Indonesian students see benefit in warmer relations with China, but will all fellow Indonesians?

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Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (left) and Indonesian President Joko Widodo hold the mascots of the 2018 Asian Games during a meeting at the presidential palace in Bogor, West Java on May 7. Indonesia was the first stop on Li’s first overseas trip since he was endorsed in March for a second term as premier. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 10:33am, 13 May 2018Updated: 12:33pm, 15 Oct 2020

The official visit of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to Indonesia last week was a remarkable event for bilateral relations, as it was the first stop on Li’s first overseas trip since China’s new cabinet took office two months ago.

As Indonesian students who study in China, it is a great pleasure to witness a much closer relationship between the two nations. We believe that the closer the relationship is, the more opportunities Indonesian students will get after graduation.

Secondly, Indonesian students see Li’s visit as a sign of success in their promotion of Indonesia. We in China actively promote our country in all events, both inside and outside universities. Our student associations organise Indonesian cultural and tourism festivals in almost every Chinese city where they study. They also promote Indonesia as good place to invest and do business. Thus, Li’s visit can be seen as proof that students have been successful in creating a good image of Indonesia.

What’s made Indonesian students forget the China taboo?

Thirdly, the students view the visit as enhancing prospects for cooperation in several aspects, especially education. There has been a dramatic increase in the number of Indonesian students in China after President Xi Jinping’s visit in 2013, and after the Chinese government offered them more scholarships in the last two years. Thus, we are very optimistic that Li’s visit will see even more Indonesian students get scholarships to study in China.

A woman walks past a shop in Jakarta’s Chinatown in November 2016. Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s good relations with China may be used by opposition politicians to play up anti-Chinese sentiment in Indonesia. Photo: AP

A young Chinese Indonesian straddles modernity and tradition

Lastly, while the visit can improve prospects for cooperation, it can also be a challenge due to anti-Chinese sentiment in Indonesia. The closeness of Indonesian President Joko Widodo to China might be interpreted in a different way by opposition parties to play up the fear of communism in Indonesia. If this happens, the wave of anti-Chinese sentiment will reappear.