About 20,000 Indonesians were enrolled at Chinese institutions as of January 2026, up from around 13,000 in 2016, according to the Indonesian embassy in Beijing.
A decade ago, the double-degree programs that send students abroad for part of their studies overwhelmingly involved European, American and Australian universities. Today a growing number link Indonesian campuses to Chinese ones.
The pivot mirrors a wider realignment in Asian education. Demand for the traditional "Big Four" English-speaking destinations, the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia, has flattened or fallen as those governments tightened student visa rules, while interest in Asian universities has climbed, according to Studyportals and British Council data compiled by ICEF Monitor. U.S. student visa issuances dropped about 36% in the summer of 2025.
At the LSPR Institute of Communication and Business in Jakarta, a visiting Chinese arts troupe recently performed Fujianese nanyin melodies alongside the Indonesian folk song Rasa Sayange, The Straits Times reported.
The private university has partnered with Shanghai University of Finance and Economics and Jilin Animation Institute, and plans to open a joint Chinese language and culture center with Sichuan International Studies University in September 2026, founder Prita Kemal Gani told the paper.
