Chinese media report that China and Indonesia are widening supply-chain cooperation in energy and minerals. Nickel processing investment is the core, though friction over tighter Indonesian rules is also noted.
According to Reuters and China Global South, Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Defense Minister Dong Jun visited Jakarta in late August and agreed to expand cooperation on energy and minerals. The two sides held their first comprehensive strategic dialogue, agreed to draft a 2027-2031 five-year action plan to follow the 2022-2026 one, and launched a foreign-and-defense ministers 2+2 dialogue. This newspaper has not seen the full text of the ‘win-win chain’ commentary and relies on related public reporting.
광고 문의 · 300×250Nickel is the heart of the partnership. Indonesia is among the world’s largest nickel resource holders and producers, and has pursued downstreaming, which limits raw ore exports and requires smelting and processing at home to add value. Chinese firms, through Tsingshan smelters and battery investment such as CATL’s, have become key partners in that policy. Reuters reported that Chinese direct investment in Indonesia reached $3.9 billion in the first half of this year.
Friction exists too. Reuters reported that in May the Indonesia China Chamber of Commerce wrote to President Prabowo Subianto citing higher taxes, a new nickel pricing formula, and excessively strict regulation and over-enforcement as cost pressures. Jakarta has tightened mining quotas, in a manner some compare to oil producers managing supply, and included critical-minerals cooperation in its February reciprocal trade agreement with the United States, signaling a wish to diversify partners. Balancing a resource-holder’s interests with investors’ returns is a shared task.
Looking ahead, Chinese media and experts suggest extending cooperation into stainless steel processing, precursor and cathode materials, battery manufacturing and recycling. Local smelters and industrial parks still rely heavily on coal power, so clean-energy transition and environmental management are seen as open issues. Beyond existing projects such as the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail known as Whoosh, the sides envisage cooperation in green energy, the digital economy, food security and fisheries. The outcome will depend on how the two countries share benefits and make regulation more predictable.
For Indonesia, reaching its Indonesia Emas 2045 goal hinges on moving from raw-material exporter to manufacturing power; for China, a stable battery-materials supply chain matters. With interests overlapping there is room for wider cooperation, but coordination over prices, taxes and environmental rules will continue.
