Airlangga strengthens AI cooperation with Huawei and ByteDance in Shanghai

Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs

JAKARTA - Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto held a meeting with Huawei and ByteDance while carrying out a working visit agenda in Shanghai, China, which is also the location of the signing of the establishment of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO).

The meeting discussed opportunities to strengthen cooperation in the fields of artificial intelligence (AI), digital infrastructure development, digital talent development, and technology investment.

Huawei and ByteDance are leading global technology companies that are considered to have the capacity and experience to support the acceleration of digital transformation in Indonesia.

Huawei is known as a provider of solutions in the fields of telecommunications infrastructure, cloud computing, and AI, while ByteDance is the developer of various popular digital platforms in the world, such as TikTok, CapCut, Lark, Toutiao, and Douyin.

In a meeting with Huawei, Airlangga emphasized that the company is one of the strategic partners that have the potential to support the national digital transformation.

The discussion focused on four main areas, namely investment in AI and cloud infrastructure, strengthening the digital talent ecosystem and cybersecurity, accelerating the digitization of government and MSME services, and the application of green energy technology in data centers.

"After Indonesia officially became one of the founding countries of WAICO, we want to ensure a real leap in technological cooperation. Huawei, with its capabilities in the fields of AI, telecommunications infrastructure, and cloud computing, is a potential strategic partner to support national digital transformation," he said in a statement. , quoted Sunday, July 19.

On a separate occasion with ByteDance, Airlangga expressed his appreciation for the company's long-term investment commitment in Indonesia, especially through Tokopedia and TikTok Shop, which are considered to contribute to strengthening the national digital trade ecosystem.

"The Indonesian government appreciates ByteDance's trust in continuing to strengthen its investment in Indonesia. The presence of ByteDance not only strengthens the digital economic ecosystem, but also opens wider opportunities for millions of MSMEs to grow through digital platforms and cross-border trade," he explained.

Airlangga said the government also encouraged the expansion of collaboration with ByteDance to support the internationalization of Indonesian MSMEs products so that they can penetrate the global market.

In addition, ByteDance is also encouraged to explore cooperation in the field of AI, including the development of Large Language Models (LLM), machine learning, and generative AI.

Airlangga said Indonesia has a large digital market, supported by a growing digital talent and a strong commitment to building an inclusive AI ecosystem.

"We invite ByteDance to explore opportunities for the establishment of an AI research center, the development of digital talent, and innovation collaboration that can benefit both countries," he concluded.

The series of meetings is part of the Indonesian Government's economic diplomacy efforts to attract high-value-added investment.

The partnership with Huawei and ByteDance, as well as Indonesia's participation as a founding country of WAICO, is expected to accelerate technology transfer, reduce the AI technology gap at the global level (bridging the AI divide), as well as strengthen the competitiveness and productivity of the national digital economy ecosystem.