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After 70 years of ties, China and Indonesia have a fruitful, complicated relationship

  • This month marks the seventh decade of diplomatic relations between Jakarta and Beijing
  • While Indonesia views China as a vital economic partner, tensions in the South China Sea and lingering anti-China sentiment are still factors

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Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indonesian President Joko Widodo meet at the West Lake State Guest House in Hangzhou in 2016. Photo: AP
Freelance writer Sylvie Tanaga, 33, has been learning Mandarin since she was a little girl – but her first lessons were held secretly in a church in Bandung, as Indonesia’s second president, Suharto, had for decades banned Chinese Indonesians from publicly expressing their culture.
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Tanaga’s paternal grandfather and her maternal grandparents were born in China before migrating to Indonesia, which inspired the family to make sure she kept learning the language.

Her fascination with China and Chinese-Indonesian affairs continued into adulthood. Last August, she embarked on a year-long government scholarship to study Mandarin at Hainan Normal University, though from last month she has been taking online classes from her Bandung home due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“When I was studying in China, the teachers advised us to study Mandarin diligently so it would be easier for us to get a job or to do business with the Chinese,” Tanaga said.

Indonesia this month marks the 70th anniversary of bilateral relations with China. Although Suharto suspended diplomatic ties with Beijing from 1967 to 1990, ties have improved since then – and while the relationship between Beijing and Jakarta remains complicated, many Indonesians like Tanaga see China as a vital economic partner.
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China’s investments in Indonesia came to US$4.7 billion with 2,130 projects last year, making it the second-largest investor in the archipelagic nation after Singapore. That figure made up 16.8 per cent of total foreign investments in the country, according to the Indonesian Investment Coordinating Board.

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