RUDIANTARA: SINO-INDONESIAN DIGITAL COOPERATION

By Tian Yuan

This year marks the fifth anniversary of the establishment of the Sino-Indonesian comprehensive strategic partnership. The two sides have deepened cooperation in various fields such as economics, trade, investment and culture, which has resulted in mutually beneficial win-win outcomes.

Not long ago, leaders of the two countries reached a number of consensuses to consolidate the public opinion foundation of bilateral relations, intensify personnel exchange and connectivity, enhance academic and youth exchange and promote cultural exchange and mutual learning.

Recently, our reporter sat down with Rudiantara,Indonesia’s minister of communication and information technology, to discuss the development of Indonesia’s digital economy and the strengthening of Sino-Indonesian cooperation.

>>China Report ASEAN: What do you think of the development of the Indonesian economy and the investment prospects of the Indonesian market?

Rudiantara: The best time to invest in Indonesia is right now.Foreign investors are swarming the country.

In terms of investment environment, Indonesia’s current political, economic and social situation is the most stable over the last decade. Moody’s and other internationally renowned rating agencies have recently upgraded Indonesia’s sovereign credit rating. We have become the third largest investment destination in Asia after China and India.

Rudiantara,Minister of Communication and Information Technology of the Republic of Indonesia.

In terms of developmental momentum, Indonesia’s economy has grown at an average annual rate of 5 percent over the last three years. Although we fell short of our target of 7 percent, our overall economic performance still ranks well above average compared to the major economies of the world.PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)predicts Indonesia’s Gross National Product (GNP) to account for a quarter of ASEAN’s total GNP by 2030.

In terms of international competitiveness, in less than three years Indonesia jumped from 106th to 72nd in the World Bank’s global ranking on ease of doing business. In spite of that, President Joko is still not satis fied. He wants to rank in the Top 40 by 2019. That may seem like a big challenge, but I’m optimistic we can do it.

>>China Report ASEAN:What new initiatives will the Indonesian government introduce to develop communication and information technology?

Rudiantara: The current output value of the four largest internet unicorns in Indonesia has exceeded the output value of the four major traditional industrial enterprises. As minister of communication and information technology, I couldn’t be prouder. However,this development poses a new challenge for the continued digitization of communication and information technology industry and the entire national economy of Indonesia.

It should be noted that Indonesian millennials are extremely creative and many are actively engaged in start-ups.Consequently, the Indonesian government will launch an initiative to create 1,000 startups by 2019, from which at least five world-class internet unicorns will emerge.

Amid this process, the government will actively build a digital economic ecosystem through a series of activities and projects to connect domestic and foreign capital, technology and human resources. This will help the start-ups achieve leapfrog development and cultivate the next generation of local internet business leaders.

>>China Report ASEAN:What are the bottlenecks that Indonesia has to overcome to optimally develop the digital economy?

Rudiantara: The biggest bottleneck is inadequate communication and information infrastructure,which has seriously affected the international competitiveness of Indonesia’s digital economy.

For example, Indonesia has nearly 230,000 schools of various types, but about 90,000 of them still lack access to the internet. Of more than 10,000 rural hospitals, more than 4,000 have yet to connect to the internet.

According to the World Bank,Indonesia’s internet penetration lags behind Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand within ASEAN due to the difficulties developing related infrastructure across the archipelago. Presently, we are pushing ahead with undersea broadband construction and communication satellite research and development. We are looking to link public and private sectors through a PPP(public-private partnership)financing model to make real progress by 2019. I promised the head of the Jakarta SAR Office that by 2020 at the latest, Jakarta’s communication and information infrastructure would rival that of Singapore.

We must learn from Alibaba and other Chinese enterprises. To learn kung fu, you have to go to the Shaolin Temple. Similarly, to learn e-commerce and logistics, you have to go to Alibaba.

>>China Report ASEAN: During this process, how can China and Indonesia cooperate?

Rudiantara: Recently, Jack Ma of Alibaba Group predicted that by 2030, Alibaba’s output value could exceed the GNP of the world’s fifth largest economy in scale. I wasn’t happy with that prediction because Indonesia is expected to become the fifth largest economy by then.

Rivalry aside, Alibaba, Tencent and other well-known Chinese internet companies possess remarkable development potential and international competitiveness. They are also keen on investing in Indonesia.

We sincerely welcome Chinese investors’ contributions to creating more added value for Indonesia’s digital economy and fostering a new generation of Indonesian digital economy talents. The most practical thing for them to do is to employ and train more local talent to help Indonesia form a local team of digital talent. For Indonesia’s younger generation, their natural talent and enthusiasm is not enough. They should continue to learn from China and other advanced countries and constantly improve and upgrade themselves to meet international standards.

>>China Report ASEAN:Recently, you led a delegation to visit Alibaba and other leading Chinese internet enterprises.How was that visit?

Indonesia has nearly 230,000 schools of various types, but about 90,000 of them still lack access to the internet.

Of more than 10,000 rural hospitals, more than 4,000 have yet to connect to the internet.

Rudiantara: Indonesia is facing a number of challenges developing its economy, primarily in logistics and payment systems,as well as the cultivation of SMEs.We must learn from Alibaba and other Chinese enterprises.To learn kung fu, you have to go to the Shaolin Temple.Similarly, to learn e-commerce and logistics, you have to go to Alibaba. Indonesia used to send its students to the United States, Australia and Europe to learn advanced knowledge and experience, but this year we are starting to provide more scholarships for students to study in China simply because China has an e-commerce ecosystem, a lifestyle based on this system and an innovationdriven and widely applied digital economy.

This year, China’s mainstream media, in partnership with Indonesia’s creative economy,first reported on the Indonesia International Fashion Week with live broadcast technology.Tens of thousands of Chinese mobile internet users witnessed the latest trends and prospects of Indonesia’s fashion industry and creative economy. I was very happy about that and would like to express my sincere thanks to the Chinese media.