The People's Republic of China (PRC) and Indonesia established diplomatic relations in 1950, and re-established relations in 1990 following a break in 1967. For many centuries, the two regions were largely tied together through informal trade. Under Sukarno’s presidency, relations with China deepened. In the early 1960s, Sukarno embarked on a series of foreign policies under a banner of anti-imperialism and a personal championing of the Non-Aligned Movement. These developments led to increasing friction with the West and closer relations both with the China and the Soviet Union. Sukarno's Guided Democracy relied on two conflicting pillars of support, the military and the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI). He favored the latter, which grew to be the largest political party with 3 million members and in August 1965, Sukarno declared his intention to commit Indonesia to an anti-imperialist alliance with China and other communist regimes and warned the military not to interfere.
The military, nationalists, and Muslim groups objected to the prominence of the PKI, fearing the imminent establishment of a communist state in Indonesia and regarded Sukarno's close alliance with China as compromising Indonesia's sovereignty. This culminated in the progressive sidelining and eventual ousting of Sukarno from 1965 until 1967 by Suharto and his supporters, who instigated a prolonged persecution and eventual elimination of the PKI with estimates of killings varying from 500,000 to 1 million. In 1967, Suharto introduced orders banning Chinese literature, culture and characters, encouraging the abandonment of Chinese names and suspended diplomatic relationships with the PRC, to be restored only in 1990.Instruksi Presiden Republik Indonesia Nomor 14 Tahun 1967Keputusan Presiden Republik Indonesia Nomor 6 Tahun 2000
An important factor in relations is the small, only 3% of the population, but long-established and economically influential Chinese diaspora. This group has been keen to take advantage of trading opportunities with China, which has become Indonesia's biggest trading partner since the signing of the Indonesia-China Strategic Partnership in 2005. Trade flows increased steadily, turning in 2008 into a rising trade deficit for Indonesia. Two-way investment was boosted by President Joko Widodo and Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s close personal relationship, leading to a surge in investment under China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Inbound investment from China, including Hong Kong, in 2019–2020, ranked second after Singapore. Both countries are among the largest nations in Asia in terms of both area and population. China is the second-most populous nation in the world, while Indonesia has the 4th largest population. China is Indonesia's largest trading partner. The annual trade between China and Indonesia was $135 billion as of 2024.
China has an embassy in Jakarta and consulates in Surabaya and Medan, while Indonesia has an embassy in Beijing and consulates in Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. Both nations are members of the APEC, BRICS and the G20.
History Kingdom era
The relations between imperial China and ancient Indonesia commenced during the 7th century, possibly earlier. Indonesia was part of the maritime Silk Road connecting China with India and the Arab world. Numerous Chinese ceramics have been discovered throughout Indonesia, suggesting ancient trade links between the two regions. The National Museum of Indonesia has one of the most complete collections of Chinese ceramics discovered outside of China, dated from the Han, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, spanning for almost two millennia. This particular collection provides a good insight into Indonesia's maritime trade over the centuries. Research indicates that the Chinese sailed to India via Indonesia as early as Western Han period (205 BC to 220 AD) as a part of the maritime silk road and firm trade relations were subsequently established. Traditionally, the Indonesian archipelago, identified by ancient Chinese geographer as Nanyang, was the source of spices such as cloves, cubeb, and nutmeg, raw materials such as sandalwood, gold and tin, as well as exotic rare items such as ivory, rhino horn, tiger fur and bone, exotic birds and colorful feathers. While the fine silk and ceramics of China was sought by ancient Indonesian kingdoms. Indonesia also played some role in the expansion of Buddhism from India to China. A Chinese monk, I-Tsing, visited Srivijaya in 671 for 6 months during his mission to acquire sacred Buddhist texts from India. Other Chinese accounts and chronicles also mention several ancient states in Indonesia today. Chinese records mentioned about Kunlun sailors, presumably Cham or Malays sailors, that sailed and traded many products across ports in Southeast and South Asia. The Malay sailors are most probably hailed from Srivijayan empire in Sumatra. Ancient Indonesian sailors seem to actively sought trade around Southeast Asia and as far as China and India. Since I-Tsing, numbers of Chinese travelers such as Chou Ju-kua began to visit and wrote about the Indonesian archipelago.
Most ancient Chinese-Indonesia relations were trade-motivated and throughout their shared history, most were harmonious and peaceful, with one exception. In 1293, Kublai Khan of Yuan dynasty sent a massive expedition of 1,000 ships to Java to punish the defiant king Kertanegara of Singhasari.. The naval expedition, however, was a failure as Java rose to be Majapahit empire instead. Maritime empires such as Srivijaya, Majapahit, and later Malacca sought trade permits to establish relations with lucrative Chinese markets. The numbers of Chinese immigrants and Chinese influences in the archipelago reached a new height, with the massive Ming dynasty naval expedition led by admiral Zheng He that visited Java, Sumatra, and the Malay peninsula in early the 15th century. Zheng He's translator Ma Huan wrote a detailed description of Majapahit and where the king of Java lived. The report was composed and collected in Yingya Shenglan, which provides a valuable insight on the culture, customs, also various social and economic aspects of Chao-Wa (Java) during Majapahit period. The Chinese naval expedition contributed to the establishment of overseas Chinese settlements in Indonesia, such as Semarang, Tuban and Rembang which have had significant Chinese populations since Majapahit era.
