Rowing Between Two Reefs: The Role of Sino-Indonesian Identity Building in Shaping 21st Century Bilateral Ties between Indonesia and China

Ethnic Chinese were historically scapegoated during the time that Batavia (today's Indonesia) was colonized by the Dutch East India Company and amid the assimilationist policies of Suharto's New Order. While the relationship between indigenous and ethnic Chinese populations in Indonesia has vastly improved, some underlying tensions still remain. This paper will examine the social conditions under which the Sino-Indonesian collective identity was constructed, and how the Sino-Indonesian population has utilized Chinese voluntary associations (CVAs) and Confucius Institutes (CIs) as institutional vehicles to negotiate their identities. In adopting a mixed methods approach that combines a study of Sino-Indonesians' lived experiences, anthropological case studies as well as gathering primary data generated by CVAs and CIs, this paper underscores the agency that the Sino-Indonesian population possesses not just in the process of identity building, but also in their influence on bilateral relations between Indonesia and China. Sino-Indonesians' complex desires to achieve both personal and national progress has culminated in attempts to reconcile their ethnic and national identities. As a result, Sino-Indonesians have become intermediaries of trade and culture, contributing to the development of bilateral ties between China and Indonesia through the facilitation of soft power initiatives and increased levels of economic partnership.