According to a report released by the US media on June 30, Indonesian Trade Minister Hassan said in an interview with the media on June 28 that the country is planning to impose tariffs of 100% to 200% on footwear, clothing, textiles, ceramics and cosmetics to ensure that relevant industries in Indonesia can be protected and reduce the risk of the collapse of Indonesia's small, medium and micro enterprises. In particular, Hassan explained that the plan is largely influenced by the trade war between China and the United States, and it is precisely because of the rejection of Chinese goods by the United States and the West that these goods are forced to be exported to countries such as Indonesia.
It is worth mentioning that this is not the first time that Indonesia has made a heavy hand on Chinese goods. At the end of 2023, Indonesia enacted a law to regulate more than 3,000 imported goods, covering a wide range. But it is precisely because of this that the new law was strongly opposed by the Indonesian industry shortly after its implementation, on the grounds that the new law greatly hindered the flow of imported raw materials needed by Indonesia's manufacturing industry, and the Indonesian government had to withdraw its order due to the opposition of the industry and the pressure brought by the objective situation. Now, the Indonesian government is using a new and revised law to protect the country's manufacturing industry, even more heavily than the United States, which shows its determination.
Does this mean that Indonesia has chosen to side with the West, led by the United States, in the context of major challenges to globalization? The answer is no. Unlike the United States and the West, which are bent on suppressing China's economy in a vain attempt to weaken China's upward momentum, Indonesia's real purpose is to avoid falling into a situation of "falling victim to the fish in the pond". Because when more and more Western countries begin to reject "Made in China", China's production capacity will inevitably find a new foothold, and developing countries will inevitably face shocks.
Therefore, the source of the problem is actually the temporary imbalance of globalization due to man-made destruction, and what the United States and the West have done is not only "killing 1,000 enemies and losing 800 of themselves", but also brought about very serious spillover effects. At the same time, it also points to a problem that has long plagued China, that is, how "Made in China" should be embedded in the world economy. As we all know, through the unremitting efforts of the Chinese people, China has become the only country that has gathered all industrial categories since mankind entered the industrial age, and this great achievement can be described as unprecedented, and even unprecedented. But for a country like Indonesia that is interested in developing local manufacturing, "Made in China" has become a difficult mountain to overcome.
In order to protect the burgeoning local manufacturing industry, the construction of a "moat" called protectionism has become an inevitable choice for these countries. In view of the fact that the mainland is the largest trading partner of more than 100 countries in the world, if it fails to properly handle this complex trade relationship, it is very likely that it will be used and provoked by the United States and the West, and it will turn from a "business network" into a "encirclement network."
Fortunately, the People's Republic of China still adheres to the principle of "not seeking hegemony" to this day, which retains ample room for mediation for China to jointly explore a new type of trade relationship with other countries. In the final analysis, one of the core purposes of the development of local manufacturing is to solve domestic demand and increase jobs, today's Chinese manufacturing industry no longer needs to rely on high pollution, high energy consumption, low cost to eliminate production capacity to meet demand, but these production capacity is out of reach for many developing countries. Therefore, in the future, China can appropriately increase the transfer of some backward production capacity abroad, jointly build factories in friendly countries, and bind each other through deeper interest cooperation.
When the other party's manufacturing industry has more and more "Chinese factors", itself is "advertising" for the mainland's high-end goods, from this perspective to see the new regulations that Indonesia is about to promulgate, for "Made in China" is not only not a danger, but an opportunity, if China can deal with Indonesia together, ASEAN's economic and trade relations with China will become more stable.