[China-Indonesia News] China and Indonesia Jointly Establish an Animation and Gaming R&D Center

I. China-India Joint R&D Center for Animation and Gaming

Indonesia’s Minister of Culture recently attended the unveiling ceremony of the China–India Joint Research and Development Center for Animation and Video Games in Shanghai, marking a new phase in bilateral digital-cultural cooperation that focuses on animation, game development, cultural intellectual property, talent cultivation, research innovation, and the coordinated development of the cultural and creative industries. The establishment of the center is elevating bilateral collaboration from traditional cultural exchanges to a model of co-creation, shifting from mere exchange of works to joint creation and integrated R&D and production. Together, the two countries will incubate original IPs, technological breakthroughs, and high-quality cultural and creative works, with the aim of exporting content to global markets. He noted that over the 76 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, China–India cooperation has long been underpinned by historical ties, trade, diplomacy, and people-to-people exchanges; going forward, however, it will be driven by a new generation of creative professionals—including animators, game developers, designers, and digital entrepreneurs—thereby broadening the scope of collaboration.

China boasts a globally leading digital cultural and creative industry ecosystem, a mature production system, and robust commercialization capabilities, while Indonesia’s rich and diverse cultural resources provide an abundant pool of narrative material and cultural core for film and television, gaming, and world-building. The minister emphasized that Indonesia must deeply explore the intrinsic value of its indigenous culture, ensuring that cultural elements do not devolve into mere visual embellishments, but instead are transformed into competitive original narratives and distinctive IP assets. The global cultural and creative industry is experiencing strong growth, with the global games market projected to exceed US$275 billion by 2026. Indonesia has enormous potential in digital gaming consumption: in the first quarter of 2026, mobile game downloads reached 870 million, ranking first in Southeast Asia; the country’s gaming user base stands at approximately 192 million, accounting for nearly half of the region’s total, and the domestic market size has reached US$2.5 billion. However, the Indonesian market has long been dominated by overseas products, with weak domestic original content production capacity, making it imperative to shift from a consumer-driven market to one that produces, develops, and exports digital cultural and creative content and IP.

To this end, Indonesia’s Ministry of Culture has accelerated the development of digital cultural infrastructure by establishing a cultural data center, refining digitalization standards for cultural assets, and fostering innovative ecosystems in AI, mixed-reality technologies, animation, gaming, and other fields. To date, more than 4,300 cultural assets have been digitally cataloged and archived, and through a range of cultural and creative industry support programs, the ministry has nurtured locally originated cultural games and animated works. This collaboration also recognized 11 Chinese partner institutions spanning game incubation, internet technology, cultural-tourism research and education, film and television media, and other sectors, thereby building a diversified industry–university–research collaboration network. The Minister outlined six key visions for the joint center: co-developing bilateral cultural IPs; cultivating professional talent in the cultural and creative industries; promoting collaborative efforts among government, enterprises, academia, and research institutions; building a compliant digital cultural database; expanding into Asian and global markets; and leveraging digital works to strengthen cultural diplomacy.

Against the backdrop of deep integration among technology, culture, and the economy, Indonesia is committed to revitalizing its traditional cultural heritage and making comprehensive strides in the digital arena, thereby embedding local culture within global value chains. This joint center will serve as a vital bridge that connects China’s technological strengths with Indonesia’s cultural and creative industries, links young talent from both countries to international markets, and helps deepen bilateral cultural friendship while fostering long-term, mutually beneficial development of the cultural and creative sector.

Source: Daily Indonesia II. China Silk Road Group and Indonesia’s Jababeka Group Officially Sign Agreement to Co-build the China–Indonesia Innovation Cooperation Center

Recently, Indonesia’s Jababeka Group and China’s Silk Road Group formally signed an agreement in Jakarta to jointly establish the China–Indonesia Innovation Cooperation Center (CIIC). Centered on the digital economy, artificial intelligence, and smart manufacturing, this platform will integrate the entire value chain of investment, industry, and trade between the two countries. It serves as a landmark project for high-quality Belt and Road cooperation between China and Indonesia, while also representing a key initiative for aligning with the RCEP and fostering coordinated development across the Southeast Asian region.

The China–Indonesia Innovation Cooperation Center is positioned as a comprehensive cross-border collaboration platform, with its core functions focused on three key areas:

01—Investment Matching Hub: Integrating policy, capital, and project resources from both countries to provide Chinese enterprises with market access to Indonesia, assistance in establishing operations within industrial parks, and expert guidance on local policies; and to connect Indonesian enterprises with Chinese capital and market channels.

