Learning from China: Indonesian Entrepreneurs Say Indonesia Can Become Global Furniture Hub

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Indonesia is considered to have significant potential to become a global furniture industry hub. Natural resources, cultural wealth, long-standing craft traditions, and a large domestic market are key assets for Indonesia, with few countries possessing these combined strengths. However, Indonesia must learn from China’s success in building an integrated industrial ecosystem, which sustains industrial competitiveness. The forum brought together furniture industry players from across continents and nations, long-standing key players in global furniture trade. According to Sobur, the forum highlighted a crucial lesson: the direction of global industrial competition has shifted. Global competition is no longer solely between companies or even nations. It now occurs between industrial ecosystems. “Global competition today is no longer between companies, nor merely between nations. It is now between industrial ecosystems,” Sobur stated in a press release on Friday, 29 May 2026. Thousands of companies operate within an interconnected ecosystem in the region. This ecosystem encompasses raw material suppliers, machinery manufacturers, logistics, design, vocational education, financing institutions, digital trade, and government support. All these elements work in unison to enhance industrial competitiveness. Nankang’s primary strength does not stem solely from low production costs or large population. Its true power lies in building an ecosystem that enables all industry players to operate more efficiently, productively, and competitively. “The true strength lies in building an ecosystem that enables all industry players to operate more efficiently, productively, and competitively,” he added.