Story of the 70th Anniversary of Indonesia – China Friendship

“Best friend”. That is the proper designation accepted by Indonesia and China. Why so? Of
course the age of friendship between the two countries is almost 70 years. Maybe if likened to a
pair of humans, they are grandparents or gray-haired grandmothers. Since 1950 the friendship
was officially established in a diplomatic frame precisely on April 13, 1950. The beginning of
the friendship began when Indonesia became one of the first countries to give recognition to the
People's Republic of China (PRC), shortly after its formation on October 1, 1949. But if we
looked back, it turns out that the friendship of these two countries has existed since the days of
the Nusantara - Tiongkok ancestors. The existence of the name of the Nusantara recorded in the
chronicles of the Han Dynasty during the reign of Emperor Wang Min who ruled in the period 6-
1 years BC became evidence of trade traffic relations between the Nusantara and China. In
addition to deliberate trade, China's visit to Indonesia also penetrated as contract coolies,
laborers, and casual workers in the mining sector. And there are many mixed marriages between
Chinese and indigenous women. So it's not surprising that there are so many Chinese cultures
that we can easily find in Indonesia today.

At the beginning of independence the peak of friendly relations between the two countries
occurred when President Ir Soekarno's presence with the momentum of the presence of Chinese
Minister of Trade Zaou En Lai at the Asian-African Conference (KAA) in Bandung in 1955.
And continued the agreement of friendship and cultural cooperation on April 1, 1961. As well as
the ongoing Games of the New Emerging Forces (Ganefo) in 1963 which was successfully
carried out did not escape the support of his best friend, China. That's the history of their
friendship, like a pair of friends, will surely experience the ups and downs of a relationship.

On October 1, 1967 the cabinet announced that diplomatic relations between the Republic of
Indonesia and the PRC would be frozen. The reasons for the freezing of diplomatic relations
include the issue of the PRC providing assistance to the G.30.S. / PKI. Because embassy stars
have immunity rights and extra territorial rights. Each travel country has its own story according
to the period of its President's administration. After Sukarno stepped down, 22 years later was
completed on February 24, 1989, a compilation of President Soeharto to meet with Chinese
Foreign Minister Qian Qichen at the funeral of Emperor Hirohito in Tokyo, was discussed when
choosing the normalization of relations between countries that were frozen. Foreign Ministers
Ali Alatas and Qian Qichen on October 4, 1989 in Tokyo. Starting on July 3, 1990 the two
Foreign Ministers recalled the Joint Communiqué "Diplomatic Return between the Two
Countries" in Beijing, followed by Prime Minister Li Peng's visit to Indonesia while witnessing
the signing of a memorandum of understanding for the Restoration of Diplomatic Relations
between the two countries on August 8, 1990. After a long dispute they were back in a friendly
relationship. For Indonesia, in the economic sector, relations with China became very important,
the country after this was hit, the storm of the Asian financial crisis in 1997. On the other hand,
the era under consideration in the Chinese economy, after the economic reforms carried out by
Deng Xiaoping in 1978 .

Realizing the need for cooperation and mutual cooperation to realize the prosperity of the people
and the harmonious diplomatic relations, the cord of friendship has continued to this day. In the
era of President Joko Widodo, this relationship was even more intimate, how could it not be, at
the beginning of Jokowi's leadership in 2015, the value of China-Indonesia trade skyrocketed to
US $ 48.2 billion when compared to 2005 which only reached US $ 8.7 billion. A number of
large projects such as the Jakarta-Bandung fast train are also the result of cooperation in
infrastructure projects between the two countries.

In addition to the economic sector and the building of Indonesia-China relations, it has
permeated every element of life such as education. In terms of education, the two countries
agreed to increase the rate of cooperation through the ASEAN-China Center in collaboration
with SEAMOLEC (Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Open Learning Center
and the ASEAN-China Language and Culture Center) providing scholarships for students
graduating from Vocational High Schools (SMK) from various provinces in Indonesia to study
for 3 years in China by taking the fields of railroad technology, fisheries, agriculture and
nanotechnology. The Chinese government guarantees all tuition fees, accommodation and living
expenses while in China. Students sent to China must return to Indonesia to develop their
respective regions. This is a good opportunity for Indonesian education where there are a lot of
students who want to study in this "Negeri Tirai Bambu" because of the promising prospects in
industry and development. Creeping in every pulse of life, this close friendship relationship
penetrates also in the political sector, where and humanities.
In the cyber sector, it is only natural that Indonesia invites this friend because regionally the
geographical position of Indonesia and China which are close together can be one of the most
important reasons, to maintain regional security from external threats such as terrorism. Natuna
Sea security problems that occurred some time ago in December 2019, could make the two
lovebirds relations are distracted because of Chinese ships entering the Indonesian Exclusive
Economic Zone. However, the dispute did not last long, this problem was allegedly due to
differences of opinion that could be resolved in the diplomatic channel. Chinese Foreign Minister
on this issue is in his opinion, China and Indonesia are comprehensive strategic partners.
Between us, friendship and cooperation are the mainstream while differences are only branches.
Hopefully in the future such problems will not occur again and serve as lessons for mutual
respect for the rights and honor of a country.

A true friend is a friend who is always there when needed. The figure of a friend who has always
existed and even then is now proven by Indonesia by providing assistance to China that is being
affected by the Corona Virus. Since the beginning of 2020 there has been an outbreak of the
Corona virus originating from Wuhan, China which caused 361 deaths and 17,238 reported to
have been infected with the data obtained from Kompas.com, Monday (02/03/2020). Indonesia
sent of medical devices needed to tackle the outbreak of the Corona Virus, with the hope that this
close friend would quickly escape the catastrophic disease.

The twists and turns of friendship they have passed. There are happy and difficult, not
infrequently there is little dispute. But once again Indonesia and China are a comprehensive pair
of strategic friends. Great hope in celebrating 70 Years of Diplomatic Relations between
Indonesia and China is getting closer from all sectors of cooperation, it is also hoped that
diplomatic relations are not only relations between state officials but can change in the broader
community dimension, so that all can feel the warmth of friendship that has existed since
grandmother's time this ancestor. Long live friendship!
 FOOTNOTE

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hubungan-indonesia-china-sejarah-dan-perkembangannya-saat-ini/

Eka, S. (2018, 16 February) . Retreived from : https://www.idntimes.com/science/discovery/eka-

supriyadi/sejarah-awal-kedatangan-orang-tionghoa-di-indonesia-c1c2/full

Yatimul, A. (2019, 2 March). Retreived from :

https://www.timesindonesia.co.id/read/news/203276/kilas-balik-hubungan-indonesia-dan-china

Soeharto.co. Retreived from : https://soeharto.co/25491-2/

Suhendra. (2016, 18 July). Retreived from : https://tirto.id/hubungan-indonesia-cina-btyh