Indonesia and China push to fast-track bilateral CEPA negotiations

During a bilateral meeting in Beijing on September 26, Indonesia’s Deputy for Coordination of Economic Cooperation and Investment, Edi Prio Pambudi, and China’s Director General of International Trade and Economic Affairs, Chen Chao, announced plans to speed up negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). The draft aims to strengthen economic ties by prioritising complementary cooperation, with China remaining Indonesia’s largest market for non-oil and gas exports, reaching US$64.82 billion in 2025, a 7.11 % increase.

While current trade flows operate under the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area and RCEP, the CEPA would create a dedicated framework. The two sides also exchanged views on a Green Partnership Agreement for Development and Indonesia’s backing of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, signed in July 2026. China welcomed the initiative and offered capacity-building programmes, including AI, digital trade and negotiation training for Indonesian civil servants, with Indonesia planning to submit a Letter of Intent on the cooperation.