Jakarta. A Chinese diplomat recently said that Beijing and Indonesia are “very open” following investors’ complaints over the business climate.

Not long ago, the Chinese chamber of commerce penned a letter to President Prabowo Subianto that Indonesia’s regulatory unpredictability and soaring costs have been undermining their confidence. The letter also directed Prabowo’s attention to the country’s “abrupt” nickel-related policies, including its elevated benchmark price. Asked whether both sides have cleared the issue, Chinese Ambassador to Indonesia Wang Lutong only gave a brief comment on the communication.

“I think all the communication channels with the ministers and the central government are very open,” Wang said on the margins of a media forum hosted by think-tank FPCI earlier this week.

Santo Darmosumarto — the director-general for Asia-Pacific affairs at the Foreign Ministry — had told the same conference that Jakarta wants to maintain an open communication.

“Let us keep the channels of honest dialogue open, especially when our perspectives differ,” Santo said.

He also revealed that Jakarta sought a “partnership of equals” with Beijing, alluding to the mammoth-sized trade deficit with mainland China that neared $20.5 billion in 2025. 

“Indonesia seeks a more balanced trade structure, one that gives Indonesian agricultural products, fisheries, as well as small and medium enterprises, greater access to the Chinese market,” Santo explained.

He later revealed that the government’s senior economic officials had held dialogue with the Chinese side. This includes Energy Minister Bahlil Lahadalia, who is in charge of some of the policies the letter has zeroed in on.

The five-page letter also reflected Chinese investors' concerns about mandatory foreign-exchange retention. The chamber wrote that such a move could "severely harm corporate liquidity and long-term operations".

Indonesia is now mandating non-oil exporters to park 100% of their foreign exchange earnings in state-owned banks for at least a year.  Southeast Asia’s biggest economy is also capping the amount of foreign exchange earnings that businesses can convert to rupiah to 50%.

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