During the colonial Dutch East Indies Company and Dutch East Indies era, significant Chinese settlers began to fill labor needs and seek a new life in the Indonesian archipelago. Most of Chinese Indonesian immigrants came from the provinces of Southern China, such as Fujian and Guangdong. Significant Chinese settlements were established in West Kalimantan, the east coast of Sumatra, and the northern coast of Java. In 1932, China declared that its southernmost territory was the Paracels, not the seas surrounding the Natuna islands.
Post-Independence
After Indonesia's independence in 1945 and the acknowledgement of its sovereignty from the Dutch in 1949, Indonesia established diplomatic relations with China (previously with Republic of China and later with People's Republic of China) in 1950. It was the first country in Southeast Asia to establish official diplomatic relations with the PRC. See p. 591. During the Sukarno administration, China and Indonesia enjoyed close relations.
In 1955, Indonesia and the PRC agreed to the Sino-Indonesian Dual Nationality Treaty, which required Chinese dual citizens to choose between Indonesian nationality and PRC nationality. If a Chinese did not elect between their former dual nationalities, the treaty deemed them to have repudiated their Indonesian nationality. This situation was complicated by the fact that many Chinese Indonesians held ROC passports and viewed themselves as ROC nationals. The ROC protested and in 1958 evacuated more than five thousand overseas Chinese to Taiwan. According to some estimates, by 1962 there were approximately 1 million ethnic Chinese in Indonesia without nationality.
In the 1950s to 1960s the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had close relations with their Indonesian counterparts. Sukarno supported and won the bid for the 1962 Asian Games held in Jakarta. Political tensions arose when Indonesia refused entry to a delegation from Taiwan. After the International Olympic Committee imposed sanctions on Indonesia for this exclusionary policy, due to Indonesia's firm support for the One China policy. Sukarno retaliated by organizing a "non-imperialist" competitor event to the Olympic Games, called the Games of New Emerging Forces (GANEFO). Sukarno responded by accusing the IOC of being political in its refusal to accept the People's Republic of China; The IOC was merely an "imperialist and colonialist tool."
In January 1965, Sukarno, withdrew Indonesia from the United Nations after accusations that it was "dominated by imperialism." He attempted to establish a rival UN organization called the Conference of New Emerging Powers (CONEFO) with the support of the People's Republic of China, which was not yet a member of the UN, and he formed a new alliance of Indonesia with the new emergent forces (NEFO) countries with China, North Korea, North Vietnam, and Cambodia which he called the "Beijing-Pyongyang-Hanoi-Phnom Penh-Jakarta Axis." With the government heavily indebted to the Soviet Union, Indonesia became increasingly dependent on China for support.Hughes (2002), p. 21 Sukarno increasingly spoke of the importance of the Beijing-Jakarta axis. However, after an unsuccessful coup attempt in 1965 resulted in the fall of Sukarno and the consolidation of power by right-wing military general Suharto, Indonesia severed diplomatic relations, maintaining that Communist China was partly responsible for the coup attempt. During the Indonesian mass killings of 1965–66, the Indonesian army and Chinese-hating guerillas massacred thousands of ethnic Chinese, contending that the Chinese were communists or loyal to the PRC.
Contemporary history
China and Indonesia established diplomatic relations on April 13, 1950, which were suspended on October 30, 1967, due to the occurrence of the September 30 event of 1965, the subsequent 1967 seizure of power by Lt. General Suharto which appointed him to the office of acting president, the stepping down of President Sukarno and the eventual beginning of the New Order era, which, under Suharto's presidency, would last thirty-two years.
Entering the 1970s, relations between China and the West began to improve, especially after the visit of United States President Richard Nixon to Beijing after years of US diplomatic policy that favored the Republic of China in Taiwan. Previously, this policy was also followed by the acceptance of the People's Republic of China at the UN. The improving relations between the People's Republic of China and the West certainly influenced global politics at that time, especially Indonesia. In 1985, Indonesia held the 30th anniversary of the Asian-African Conference and invited representatives from countries that had attended the conference since 1955, including China. Chinese Foreign Minister Wu Xueqian was specially invited to attend the event and as a sign of the warming of relations between Beijing and Jakarta. China and Indonesia relations began to improve with the reopening of trade relations between the two countries in 1985.