Xi Jinping Invites Prabowo to China Next Month
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Bilateral relations between the Republic of Indonesia and China are said to be growing closer. Chinese President Xi Jinping has formally invited President-elect Prabowo Subianto to visit China again next month to attend a major global event.
At a dialogue forum in Jakarta on Monday (19 October 2026), Zhou Kan, Chargé d’Affaires ad interim at the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Indonesia, said political trust between the two countries was continuing to deepen. Xi’s invitation was specifically for Prabowo to attend the APEC Informal Leaders’ Meeting in Shenzhen.
“We hope this visit will provide a strong new impetus for building a China-Indonesia community with a shared future,” he said.
Zhou said China had been Indonesia’s largest trading partner for 13 consecutive years and had consistently ranked among Indonesia’s top three sources of foreign investment for 10 consecutive years. Social and cultural ties had also expanded rapidly, with 1.11 million Chinese visitors travelling to Indonesia in the first seven months of this year, supported by 264 direct flights per week.
Echoing these positive remarks, Sona Maesana, Special Staff to the Minister of Investment and Downstreaming and Head of BKPM’s Acceleration of Downstreaming and Development of National Entrepreneurs division, highlighted the scale of Chinese capital commitments.
“From 2021 to 2025, cumulative Chinese investment in Indonesia reached a substantial US$34.4 billion (Rp619.2 trillion), spread across mineral processing, electric-vehicle battery supply chains and various manufacturing activities.”
From a development-planning perspective, Maliki, Deputy for Community Empowerment at Bappenas, said the expanding cooperation with China must bring benefits that are directly felt by the public.
“Cooperation between Indonesia and China needs to be designed to deliver greater benefits to the public, measured by the domestic value added created, the number and quality of jobs, and technology transfer,” he said.
As a representative of the event’s organisers, Global Times President and Editor-in-Chief Guan Kejiang also expressed strong hopes for closer strategic ties between the two Global South partners.
“Dialogue and collaboration between these countries are expected to provide a new starting point, enabling the world to hear more of the authentic, diverse and vibrant voices of China, Indonesia and other developing countries.”