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China’s Technology Push Finds New Ground in Indonesia’s Health and Connectivity Gaps

One of the important developments in China-Indonesia relations last month is the strengthening of cooperation in the digital health and technology sectors. These are crucial sectors where Indonesia has struggled to translate policy goals into nationwide coverage. Telkomsat, one of Indonesia's ...

Survey: Indonesians See China as an Opportunity, Not an Ally or Threat

Global debates about China’s rise often revolve around military flashpoints or ideological rivalry. Far less attention is paid to how societies in influential middle powers actually perceive Beijing’s growing role. Indonesia—home to more than 270 million people, Southeast Asia’s largest economy, and a country with a long ...

A Senior Xi Adviser Visits Indonesia, Bringing Beijing’s Long Game Into Focus

One of China’s highest-ranking political figures, and among President Xi Jinping’s closest ideological advisers, visited Jakarta last week, in a move that underscored Beijing’s deepening interest in its relationship with Indonesia. Wang Huning, one of China’s most influential political ...

Alleged Abuses at Chinese-Invested Nickel Plant Expose Indonesia’s Weak Labor Oversight

Last month, LBH Makassar, a legal-aid organization in eastern Indonesia that represents workers and low-income communities, delivered an open letter to the Chinese Embassy in Jakarta. The letter describes serious labor violations at PT Huadi Nickel Alloy Indonesia, a Chinese-invested nickel smelter operating in Bantaeng, a ...

Indonesia Deepens Ties With China to Grow $3 Trillion Halal Market

Indonesia is strengthening its position as a global center for halal business, a market currently worth $3 trillion and projected to reach $4.5 trillion by 2030. Halal refers to products and practices that comply with Islamic law, including food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and financial services, ensuring they ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

Looking Beyond “Useful Africa” at the Mining Indaba

With U.S.-South Africa ties in the deep freeze, it was notable to see the sheer size of the U.S. delegation sent to this week’s Mining Indaba in Cape Town – one of the most prominent industry gatherings and one of the few where the Global South gets a prominent voice.
The Trump administration’s famous Afrophobia seems (momentarily at least) tempered by its greed for minerals. It is reportedly walking ...

Indonesia Prepares for Pivotal Talks on Expanding China-Financed ‘Whoosh’ High-Speed Railway

When the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail, known as the Whoosh, opened in October 2023, it quickly drew scrutiny. China provided billions in loans, KCIC—the China-Indonesia joint venture operating the line—reported losses, and parent companies like the state-owned PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) absorbed significant deficits. Critics ...

Indonesia’s Infrastructure Minister Beijing Visit: Key Takeaways

Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (AHY), Indonesia’s coordinating minister for infrastructure, traveled to Beijing in late August to meet President Xi Jinping and senior Chinese officials. The visit, carried out on behalf of President Prabowo Subianto, was focused on sustaining Indonesia–China dialogue on strategic infrastructure.  ...

Indonesia’s Prabowo, in China’s Spotlight, Ignores Nation’s Tumult for Global Showmanship

On Wednesday morning in Beijing, as the People’s Liberation Army marched in lockstep through Tiananmen Square, one foreign leader stood conspicuously close to the Chinese and Russian presidents. Indonesia’s Prabowo Subianto, clad in a tailored gray suit, sat shoulder to shoulder with Vladimir Putin and Xi ...

Indonesia Deepens Ties With Xinjiang Despite Human Rights Concerns

When the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) opened its doors to Xinjiang’s state-linked conglomerates this month, the event was billed as a milestone in deepening trade ties. Executives from Jakarta and Urumqi spoke glowingly of “mutual respect” ...

China’s Solar Expansion in Indonesia Still Relies on Coal

In West Java, a province just east of Jakarta, Indonesia, a sprawling industrial park is rising. Backed by  Chinese cement giant Hongshi Holding Group, the $5 billion complex promises to produce the solar panels and batteries that the world desperately needs to combat climate change.

Can China and Indonesia Help Save the World’s Rainforests?

Tropical forests around the world are vanishing fast. Logging, mining, and industrial agriculture continue to raze the world’s most carbon-rich ecosystems, accelerating the climate crisis and displacing the people who have protected these forests for generations. Efforts to halt deforestation have largely failed—not because the science is ...

French Fighter Jet Purchase in Indonesia Met with Online Push for Chinese J-10s

Indonesia’s $8.1 billion deal to purchase 42 Rafale fighter jets from France marks a significant step in the country’s military modernization. However, the agreement has also attracted attention in another arena: Indonesia’s information space, where narratives—not just policies—are shaping perceptions of national defense, trade, and foreign ...
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