JakartaGlobe-Apr 15
Southeast Asia’s largest economy Indonesia has been increasingly intimate in various sectors with the world’s second-largest economy, China. China-Indonesia ties not only occur between governments and businesses. Several Indonesian political parties and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), China’s founding and sole ruling party are also forging ties. This phenomenon is quite interesting given the world’s most populous Muslim majority has held a strong anti-communist position since the mid-1960s. Ongoing research about the actors involved in China-Indonesia relations reveals the mutual benefits the Chinese Communist Party and Indonesia’s political parties gain from these collaborations. Political experts on the Chinese Communist Party, Julia Bader and Christine Hackenesch, argue that from the CCP’s perspective, strengthening party-to-party relations with Indonesia of its soft-power approach to increasing the legitimacy of its growing economic interests in the country. From the perspective of Indonesian parties, the aim is more than just to maintain good relations but also to bring about projects in various sectors. This also opens up opportunities for the Indonesian parties to become grant distributors, enabling them to gain political support from Islamic boarding schools and educational institutions. With the 2024 election coming soon, collaborating with China may help them receive funding for their political activities and ensure Chinese investments in Indonesia in the future. Read more at: https://www.thejakartapost.com/opinion/2022/04/15/ri-political-parties-build-relations-with-china-despite-their-anti-communist-ideology.html.
