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Indonesia seeks Chinese investment for energy transition
Home to 90 percent of global solar panel manufacturing capacity, China could help meet Indonesia's needs for renewable energy.
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President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (left) bows to Chinese President Xi Jinping on Oct. 17, 2023, during the launch ceremony for commercial operations of the Whoosh high-speed railway (HSR) in Beijing. The two leaders also witnessed the signing of multiple memoranda of understanding (MoU) by Indonesian and Chinese ministers. (Antara/Desca Lidya Natalia)
D
uring a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo asked for support in developing renewable energy in Indonesia.
In Tuesday’s discussion, which happened amid the Third Belt and Road Forum (BRF) for International Cooperation, Jokowi also revealed the government's intention of accelerating the transition to renewable energy with a targeted generation capacity of 60 gigawatts by 2040.
The request for Chinese investment aligns with the latest white paper on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which was released by Beijing earlier this month and states that the country would promote cooperation in green development by leveraging its expertise in renewable energy, environmental protection and sustainable manufacturing.
However, some analysts have opined that China needs to underpin its commitment by halting investment in coal-fired power plants in Indonesia.
Interim coordinating maritime affairs and investment minister Erick Thohir previously said that any energy partnership with China would run parallel to the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), a US$20-billion deal between Indonesia and a group of advanced economies to reduce carbon emissions. He stressed that all cooperation had to be on Indonesia's terms, not based on the blueprints of other countries.
"China has made great strides in renewable energy development and has massive hydropower, so it would be good to learn from that," Erick said on Saturday, as quoted by Reuters.
Dozens of Indonesian companies signed deals worth billions of US dollars with Chinese firms on the sidelines of the BRF earlier this week.
