Jakarta. The Chinese government has said that the Indonesia-US trade deal should not harm any third party, amidst concerns that some provisions within the agreement are aiming to economically bully Beijing.

After almost a year of talks, Indonesia finally sealed a trade deal with the US government. Although a US Supreme Court ruling has injected uncertainty into the pact, Beijing recently reacted to the controversial provisions. The agreement states that Indonesia shall implement measures that have the same restrictive effects as the US’ customs duty, quota, or other restrictions on a “third country”.

Asked about this provision at a recent press conference, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that trade deals must not drag other countries not involved in the deal. 

“China always advocates that economic and trade cooperation between countries should be mutually beneficial,” Mao Ning told reporters.

“Relevant cooperation should not target any third party or harm the interests of any third country,” she stated.

Mao Ning’s statement came amidst analysts’ worries over a possible Chinese retaliation. Senior economist Bhima Yudhistira said that the possible retaliatory measures would include non-tariff barriers of “requiring Indonesian goods to go through multiple layers of certification”. Bhima even cautioned how Beijing might consider pursuing a legal action as a last resort.

US President Donald Trump is not only asking Jakarta to mirror his country's trade sanctions. Indonesia also has to avoid entering into a new trade deal with a country that “jeopardizes essential US interests,” or else the newly signed deal gets terminated. The document does not point to a certain country, although it is widely seen to be alluding to Washington's top rival, China. Think-tank LPEM FEB UI wrote in their report that these terms “could increase risks of geopolitical economic tensions” and “hamper Indonesia’s market diversification efforts.”

But a court ruling has turned the tide of Trump’s economic agenda.

The court ruled that Trump could not use the decades-old law on emergency powers to justify his tariffs. Trump quickly introduced new 10% global tariffs, which only last for 150 days unless extended by Congress. The White House is also currently working to hike it to 15%. Amid the precarious tariff environment, the Indonesia-US deal remains subject to lawmakers’ approval on both sides. 

China is Indonesia’s top trading partner as export-import activities neared $154.6 billion throughout 2025. Trade with Hong Kong totaled $5.5 billion. Hong Kong was Indonesia’s second-largest foreign investor last year, putting in around $10.6 billion. Followed by China at $7.5 billion, according to government statistics.

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