Ambassador Djauhari's Simple Advice To Indonesian Entrepreneurs Who Intend To Expand To China: Don't Complain!

JAKARTA - China has an extraordinary market potential. It's a shame that Indonesian entrepreneurs don't try to try the Chinese market because they have a very large market. If you have the intention, there are simple conditions that need to be owned.

Indonesian Ambassador to China Djauhari Oratmangun has a message for Indonesian businessmen who wish to expand their market to the Bamboo Curtain country.

"Don't complain. Because if you complain, you feel difficult, don't come here," said Djauhari at the 'IDEA Cloud Conference 2021' which was held online from Indonesia, Saturday, September 18.

This former Russian ambassador said, not a few businessmen from Indonesia complained. As a result, they failed to penetrate China, which has the largest trading market in the world.

The bureaucracy and business regulations applied by the trade authorities in China are indeed quite complicated, so many Indonesian businessmen have complained about it. But the problem is, why entrepreneurs from other ASEAN member countries can also enter the Chinese market, while Indonesia is still lagging behind.

"If Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore can do it, why can't we?" said the Ambassador in the webinar which was attended by a number of start-up entrepreneurs from Indonesia.

The Ambassador gave several important notes to entrepreneurs who want to expand to China.

"First, if you want to cooperate with China, you must have a long-term partnership spirit. Second, you must understand the regulations in China. Third, supply chain. Several provinces have good cooperation with China. Fourth, focus on value products. And lastly, use an e-commerce platform," he said.

He mentioned one of the shrimp cracker companies from Indonesia that managed to extract revenue equivalent to Rp12 billion in ten minutes from the Chinese market after using the "video streaming" application in marketing its products.

The Ambassador also reminded businessmen to consult with Inacham which accommodates Indonesian businessmen in China.

"Inacham has 300 members of Indonesian companies in China. They are very familiar with the regulations here," explained Djauhari as quoted by Antara.

Indonesian entrepreneurs must also be able to take advantage of international economic cooperation agreements such as the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) in order to benefit from zero percent import duties.

Indonesia's total trade with China in 2020 will reach US$78 billion. In the first half of 2021, the trade value between the two countries reached 63.7 billion US dollars. Indonesia still has a trade deficit with China. However, in 2020 the deficit will be reduced by 70 percent.

"Our trade commodities are still dominated by food and beverage MSME products," said the Ambassador.