A worker delivers ballot boxes by boat to remote villages in Gili, Indonesia on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

Indonesia kicks off presidential and parliamentary elections on Wednesday, with the Chinese influence on the country in the spotlight.Prabowo Subianto, the former general who has vowed to review China's investment in Indonesia, is challenging incumbent leader Joko Widodo for presidency of Southeast Asia's largest economy."China's growing economic influence has become a key issue in many Asian countries ... with some opposition politicians winning support after they criticized incumbent leaders for their China policies," said Gu Xiaosong, a research fellow on Southeast Asian studies at the Guangxi Academy of Social Sciences.A $6 billion high-speed railway linking the capital Jakarta and mountain-fringed Bandung - the third biggest city in the country, has been put under scrutiny by the opposition, as Subianto said he will "re-evaluate" the contract if elected.Analysts believe that no matter who wins the election, infrastructure cooperation between the two countries is "inevitable."Zhu Zhenming, a professor at the Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences, said it was too early to know if Subianto would take an outright anti-China posture if he takes office."His comments are very extreme, so I don't think he would fully abide by them even if he wins," Zhu told the Global Times. "China is only supporting Indonesia's economy, not intervening in the country's domestic affairs."Widodo, who narrowly defeated Subianto by a 6.3 percent margin in the previous presidential election in 2014, has put his focus on further strengthening the economy across the sprawling archipelago of more than 17,000 islands.Indonesia, a G20 country, has had a stable GDP annual growth of around 5 percent since 2014, although it is still short of Widodo's 2014 election pledge to hit 7 percent annually.Subianto is currently trailing Widodo by double digits in most domestic polls.The election is considered a huge logistical operation, with 245,000 candidates vying for votes in what is described as the world's biggest single-day election.Aiming to boost domestic power, Indonesia signed a total of $23 billion worth of contracts with China last year, including two hydropower plants in Kalimantan, Borneo, and a power station on tourism hotspot Bali."Indonesia needs to improve its infrastructure if it wants to speed up its economic development," Gu told the Global Times. "China is the top trade partner of Indonesia, which means there is mutual trust between the two countries."More cooperation projects between China and Indonesia are already in talks, media reports suggest, and are likely to be finalized at the Belt and Road Forum later this month."The Belt and Road Initiative is benefitting Indonesia, which needs improvements to its infrastructure," Gu said. "China's experienced skills in infrastructure will further improve Indonesia's economy."The General Election Commission of Indonesia is expected to announce the official result in May.