02 – Industrial Collaboration Platform: Focusing on the integration of digital technologies with physical industries to promote the seamless alignment of technology R&D, research-to-application translation, manufacturing, and talent development.

03—Bridging Trade Facilitation: Enhancing cross-border logistics and supply chain systems, organizing trade fairs and economic forums, and improving the efficiency of bilateral trade. Initial pilot projects.

Jababeka Digital Industrial Park: Spanning 500 hectares, it is scheduled for official unveiling at the Beijing World Digital Economy Forum in early July 2026, with the aim of becoming a benchmark digital industry park in Indonesia.

Two-way Exhibition Platform: Establish innovation cooperation center exhibition halls in Beijing and Jakarta to serve as platforms for two-way promotion and industry matchmaking.

Source: Port of Departure III. Total investment reaches 10 trillion Indonesian rupiah; Jiangsu Changkuang’s electric heavy-duty truck project secures a foothold in Indonesia

Indonesian NH Group (Nusantara Halid Group), in partnership with Grand Seleron Indonesia (GSI), has successfully secured investment from China’s Jiangsu Changkang Mining Machinery Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (CKMM) to establish a manufacturing base in the Krakatau Industrial Park in Cilegon, Banten Province, Indonesia, dedicated to producing electric trucks, heavy equipment, and electric barges, with a total investment of IDR 10 trillion. According to disclosures, the project not only involves the construction of an electric truck production facility but also integrates upstream and downstream resources such as energy-storage batteries and steel supply, thereby fostering a relatively complete industrial-chain ecosystem. The first phase of the project is already under implementation. On February 26, 2026, Krakatau Infrastructure signed an industrial land purchase-and-sale agreement with a GSI subsidiary, securing 8 hectares of industrial land for the initial phase; plans are in place to expand the site to 50 hectares, with land acquisition alone accounting for IDR 1.2 trillion. In the future, the park will serve as a hub for the intelligent manufacturing of electric mining trucks, heavy equipment, and electric barges. Concurrently, several Chinese supporting enterprises have been brought on board to participate in the project’s development, including Global Mainstream Power Energy Technology Co., Ltd., a leading global manufacturer of power batteries, which will provide energy-storage battery supplies and has already signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop the Indonesian energy-storage battery market. Source: Port of Overseas Expansion IV. China and Jakarta Discuss Green Investment Cooperation, Focusing on Environmental Infrastructure and Urban Sustainable Development

Recently, the Jakarta Capital Special Region Government held investment cooperation talks with a delegation from the China Environmental Protection Federation on topics such as green infrastructure and ecological conservation, aiming to deepen practical cooperation between the two sides in the field of sustainable development.

During this round of talks, the China Environmental Protection Federation proposed that future cooperation between the two sides could focus on areas such as urban transportation infrastructure development, wastewater treatment, water environment remediation, and integrated waste management.

Data show that China’s total investment in Indonesia reached US$7.5 billion in 2025, with US$483 million directed to Jakarta. Jakarta authorities believe that there is still considerable room for growth in this figure, particularly in sectors such as the environmental protection industry, green infrastructure, and urban renewal, where Chinese investment holds substantial potential.

Source: Port of Departure
 

V. China-India Cooperation to Build 1,000 Nutrition Service Stations

Indonesia and China have entered into a strategic partnership to jointly build 1,000 Nutrition Provision Service Units (SPPG)—dedicated central kitchens for free nutritious meals—thereby providing full support for the Indonesian government’s flagship free nutrition meal program. The collaboration focuses on developing the infrastructure for nutritious meal provision and leverages the strategic business partnerships between the two countries to accelerate the establishment of a comprehensive public catering support system. Led by the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, the initiative commits Chinese enterprises to work closely with local partners to plan and construct the 1,000 central kitchens, thus providing the necessary hardware infrastructure for the inclusive nutrition meal program. To follow up on this cooperation, the Chairman of the Indonesian Kitchen Movement Foundation undertook an official working visit to China from April 23 to 30, 2026, during which he visited major trade fairs in Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Beijing to engage in on-site exchanges on project collaboration models.

