Book Description

This book examines China–Indonesia relations in 2025, marking 75 years of diplomatic ties amid heightened geopolitical uncertainty. Cooperation across trade, investment, infrastructure, technology—including artificial intelligence (AI)—and defense expanded, even as Indonesia faced challenges in governance and strategic positioning. Indonesia joining BRICS and US tariffs set the tone for the year, shaping expectations around Global South engagement, trade realignment, and access to development and climate finance. Economic cooperation in downstream minerals, nickel, manufacturing, energy, digital technologies, and AI progressed amid regulatory pressures, while high-level diplomacy, defense diversification—including Chinese J-10C fighter jets—and the ongoing negotiations over the Jakarta–Bandung high-speed rail reflected both progress and governance challenges. Following the format of previous editions, this volume compiles our analyses in leading international outlets, offering a concise assessment of the opportunities and complexities shaping China–Indonesia relations ahead.

About Authors

Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat is the Director of the China-Indonesia Desk at CELIOS. Zulfikar also holds affiliated positions at the Middle East Institute at the National University of Singapore, the London School of Economics’ IDEAS, and Busan University of Foreign Studies. His areas of expertise lie in the political economy of international cooperation, with a particular emphasis on China-Indonesia relations, China-Middle East relations, and Indonesia-Middle East relations.

Yeta Purnama is a researcher at CELIOS, focusing on the evolving dynamics of China–Indonesia relations. Her analyses have appeared in The Diplomat, Stratsea, Australian Outlook, and major Indonesian media outlets. Y eta holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Universitas Islam Indonesia.

Bhima Yudhistira Adhinegara is the Executive Director of CELIOS. Bhima received British Academy Awards grants for Just Energy Transition in 2024- 2025. Previously, Bhima had a career as an economist and expert staff at Indonesia Chamber of Commerce and was a consultant at the International Finance Corporation (IFC) World Bank, Jakarta. Bhima studied for a masters in the University of Bradford, UK. His research area includes macroeconomics, energy transition, and critical minerals governance.