Catching Up With China's Speed
- Christine Susanna Tjhin
- Apr 3
- 3 min read
Christine Susanna Tjhin, the Co-founder and Director of Strategic Communication and Research, Gentala Institute Indonesia. She is also a senior expert member of the China Policy Group, Foreign Policy Community Indonesia; and a Supervisory Body member of the Indonesian Council of Sinologists, an affiliate of the World Sinology Center.
The excitement during my first ride on Whoosh (Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Rail) in 2024 greatly surpassed the thrill of my first high-speed trip on the Beijing-Tianjin Railway in 2010. I often wondered when Indonesia would have this system. The answer came in 2023, to the astonishment of many.
Glancing at the 350 km/h display above the automatic door, I quietly savored the fact that the comfortable 153 km journey took a mere 40 minutes. Normally, it takes 2-4 hours by car/bus or 3 hours by Parahyangan Train. But I also cringed recalling the 90 minutes spent on the 17.5 km taxi trip (or other public transports) from home to Whoosh Station.
This is unfortunately a typical public transportation dilemma in Jakarta—a reality made more stressful when contrasted with Beijing, where I once studied. Construction on Jakarta's Mass Rapid Transit began in 2013, and its Phase One 15.7 km line took 5.5 years to complete. In comparison, Beijing completed its first 21 km line in four years after starting construction in 1965. I can practically go anywhere with subway in Beijing, but Jakarta’s Phase Two line is still under development.
Digital transformations have impacted all sectors in China, and, fortunately, I have learned valuable lessons from experiencing their earlier stages firsthand. As a student in Fuzhou, I opened my first Taobao account in 2006, discovering the joy of e-commerce and contributing modestly to China's consumer economy.
In 2011, I purchased my first Chinese smartphone, Xiaomi Mi 1, and immediately found the shortcomings of my BlackBerry—even though it was still dubbed "Indonesia’s national smartphone" among young people and held a dominant 43% share in the Indonesian market at the time.
I opened my WeChat account in 2012, primarily as an alternative to BB Messenger or SMS. Now, I can shop, book taxis, doctors, and restaurants, pay bills, play games, and read news—all without ever leaving the app or needing to download separate ones.
Beijing is now the AI and digital governance leader; Shenzhen is China's Silicon Valley; Shanghai is Smart City Champion; Hangzhou is Cloud Computing and e-Commerce Center. Even Guizhou, which was gorgeous but still among the poorest provinces during my visit as a student in 2006, now boasts over 48 data centers for large-scale data storage and remains beautiful.
While scanning the QR code for coffee at Indomaret before boarding Whoosh, I reminisced about the remarkable convenience of using WeChat Pay for the first time over a decade ago and the subsequent fintech revolution. I find it hilarious how the Chinese term “Kào liǎn chī fàn” has a novel meaning now. Instead of the traditional sarcastic connotation of "making a living through good looks rather than talent," it can now literally mean paying for meals using facial recognition.
Of all the China Speed stories, the fintech revolution is one that will reshape not only the region's digital and green tech landscape, but also the wider regional economic integration - particularly as the (petro)dolar is facing slow but sure decline.
In 2025, a landmark MoU was signed between Indonesia China central banks, aiming to integrate QRIS (Indonesia's national QR standard) with China's extensive network. QRIS, which has nearly 60 million users, over 40 million merchants (93% are MSMEs) and is accessible in major ASEAN cities, can soon join China's fintech linkages with six other ASEAN states— gradually creating an integrated digital payment ecosystem and empowering the 2-billion-strong China-ASEAN market.
Perhaps it is time for the Indonesia-China Partnership 4.0. The existing 3.0 version (the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership) has indeed catapulted engagement, particularly following President Xi Jinping’s 21st Century Maritime Silk Road address in 2013 to the Indonesian Parliament. Through diligence and goodwill from both sides, China has become one of Indonesia’s top three investment sources and still maintaining the largest trading partner title.
We are entering a period of significant momentum as China embarks on its 15th Five-Year Plan and further consolidates its high-quality development and high-level opening up. As Indonesia stands on the cusp of its Golden Indonesia 2045 vision — aspiring to become "a sovereign, advanced, fair, and prosperous nation through human capital development, sustainable economic growth, equitable progress, and strengthened resilience" — the strategic alignment with China's 15th Five-Year Plan could offer a timely and powerful catalyst, propelling existing mutually beneficial bilateral collaboration to new heights and supporting broader Global South prosperity amid global uncertainties.
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