A number of Chinese enterprises have responded enthusiastically by proactively engaging in investment and cooperation, thereby helping Indonesia implement the Prabowo administration’s flagship national policy of providing free nutritious meals. The infusion of Chinese capital and operational expertise will effectively accelerate the rollout of infrastructure for nutritional meal programs, addressing critical gaps in public nutrition service facilities. Leveraging major trade fairs such as the Canton Fair, both sides are simultaneously conducting industrial exchanges and product promotions. These events showcase Indonesia’s competitive export commodities, including key agricultural and forestry products such as pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and turmeric, thus opening up export channels for food ingredients and fostering two-way synergy between local raw-material supply for nutritional meals and overseas sales of agricultural products. At the same time, exhibition models demonstrate the end-to-end process of nutritional meal delivery—from raw-material processing and production to distribution—thereby advancing the standardization of the catering sector.

This collaboration extends beyond the construction of facilities to encompass technology transfer and the sharing of operational standards. Indonesia will introduce China’s state-of-the-art kitchen equipment technologies, hygienic disinfection and sanitation management systems, and large-scale centralized catering operation models, thereby comprehensively enhancing the operational efficiency, hygiene standards, and service quality of nutrition meal kitchens. Chinese investors are highly optimistic about the prospects of this partnership, noting that Indonesia urgently needs to accelerate the development of infrastructure for nutritional meals and that the project offers significant practical value for implementation. Through cross-border cooperation, Indonesia’s foodservice sector—particularly public nutrition service providers—will be able to learn from and draw on China’s well-established experience in large-scale kitchen management. In the long run, the initiative to establish 1,000 nutrition service stations will not only strengthen Indonesia’s food security and public nutrition safety system but also deepen pragmatic people-to-people cooperation between China and Indonesia, fostering the deep integration of technology, investment, and industry, and ensuring the effective implementation of social welfare policies while promoting mutually beneficial and coordinated bilateral economic and trade development.

Source: Daily Indonesia

VI. Toyota Indonesia Partners with CATL to Invest in the Battery Industry

Toyota Motor Corporation’s Indonesian subsidiary recently announced that it will partner with Chinese power-battery giant CATL to invest 1.3 trillion Indonesian rupiah (equivalent to US$76 million) in advancing localized battery R&D and production in Indonesia. This collaboration is expected to accelerate the establishment of Toyota’s new-energy vehicle value chain in the country and aims to launch battery export operations in the second half of 2026. In an official statement, Toyota Indonesia Manufacturing said that future exports will include not only complete battery packs for hybrid vehicles but also individual battery modules and cells, though specific target markets have yet to be disclosed.

According to the company’s CEO, Toyota is currently ramping up mass production of battery packs at its Karawang plant to supply hybrid models such as the Innova Zenix, Velos, and Yaris Cross. The latest collaboration with CATL, the world’s largest battery manufacturer, aims primarily to comprehensively expand production capacity and achieve end-to-end local manufacturing of battery cells, modules, and battery packs. At present, core battery components are still imported; going forward, production and assembly will gradually be carried out by Indonesian workers on-site, thereby increasing the share of locally manufactured parts. Toyota emphasizes that, over its 55-year commitment to the Indonesian market, it has cumulatively invested IDR 100 trillion (approximately USD 5.8 billion), and continues to scale up regional production capacity and drive industrial upgrading.

Beyond the power battery sector, Toyota is concurrently advancing a diversified green-energy initiative in Indonesia, planning to establish a bioethanol plant in Lampung Province through a joint venture with Pertamina NRE, the renewable-energy subsidiary of Indonesia’s state-owned energy company. According to the Deputy Minister of Investment, the proposed bioethanol project is expected to involve an investment of approximately US$200 million to US$300 million, though the exact figure is still under evaluation and adjustment. The government will offer incentives such as tax exemptions to support the investor. The respective equity stakes and detailed cooperation terms will be determined through independent negotiations between the two parties, with the government assuming responsibility only for administrative approvals and coordination to facilitate project implementation. Construction of the plant is slated to commence no later than the fourth quarter of 2026, with commercial operations targeted for 2028—aligning precisely with the timeline of Indonesia’s fuel-blending policy and contributing to the national energy plan to blend 10% ethanol into gasoline.

Data show that Japan’s direct investment in Indonesia reached approximately US$3.1 billion in 2025. During his visit to Tokyo last month, the Indonesian president made it clear that Indonesia will continue to open its market and welcome Japanese companies to play a deeper role in the country’s industrial development. Toyota’s dual-track strategy—leveraging CATL to address its domestic battery-manufacturing shortcomings and expand exports of new-energy products to Southeast Asia, while aligning with Indonesia’s energy-transition policies through bioenergy projects—aims to strengthen the coordinated development of hybrid, new-energy, and green-fuel technologies, thereby further solidifying its long-term competitiveness in the Indonesian and broader Southeast Asian automotive and energy markets.

Source: Daily Indonesia