Xi calls Indonesia high-speed rail a 'gold standard' of ties

JAKARTA -- Indonesia's first high-speed railway -- a 140-kilometer Beijing-backed project connecting Jakarta and Bandung -- has become a "gold standard" of bilateral cooperation, Chinese President Xi Jinping said of the 6-month-old line.

The "Whoosh" high-speed train, a prestige project for Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo under Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative, reached 2 million passengers last month, according to Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC), the Indonesian-Chinese consortium that operates the train.