Jakarta. Indonesia is expecting deeper investment ties with Beijing as one of the outcomes of Chinese top diplomat Wang Yi’s upcoming visit.

Wang will hold the inaugural "comprehensive strategic dialogue" with Foreign Minister Sugiono in Jakarta on Friday. Arifianto Sofiyanto, the director for East Asia affairs at the Foreign Ministry, confirmed that economic cooperation would be high on the agenda. He remained tight-lipped on the specifics.

“We expect stronger commitments from both sides on bolstering investments and cross-border trade,” Arifianto told a press conference on Thursday. 

“... including Chinese investments in Indonesia and priority sectors,” Arifianto said, without naming specific industries.

Asked whether the talks would touch on the high-speed train debt, Arifianto only replied that both sides were “still ironing out the details”. Indonesia had taken a Chinese loan to construct the $7.3 billion Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail. The government has been negotiating with China over the debt, in addition to finding ways to fix the problem at home. Most recently, the Finance Ministry unveiled plans to take over a controlling stake in the train operator.

Wang Yi will come to Jakarta with China’s Defense Minister Dong Jun. They will have a “2+2 format” meeting where they will sit together with their Indonesian counterparts. Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin is expected to join the talks.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian recently told reporters that the comprehensive strategic dialogue would explore “practical measures to deepen the China-Indonesia community with a shared future”. He made no direct mention of investments.

China has been a major source of foreign direct investment (FDI) to Indonesia, with Chinese companies controlling roughly 75% of the country’s nickel smelting capacity. Mainland China-sourced FDI in Indonesia totaled $3.9 billion in the first half of 2026. FDI from Hong Kong totaled $7.6 billion over the same period.

Indonesia’s trade with mainland China rose 19% year-on-year (yoy) to almost $84 billion from January to June 2026. Commerce activities with Hong Kong fell 1% yoy to $2.7 billion, Trade Ministry data showed. 

Chinese investors not long ago sent complaints to President Prabowo Subianto over the lackluster investment climate, including the drastic cuts to nickel ore quotas. Asked about the follow-up, Chinese ambassador Wang Lutong told reporters that the governments had kept a "very open" communication channel.

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