Follow CGSP on Social Media

Listen to the CGSP Podcast

Country: Indonesia

Shining a Light on China’s Support for Power Plants in Belt and Road Initiative Countries in Africa and Asia

By Oyintarelado (Tarela) Moses In September 2021, Chinese leader Xi Jinping announced that China would not build new coal plants overseas. At the same time, many countries in Africa and Asia continue to seek finance for electricity-generating infrastructure to meet ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

India Could Ban Cheap Chinese Phones

The Indian government could push Chinese mobile phone manufacturers out of the lower end of its market, according to a new report by Bloomberg. The possible ban is reportedly aimed at boosting India’s failing domestic phone makers in the lucrative sub-12,000 rupee ($150) sector. 

The move will be a blow to Chinese companies like Xiaomi, RealMe, and Transsion, who make up 80% of sales in the sub-$150 sector. Low-end smartphones occupy a third ...

New Chinese Electric Vehicles Roll Off the Assembly Line in Indonesia

China's ambassador to Indonesia, Lu Kang, led a launch ceremony on Monday for the new Wuling Air EV that began to roll off a billion-dollar local assembly in the central industrial city of Cikarang. The new factory has a modest production capacity ...

Xi’s Diplomacy in a New Era

By Lukas Fiala, “I’ll be back” is probably not what Xi Jinping said when he retreated from in-person diplomacy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic some 900 days ago. However, I can’t help but feel that President Xi’s in-person meeting ...

Trade, G20 Issues Top Agenda in an Otherwise Uneventful China-Indonesia Presidential Meeting

The Chinese Foreign Ministry described Tuesday's summit between President Xi Jinping and visiting Indonesian President Joko Widodo as "cordial and friendly." Overall, the meeting between the leaders seemed bland and uneventful. That's probably precisely what both sides ...

Indonesia’s Decision to Block Exports of Unprocessed Nickel is Paying Off Big Time

Indonesia is the envy of commodity-exporting countries throughout the Global South, who have long tried to find a way to force foreign mining companies to process raw materials domestically prior to export. Unfortunately for most countries, particularly in Africa, a combination ...

Indonesian President Widodo Arrives in Beijing For High Profile Meeting With Xi Jinping

Indonesian President Joko Widodo landed in Beijing on Monday night for a two-day visit that will be capped by what is presumed to be an in-person meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. This will be the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic ...

Widodo’s Beijing Visit Gets Sucked Into U.S.-China Feud

China's fiercely nationalistic Global Times newspaper took the lead in pushing back on criticism by high-level U.S. officials that the writers describe as an attempt by Washington to undermine Tuesday's meeting between Indonesian President Joko Widodo and his counterpart Xi Jinping. ...

Indonesian President Widodo’s Meeting With Xi This Week Will be Chinese President’s First Since Pandemic Beginning

Indonesian President Joko Widodo arrived in Beijing on Monday for a two-day state visit to China, where he will hold a symbolically important meeting with President Xi Jinping. This week's talks will be the first in-person meeting between President Xi and ...

While the U.S. Government Wants to Reduce Dependence on Chinese EV Battery Makers, Ford Motor Has Other Plans

The Ford Motor Company announced a number of important deals with major Chinese mining and battery manufacturers to bolster the supply chain of critical resources needed to power its new line-up of electric vehicles. NICKEL: The U.S. auto giant 

Forget Cobalt, Lithium is the Key Strategic Resource

Tesla's across-the-fleet price increase this month was due in part to supply constraints of key metals used to manufacture electric vehicle batteries, specifically lithium.   While the price of cobalt and nickel have steadily fallen this year due to ...