Jakarta, August 4, 2023—Ahead of the 2024 election, CELIOS highlighted the interactions of the three presidential candidates with China. Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat, Director of China-Indonesia Studies at CELIOS, stated, “Compared to Anies, Ganjar and Prabowo have more interactions with China.” Prabowo frequently meets senior Chinese officials to discuss defense partnerships, while Ganjar has signed various regional cooperation agreements with China. Meanwhile, Anies has focused more on building relations with the United States and Western countries, including visits to Europe for MRT and smart city projects.
CELIOS emphasized the need to evaluate cooperation with China. Yeta Purnama, a CELIOS researcher, stressed, “Each 2024 presidential candidate needs to clearly understand the risks of Chinese loan models in infrastructure projects.” The government should also create space to renegotiate projects that burden the state budget and SOE finances.
In addition, CELIOS warned that the elected president must take a firm stance on the South China Sea issue and human rights in Xinjiang, and ensure that Chinese investment projects support the environment, the welfare of local workers, and downstream processing that increases value added. “Environmental issues, protection of local workers’ welfare in projects funded by Chinese investment, and the direction of downstream processing in greater alignment with increasing value added are also important priorities,” Yeta concluded.
Ahead of the 2024 presidential election, CELIOS highlighted the interactions of the three presidential candidates with China. Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat, Director of China-Indonesia Studies at CELIOS, stated, “Compared to Anies, Ganjar and Prabowo have much higher interactions with China.” Prabowo frequently meets Chinese officials to discuss defense partnerships, while Ganjar has signed various regional cooperation agreements with China. Meanwhile, Anies has focused more on building relations with the United States and European countries, including visits for MRT and smart city projects.
CELIOS emphasized the need to evaluate cooperation with China. Yeta Purnama, a CELIOS researcher, stressed, “Each 2024 presidential candidate needs to clearly understand the risks of Chinese loan models in infrastructure projects.” The government should also create space to renegotiate projects that burden the state budget and SOE finances.
Additionally, CELIOS urged that the next president take firm stances on the South China Sea dispute, human rights issues in Xinjiang, and ensure Chinese-funded projects support environmental protection, local worker welfare, and downstream industries that increase value addition. “Environmental issues, protection of local workers in projects funded by Chinese investment, and downstream development that aligns with value addition are also important agendas,” Yeta concluded.
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