Airlangga Invites Huawei and ByteDance to Strengthen Digital Cooperation
Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto has invited two Chinese companies, Huawei and ByteDance, to strengthen cooperation in the digital sector. The two technology giants are considered to have the experience to support Indonesia’s digital transformation.
Huawei is a company with superior capabilities in telecommunications infrastructure, cloud computing, and AI, whilst ByteDance is a giant technology company that develops various popular digital platforms in the world such as TikTok, CapCut, Lark, Toutiao, and Douyin.
During a meeting with Huawei, he revealed that the company is one of the strategic and potential partners that could support Indonesia’s digital transformation. He further discussed cooperation opportunities in four areas: AI and cloud infrastructure investment, strengthening the digital talent ecosystem and cyber security, accelerating the digitalisation of the Government and MSMEs, and implementing green energy solutions in data centres.
After Indonesia officially became one of the founding countries of WAICO, we want to ensure a real leap in technological cooperation. Huawei, with its capabilities in AI, telecommunications infrastructure, and cloud computing, is a potential strategic partner to support national digital transformation.
Meanwhile, in a meeting with ByteDance, he expressed appreciation for ByteDance’s strategic investment and long-term commitment in Indonesia, particularly through Tokopedia and TikTok Shop, which have advanced the digital trade ecosystem. The Indonesian Government appreciates ByteDance’s trust in continuing to strengthen its investment in Indonesia. ByteDance’s presence not only strengthens the digital economy ecosystem but also opens wider opportunities for millions of MSME players to grow through digital platforms and cross-border trade.
The Government continues to encourage the expansion of collaboration with ByteDance to support the internationalisation of Indonesian MSME products so they can reach a wider international market. In addition, he also invited ByteDance to explore expanding cooperation in the field of AI, including Large Language Models (LLM), machine learning, and generative AI.
Indonesia has a large digital market, a growing digital talent pool, and a strong commitment to building an inclusive AI ecosystem. We invite ByteDance to explore opportunities for establishing an AI research centre, developing digital talent, and innovation collaboration that can provide benefits for both countries.
The series of business meetings is part of the Indonesian Government’s economic diplomacy to attract high-value-added investment. The meetings were held on the sidelines of a working visit to Shanghai, China, for the signing of the establishment of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO). The partnership with ByteDance and Huawei, as well as Indonesia’s participation in WAICO, is expected to accelerate technology transfer, bridge the global technology gap, and create a more productive and competitive national digital economy ecosystem.