lu's intensive contacts with the countrys officials are a reflection of the close relations between China and Indonesia, he said previously.

The senior diplomat also noted that it is mutually recognized that China-Indonesia relations are based in mutual respect in politics, economy and culture.

According to official data, China has been Indonesia's largest trading partner for nine consecutive years since 2013 and the largest destination of Indonesia's exports for six consecutive years. China has so far provided 290 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to Indonesia during the pandemic, making it the largest provider of shots for the country.

As a hub of global governance and multilateral processes, Indonesia will host the G20 Leaders Summit in 2022. China and Indonesia also pledged to develop a plan of action as soon as possible to strengthen the Belt and Road Initiative with Indonesia's ASEAN Indo-Pacific Vision in key areas of cooperation.