Organizer: ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute, supported by Konrad Adenauer Stiftung

Description:

In 2020, there were over 15,700 Indonesian students studying in Mainland China, an exponential increase from only around 2,700 students in 2008. Previous studies reveal that the great majority of those students are Chinese Indonesians and most of them take various kinds of Chinese language courses. Over the past decade, nevertheless, there has been a marked rise in the number of Indonesian Muslim students, particularly those graduating from pesantren (Islamic boarding schools), pursuing higher education in China. This burgeoning interest of Indonesian pesantren graduates to continue their studies in China is worth further attention, especially in the context of Indonesian society that traditionally perceives Islam and China as incompatible with each other. This seminar seeks to explore factors that have facilitated the growing trend. It should also be noted that some prominent Indonesian Muslim China graduates have started to emerge in the public sphere, using social media extensively to present the so-called “alternative” narratives on China and its attitude toward Islam. Against this background, this webinar also aims to examine how this phenomenon has so far affected Indonesia-China relations and what it further means for the discussion on the opportunities and challenges for China’s soft power diplomacy in Indonesia.

Speaker:

Ardhitya Eduard Yeremia is a faculty member of the Department of International Relations, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Indonesia. His research interests include China’s foreign policy, China-Southeast Asia relations, and Indonesia-China people-to-people exchanges.

Discussant:

Professor Leo Suryadinata is currently Visiting Senior Fellow at ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute.

Click here to register.