For these young Chinese in Indonesia, the nation is no longer merely a place to work. Through persistence, adaptation and close engagement with local communities, they are building lives of their own while deepening cultural ties between the two countries.
by Xinhua writer Li Jiacong
JAKARTA, May 16 (Xinhua) — Along the muddy shoreline of Kalibaru, a fishing village in North Jakarta, rusty boats sway gently beside a makeshift tin-roof classroom. Every weekend, dozens of Indonesian children gather there to learn Mandarin from Chinese volunteers.
For Chinese volunteer teacher Chai Yinhui, owner of food logistics company PT Serba Agro Tani International, this classroom is more than a charity project. It is one example of how a growing number of Chinese youths in Indonesia are moving beyond mere business survival to build deeper ties with local communities.
From entrepreneurs and teachers to legal professionals, many young Chinese in Indonesia — arriving amid uncertainty and overcoming setbacks and cultural barriers — have chosen to build their careers there while fostering people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.
STRUGGLES IN A FOREIGN LAND
For many newcomers, the biggest challenge is not business itself, but adapting to a starkly unfamiliar environment.
Yi Yan, a Chinese entrepreneur who arrived in Indonesia in 2014, said he initially came as a technical employee for a pharmaceutical company before deciding to stay in the Southeast Asian country and start his own business.
His first venture — a trading company selling solar products and construction materials — was far from smooth. Language barriers, complicated administrative procedures and unfamiliar working cultures quickly became obstacles.
“Everything had to start from zero,” Yi, now in his 30s, recalled. “How to register a company, how to recruit local employees, how to communicate with government departments — all of it was new.”
Shortly after he shifted to the language-service business and started IF Language School in 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic dealt another severe blow. Offline teaching stopped almost entirely, and his company’s operations nearly came to a standstill.
For Lai Yanmin, now the chief representative of a Chinese law firm in Indonesia named Topwe Law Firm, difficulties came in another form: bridging big differences in business culture and legal systems.
She said Indonesian lawyers often struggled to understand Chinese companies’ decision-making processes, while Chinese firms found it hard to adapt to Indonesia’s regulations and local customs.
“In cross-border cooperation, misunderstandings can easily arise if neither side fully understands the other,” Lai said.
BUILDING ROOTS THROUGH DILIGENCE
Despite the challenges, these young Chinese have gradually found ways to establish themselves in Indonesia.
Lai, who majored in Indonesian at university, chose to pursue a legal career after graduation in 2017. Early in her career, she translated a 650,000-word document on Indonesian labor law. This demanding task not only deepened her understanding of the archipelagic country’s legal system, but also helped Chinese investors better navigate Indonesia’s market.
Her language skills and understanding of both cultures eventually turned her into a bridge between Chinese enterprises and Indonesian partners.
Yi, meanwhile, transformed hardship into opportunity. During the pandemic, while business activities slowed, he began producing Chinese-language videos explaining Indonesian policies and daily life for overseas Chinese communities.
One of his videos introducing Indonesia’s travel regulations gained millions of views and helped many stranded Chinese residents during the pandemic.
The experience later helped him expand his language-service business as more Chinese companies forayed into Southeast Asia after the pandemic. His school has now provided language training services to nearly 20,000 learners.
Besides teaching Chinese in the fishing village of Kalibaru, Chai still travels daily from downtown Jakarta to various communities, working to strengthen her food supply chain while expanding her customer base.
For these young Chinese in Indonesia, the nation is no longer merely a place to work. Through persistence, adaptation and close engagement with local communities, they are building lives of their own while deepening cultural ties between the two countries.■