Prabowo personally commended Tsingshan and Huayou at Weda Bay—what signal do the three 'firsts' convey?

Recently, Indonesian President Prabowo visited Weda Bay—essentially to commend Tsingshan Group and Huayou Cobalt. Represented by these two enterprises, Chinese companies have transformed the Weda Bay Industrial Park from barren hills into an economic engine. The top executives of Tsingshan and Huayou stood flanking President Prabowo, exuding strong presence. And Prabowo did not visit empty-handed: he delivered three 'firsts' in one go. First, it was the new cabinet’s inaugural collective appearance; Second, it marked Prabowo’s first-ever visit to Weda Bay; Third, it signified Indonesia’s first-ever export of动力电池 (power batteries). All three 'firsts' occurred on the same day—what message was Prabowo aiming to send to the world? The new cabinet’s first collective appearance On September 14, Indonesia’s Minister of Finance was replaced. On October 1, Prabowo presided over a swearing-in ceremony at the Presidential Palace following a major reshuffle—appointing officials to 15 positions, including three Coordinating Ministers and the Chief of the National Police. This was his largest personnel adjustment since assuming office two years ago. Just seven days later, this newly appointed cabinet collectively appeared at the Weda Bay Industrial Park. Present were: — Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto; — Newly appointed Coordinating Minister for Downstream Industry and Energy Transition, Bahlil Lahadalia (who also serves as Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources); — Sugiono, recently reassigned from Minister of Foreign Affairs to Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture; — Minister of Investment and Downstream Industry and CEO of the sovereign wealth fund Danantara, Rosan Roeslani; — And Luhut Pandjaitan, Chair of the National Economic Council. In his speech, Prabowo specifically referred to those present as the 'entire Red-and-White Cabinet.' He then turned and jokingly teased Sugiono, who had just taken up his new post: 'How many days have you been in office? A week? Do you still want to go back to being Foreign Minister?' Though the atmosphere was relaxed, the political significance of this collective appearance was anything but light. With the reshuffle complete, Prabowo is now bringing his new team directly onto the frontlines of economic development. Prabowo still has three years left in his presidential term. Whether he can genuinely lift Indonesia’s economy will profoundly shape his subsequent political trajectory. Over the past year, market concerns about Indonesia’s economy have mounted—and so has the pressure on him. To boost the economy, investment remains indispensable. Whether foreign investors continue investing depends not only on market potential, but also on policy stability, government credibility in honoring commitments, and whether there is clear accountability when enterprises encounter difficulties. Standing before Tsingshan’s Xiang Guangda and Huayou Cobalt’s Chen Xuehua, Prabowo explicitly expressed respect for and protection of investors. He stressed that regardless of their origin, all investments made on Indonesian soil deserve government respect and safeguarding; protecting partnership relations concerns Indonesia’s national honor; partners are like brothers and sisters. On the surface, these remarks affirmed Weda Bay’s investment achievements—but in reality, they signaled broadly to the wider foreign investor community, especially Chinese enterprises. Over recent years, Chinese enterprises have driven development in nickel smelting, stainless steel, and new-energy materials across Indonesia. Yet simultaneously, various unpredictable policy moves by Indonesia this year have prompted many Chinese firms monitoring the Indonesian market to slow down their investment pace. Against this backdrop, the President himself leading a delegation to an industrial park to publicly endorse major Chinese enterprises carries clear implications for stabilizing market expectations. Of course, a few statements alone cannot resolve all problems.

[Yongqing Perspective] Indonesian President Prabowo inspects Weda Bay Industrial Park: Indonesia’s future development prospects are bright

Meanwhile, he stated that since its groundbreaking in August 2018, the Weda Bay Industrial Park has continuously advanced industrial development, gradually establishing an integrated industrial system covering mineral extraction, nickel refining and processing, battery raw materials, batteries, and aluminum production. To date, the park has attracted approximately USD 20 billion in cumulative investment, created over 100,000 direct jobs, trained more than 68,000 employees in technical and vocational skills within the park, and incorporated 32 villages surrounding the industrial zone and mining areas into its community empowerment program—investing a total of IDR 480 billion. Minister Rosan emphasized that, under the Indonesian government’s ongoing downstream industry development strategy, 'downstreaming' goes far beyond merely building smelters—it entails driving industries further up the value chain toward higher-tech, higher-value-added segments. This inaugural export of new-energy vehicle (NEV) batteries marks Indonesia’s transition from a raw-material supplier to a key participant in the global NEV battery supply chain. Minister Rosan, speaking on behalf of Danantara, extended heartfelt gratitude to Tsingshan Industrial Group for its active fulfillment of corporate social responsibility and steadfast support for community economic development in Indonesia. Accompanied by Chairman Xiang Guangda, President Prabowo toured the park’s exhibition hall, gaining detailed insights into the park’s vertically integrated nickel resource utilization, new-energy industry ecosystem, and green power infrastructure. He gained a more intuitive and in-depth understanding of the park’s comprehensive supporting facilities and efficient management model, its scale of investment and product portfolio, and the construction and planning status of projects such as new-energy battery raw materials, battery manufacturing, and electric heavy-duty trucks. At the Inauguration Ceremony for the Nickel Industry Ecosystem and the First Export of New-Energy Vehicle Batteries at Weda Bay Industrial Park, witnessed by representatives of the Indonesian central government and Tsingshan Industrial Group’s Board Chairman Xiang Guangda, President Prabowo pressed the launch button and announced: 'I, Prabowo Subianto, President of the Republic of Indonesia, hereby officially launch Indonesia’s first-ever export of electric vehicle batteries, the commercial operation of three projects, and the commencement of construction on seven additional projects.' These 11 downstream-industry projects launched collectively represent a total investment exceeding USD 10 billion, spanning multiple sectors including nickel-based battery materials, electric vehicle batteries, electrolytic aluminum, new-energy power systems and industrial vehicles, battery separators, electrolytes, and photovoltaic glass. Their implementation will further enrich the park’s industrial ecosystem, diversify its product offerings, attract complementary industrial linkages to cluster within the park, and transform local natural-resource advantages into endogenous drivers of industrial development and economic growth. Simultaneously, the projects will generate over 10,000 additional direct jobs, creating more opportunities for local employment, talent development, and regional economic advancement—and concretely ensuring that the benefits of the park’s development reach Indonesia’s broader industrial economy and local communities. President Prabowo emphasized that the first export of new-energy electric vehicle batteries from Weda Bay Industrial Park represents a significant achievement under Indonesia’s sustained downstreaming strategy and its efforts to enhance the added value of domestic resources. It also marks a historic and strategic step forward in building Indonesia’s new-energy industrial chain. He welcomed and thanked domestic and international partners and investors for choosing to invest in Indonesia, stating: 'The Indonesian government pledges to respect and protect all investors’ contributions in Indonesia. We stand ready to work hand-in-hand with all parties to maintain sound cooperative partnerships and jointly advance Indonesia’s industrial development. We hope our cooperation and friendship will further strengthen bilateral relations and bring greater shared prosperity to the peoples of both countries.'

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