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Chinese firms deepen ties with Indonesia via nickel resources
A 2009 bet to secure nickel, used for stainless steel and batteries, is cited as a driver of stronger China-Indonesia supply and manufacturing links.
A story from SCMP Economy highlights how some Chinese companies have expanded economic ties with Indonesia by targeting key resource supply, particularly nickel. It traces interest back to 2009, when one lesser known private firm made what the outlet describes as a quiet bet on Indonesia while China’s economy was growing much faster than it is today.
Nickel is framed as a vital industrial metal for stainless steel, with growing importance for advanced batteries. The outlet says the company, founded in Wenzhou in China’s Zhejiang province, is among a growing number of Chinese enterprises helping integrate trade and industrial activity between China and Southeast Asia’s largest economy.
SCMP Economy quotes Zhao Xijun, a finance professor at Renmin University of China in Beijing, who characterizes the relationship as one where Indonesia provides resources while China supplies capital, technology, and manufacturing expertise, creating what he calls an increasingly integrated economic ecosystem.