By: Dr. Dino Patti Djalal *
JAKARTA, KalderaNews.com – If you asked me which country Indonesia had grown closest to in the last five years, my answer would be: China.
Indonesia has developed many “partnerships” with other countries — more than a dozen of them. Yet, no matter how you label them (“strategic,” “special, comprehensive,” ”21st century,” etc.), Indonesia’s partnership with China is perhaps the most substantial.
Indonesia trades with China almost three times more than with the United States. China’s investment in Indonesia has been the fastest growing compared to other major investors. The country’s investment in Indonesia in 2017 was 17 times more than its investment in 2007. Chinese tourists visiting Indonesia today outnumber American, Australian, Japanese, and Russian tourists combined. There are more Indonesian students studying in China than in the US. Both sides have announced that Indonesia’s Global Maritime Fulcrum (GMF) and China’s. Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) are compatible. Jakarta supports the BRI (with certain terms) and Beijing supports GMF without qualification. Indonesia-China relations are also saturated with a multitude of ministerial mechanisms, sectoral dialogues, and exchanges — second perhaps only to Indonesia’s partnership with Australia.
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