Jakarta expo homes in on China wares

Businesses, officials of both nations laud ‘win-win scenario’ at trade fair

The expo not only showed the two nations’ commitment to expanding bilateral economic horizons but also to ‘creating a win-win scenario for both countries’. SIDARTO DANUSUBROTO A senior member of Indonesia’s Presidential Advisory Board

Felini Owen and his wife braved the traffic from their home in West Jakarta to reach the Jakarta International Expo complex in the central part of the capital around noon on Nov 23.

It was the first day of the China Homelife Indonesia trade fair held in Jakarta to showcase a wide assortment of China-made products.

Owen told China Daily that they needed to buy a drill tool urgently for refurbishment work on their second house — and they found it.

Another visitor, Ahmad Yefrianto, was looking for coating items for his car repair shop in Tangerang, Banten. He told China Daily he imported industrial papers from Europe and might buy Chinese products.

Owen and Yefrianto were among the many hundreds of visitors to show up at the expo on Nov 23, only a couple of hours after it was officially opened at 10 am. Overall, more than 60,000 people — from different parts of Indonesia and other countries — visited the four-day expo.

This was the fifth and largest China Homelife Indonesia held in Southeast Asia’s largest economy, since its first edition in March 2022.

According to the organizers, the expo was to promote China’s latest, innovative products and inspire locals to develop globally competitive products in partnership with Chinese investors.

So far, China Homelife expos have been held annually in 17 countries with support from the Chinese government, local governments, and business associations.

In Jakarta, over 1,000 Chinese companies exhibited products across nine industrial sectors from textiles and consumer electronics to household appliances.

The expo took place amid flourishing trade and investment between the two countries. China is Indonesia’s second-largest foreign direct investment source and its top trading partner.

Li Feng, vice-general chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Representative Office in Indonesia, said the expo was significant because of this year’s 10th anniversary of the China-Indonesia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

“With this expo, it is hoped that China-Indonesia cooperation will develop further,” Li said in his speech to mark the event’s opening.

Sidarto Danusubroto, a senior member of Indonesia’s Presidential Advisory Board, said the expo not only showed the two nations’ commitment to expanding bilateral economic horizons but also to “creating a win-win scenario for both countries”.

For Indonesia, he said, the relationship should lead to an increase in investment, technology transfer, and exchange of best strategies.

Bernadia Irawati Tjandradewi, CEO of United Cities and Local Governments Asia Pacific, stressed the importance of further initiatives for empowering investment and trade cooperation between local governments in China and Indonesia.

Tjandradewi said that small enterprises in Indonesia, including those outside Java, need to be developed in a big way to build their participation in automotive industries, for instance. For this, such enterprises need up-todate technologies.

Attracting investors to open businesses in rural areas, especially on islands outside of Java, remains a challenge with factors including poor infrastructure, and market uncertainty.

However, Chinese entrepreneur Martin Su is optimistic. He is considering partnering with locals to open an assembling plant outside of Java, as land prices are much lower than on Indonesia’s most populous island.

Su’s Wesfork (Zhejiang) Industries Co Ltd, based in Hangzhou City, Zhejiang province, manufactures and distributes a wide range of industrial products like stackers and pallet trucks. Wesfork now has an Indonesian assembling partner in Java.

“We gained a lot from this exhibition. I will come to Indonesia more often. We believe we have good business opportunities here,” said Catherine Yuan from the SCJ Business Group, which produces electric vehicle chargers under the Genie brand.