Senior officials, business executives, academics, and emerging leaders from China and Indonesia have launched the Sino-Indonesia Next Generation Dialogue (SINGD), a new Track II platform aimed at strengthening long-term bilateral cooperation as both countries play increasingly influential roles in Asia.
The inaugural SINGD Leadership Retreat was held on July 10–12 at the Tsinghua Southeast Asia Center in Bali in partnership with the United in Diversity Foundation. The forum brought together 45 next-generation leaders from both countries alongside serving and former ministers, ambassadors, senior business executives, and academics to discuss geopolitical developments, investment, climate transition, technology, and people-to-people relations.
Organizers said SINGD is designed as an independent, long-term dialogue platform that complements official diplomacy by fostering trust and practical cooperation across generations rather than serving as a one-off event.
The discussions were structured around four themes: grand strategy and geopolitics; business, investment and trade; climate and sustainability; and culture and people-to-people exchanges.
The retreat opened with a keynote address by Hashim S. Djojohadikusumo, Indonesia’s Special Presidential Envoy for Energy and Climate and Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN) Advisory Board.
Other speakers included former Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo, Indonesian Presidential Special Envoy for International Trade and Multilateral Cooperation Mari Elka Pangestu, Indonesian Ambassador to China and Mongolia Djauhari Oratmangun, Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology Stella Christie, Chinese Consul General in Bali Zhang Zhisheng, former Indonesian Ambassador to Singapore Tommy Suryopratomo, National Economic Council Special Advisor Jona Widhagdo Putri, East Asian Institute Director Bert Hofman, Argyle Street Management Chief Investment Officer Kin Chan, Two Sigma Asia-Pacific Chief Executive Officer Kenny Lam, and Medco Power Indonesia Chief Executive Officer Eka Satria.
Investment, Industrial Cooperation in FocusParticipants described China and Indonesia as structurally complementary economies, with Indonesia offering abundant natural resources, strategic geography, a large young workforce, and growing domestic demand, while China contributes capital, technology, manufacturing capabilities, and execution capacity.
On trade and investment, delegates argued that global trade has remained more resilient than suggested by concerns over fragmentation. However, they warned that declining foreign direct investment (FDI) poses a greater long-term risk because it affects future productive capacity.
Participants agreed Indonesia could benefit from ongoing regional supply chain shifts if it strengthens regulatory certainty, investment policies, and institutional quality. Foreign investment, they said, should be leveraged to accelerate technology transfer, workforce development, and the expansion of domestic supply chains.
Capital market discussions also highlighted that international institutional investors primarily allocate capital based on returns, with geopolitics representing only one of several risk considerations. Participants noted that deeper capital markets, competitive companies, political stability, and legal certainty remain critical to attracting long-term investment.
Energy Transition, AI CooperationThe forum also identified the energy transition as both an industrial opportunity and an economic growth driver rather than solely an environmental agenda.
Delegates pointed to Indonesia’s renewable energy resources, critical mineral reserves, and carbon storage potential as strategic advantages, while emphasizing that financing remains the main challenge. Discussions also covered downstream industrial development, ASEAN power grid integration, and the role of Chinese technology and financing in supporting regional energy transition.
On artificial intelligence (AI), participants argued Indonesia should focus on sectors where it holds comparative advantages instead of attempting to compete across every aspect of AI development.
They identified national-scale datasets spanning healthcare, education, biodiversity, language, genetics, and digital behavior as valuable strategic assets, while calling for governance frameworks that enable responsible data utilization. Regional cooperation on AI governance and digital interoperability was also identified as an important priority.
Strengthening People-to-People RelationsParticipants also underscored the importance of strengthening grassroots engagement, arguing that bilateral ties remain robust at the government level but require deeper community-level interaction.
They emphasized that media, education, cultural exchanges, and digital content creators now play increasingly important roles in building long-term trust between both countries. Delegates also identified greater engagement between Chinese and Indonesian Muslim communities as an underdeveloped yet strategically important area for future cooperation.
SINGD Co-Founder Tavan Dutton said the long-term resilience of bilateral relations would depend not only on government cooperation but also on stronger societal connections.
“China and Indonesia already enjoy strong government-to-government and economic ties. If this partnership is to endure for generations, we must invest as deliberately in human relationships as we do in physical infrastructure, building equally strong people-to-people ties so that friendship is not only reflected in official agreements, but lived and strengthened by communities in both countries,” he said.
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