Abstract
People-to-people exchanges between China and Indonesia has the potential to promote mutual understanding, enhance people-to-people ties, eliminate perceptive misunderstandings,
and enhance mutual trust and cooperation between the two countries. Such positive trajectory has been the case following both countries attempt to synchronize the connectivity visions between
China’s “Belt and Road Initiative” and Indonesia’s “Global Maritime Fulcrum.” But in the recent context of “anti-globalization” trends, there remains some homework to better stabilize and balance the process of people-to-people exchanges between China and Indonesia. Issues such as geopolitical conflicts, the impact of COVID-19 pandemic outbreaks, existing cultural differences, and doubts about China's rise have appeared to expose the “weak links” inside the people’s relations between the two countries. Based on the theory of intergroup contact, this paper makes an in-depth analysis on the state of China-Indonesia people-to-people relations and proposes some recommendations to further enhance people-to- people exchanges and cooperation between the two countries.
