Indonesia's import value from China continues to rise, with particularly notable increases in categories such as pearls and silk. According to data from the Ministry of Trade, from January to December 2025, Indonesia's total imports from China reached $87.54 billion, a year-on-year increase of 18.53%. The growth structure shows clear divergence, with some commodity categories growing far faster than the overall average, reflecting structural changes in Indonesia's domestic market demand. Based on HS 2-digit codes, the highest growth categories are concentrated in high-value consumer goods, industrial raw materials, and capital goods. Among them, HS71 (pearls, precious stones, precious metals, and imitation jewelry) saw the most astonishing increase, with imports of $535.51 million, soaring 712.57% year-on-year, indicating a significant uptick in Indonesia's jewelry, high-value commodity trade, and cultural creative industry activities, partly for re-export demand.
The second highest was HS98 (knocked-down motor vehicles), with imports of $264.74 million, an increase of 402.42%. These are mainly imported as components for tariff optimization and local assembly, reflecting the trend of Indonesia's automobile manufacturing industry expanding local production capacity. HS11 (products of the milling industry: starch, malt, gluten, etc.) grew by 242.43%, with imports of $29.04 million, corresponding to the expansion of domestic processed food industry demand. For high-end textile raw materials, HS50 (silk) imports increased by 130.36%, though the amount was only $4.61 million, indicating rising demand in the fashion industry and high value-added niche markets. In the rail transit sector, HS86 (locomotives and railway equipment) imports reached $351.64 million, up 127.10%, consistent with Indonesia's railway infrastructure expansion and vehicle modernization. Other high-growth commodities include cork, vegetable plaiting materials, miscellaneous chemical products, ships and floating structures, and nickel products. Chemical products imports amounted to $2.9 billion, up 81.17%, showing Indonesia's high dependence on imported chemical raw materials for its domestic industry. Nickel products grew by 65.02%, and although Indonesia is a major nickel producer, some specific deep-processed products still need to be imported. At a more granular HS 6-digit level, some commodities saw year-on-year increases of millions or even tens of millions due to an extremely low base in the previous year, such as turbojet engines with thrust over 25 kN, non-self-propelled passenger coaches, stainless steel ship components, medium-sized drones, and ferrochrome.
However, such extremely high growth rates are more influenced by base effects and single large transactions, so interpretation should be combined with absolute amounts and actual usage scenarios. Overall, in 2025, Indonesia's import structure from China clearly points to three directions: industrial raw materials, key manufacturing components, and transportation equipment, reflecting Indonesia's development trend of simultaneously advancing industrialization, infrastructure upgrades, and domestic consumption growth.
Indonesia's import value from China continues to rise, with particularly notable increases in categories such as pearls and silk. According to data from the Ministry of Trade, from January to December 2025, Indonesia's total imports from China reached $87.54 billion, a year-on-year increase of 18.53%. The growth structure shows clear divergence, with some commodity categories growing far faster than the overall average, reflecting structural changes in Indonesia's domestic market demand. Based on HS 2-digit codes, the highest growth categories are concentrated in high-value consumer goods, industrial raw materials, and capital goods. Among them, HS71 (pearls, precious stones, precious metals, and imitation jewelry) saw the most astonishing increase, with imports of $535.51 million, soaring 712.57% year-on-year, indicating a significant uptick in Indonesia's jewelry, high-value commodity trade, and cultural creative industry activities, partly for re-export demand.
The second highest was HS98 (knocked-down motor vehicles), with imports of $264.74 million, an increase of 402.42%. These are mainly imported as components for tariff optimization and local assembly, reflecting the trend of Indonesia's automobile manufacturing industry expanding local production capacity. HS11 (products of the milling industry: starch, malt, gluten, etc.) grew by 242.43%, with imports of $29.04 million, corresponding to the expansion of domestic processed food industry demand. For high-end textile raw materials, HS50 (silk) imports increased by 130.36%, though the amount was only $4.61 million, indicating rising demand in the fashion industry and high value-added niche markets. In the rail transit sector, HS86 (locomotives and railway equipment) imports reached $351.64 million, up 127.10%, consistent with Indonesia's railway infrastructure expansion and vehicle modernization. Other high-growth commodities include cork, vegetable plaiting materials, miscellaneous chemical products, ships and floating structures, and nickel products. Chemical products imports amounted to $2.9 billion, up 81.17%, showing Indonesia's high dependence on imported chemical raw materials for its domestic industry. Nickel products grew by 65.02%, and although Indonesia is a major nickel producer, some specific deep-processed products still need to be imported. At a more granular HS 6-digit level, some commodities saw year-on-year increases of millions or even tens of millions due to an extremely low base in the previous year, such as turbojet engines with thrust over 25 kN, non-self-propelled passenger coaches, stainless steel ship components, medium-sized drones, and ferrochrome.
However, such extremely high growth rates are more influenced by base effects and single large transactions, so interpretation should be combined with absolute amounts and actual usage scenarios. Overall, in 2025, Indonesia's import structure from China clearly points to three directions: industrial raw materials, key manufacturing components, and transportation equipment, reflecting Indonesia's development trend of simultaneously advancing industrialization, infrastructure upgrades, and domestic consumption growth.