Effusive remarks about spicy chicken and boiled fish, and about a light rail train threading right through the center of an urban apartment building — these may not at first seem like the makings of a strategic state-led soft power push. But they are central to the larger narrative of how China is seeking to influence hearts and minds in Indonesia, and through the rest of Southeast Asia, by mobilizing local social media influencers.

Last month, a group of 10 Indonesian influencers, each with audiences topping hundreds of thousands of followers, toured China’s inland municipality of Chongqing, marveling at its dazzling skyline, vibrant nightlife, and cultural heritage. Their social media feeds soon filled with breathtaking images and glowing reviews of the city.

These influencer trips, organized from the central level down to a new generation of state-run local “international communication centers,” are part of a sophisticated Chinese soft power strategy to reshape its image in Indonesia, where historical skepticism toward China persists despite growing economic ties. By leveraging the voices of popular Indonesian figures with massive online followings, China aims to complement traditional diplomatic channels and create a more nuanced narrative that portrays China as a modern, culturally rich partner while potentially shifting attention away from more complicated questions about its regional influence.

Roots of Unease

Indonesia has long grappled with deep-rooted anti-China sentiments, a legacy of historical tensions, political narratives, and economic competition. In recent years, as Chinese investments have surged in the archipelago — funding everything from infrastructure to digital technology — skepticism toward China has grown. Many Indonesians worry about economic dependency, job displacement, and geopolitical influence. Against this backdrop, China’s effort to shape its image in Indonesia is not an incidental occurrence; it is a calculated strategy in which Indonesian influencers now play a crucial role.

Over the years, China has carefully maintained its positive narratives in Indonesia, centering its efforts on two key objectives. First, it seeks to present its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects and economic activities in Indonesia as overwhelmingly beneficial. Late last year, for example, China called the cooperative Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Rail a “golden signboard of China and Indonesia’s joint Belt and Road construction,” and suggested that it was “an important engine” driving Indonesia’s economic development. In addition, Xinhua’s Indonesian feeds on the social media platform X often contain translated Xi Jinping’s speeches and narratives on how the BRI would benefit Indonesia. The full picture of the project is far more complicated, with lingering concerns about delays, cost overruns and state debt. 

Generally, China’s state narrative of mutual benefits for Indonesia highlights job creation, infrastructure development, and economic growth, positioning China as an indispensable partner in the country’s progress. Second, given Indonesia’s status as the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation and the growing criticism of China’s policies in Xinjiang, Beijing aims to deflect scrutiny and reshape perceptions regarding its treatment of the country’s Uyghur Muslim minority.

To achieve these objectives, China has actively invited not only social media influencers but also journalists, Muslim scholars, students and academics on carefully curated trips to China. These initiatives aim to shape their perspectives and, in turn, influence public discourse in Indonesia by promoting a favorable image of China. Visitors return with firsthand experiences, often highlighting China’s technological advancements, cultural richness, and religious freedom, while avoiding politically sensitive topics that could complicate the narrative.

The strategy is particularly targeted when it comes to religious concerns. When inviting Muslim scholars, in particular, China has placed a strong emphasis on Xinjiang, often showcasing what it claims to be the peaceful coexistence of Islam within the country. These trips feature visits to state-approved mosques, meetings with Chinese Muslim communities, and narratives that seek to downplay repression in the region, which has been well-documented. The goal is to reassure Indonesian audiences, particularly its large Muslim population, that reports of human rights abuses in Xinjiang are exaggerated or misleading.

A Case Study in Influencer Diplomacy

The recent visit by a group of Indonesian content creators to Chongqing seems at first glance to be a feel-good tour focusing on local cuisine, modern wonders and traditional culture. But the visit exemplifies the influencer strategy in action, and shows how increasingly local and regional propaganda offices from China are also becoming involved in such efforts across Southeast Asia. 

The group explored the city’s towering skyscrapers, neon-lit skyline, and historical sites, observing how modern architecture blends with traditional elements.

At the Hongyadong Scenic Area, overlooking the Yangtze River, the influencers took in the city’s illuminated waterfront. Reflecting on the visit, Maria Asteria Sastrayu Rahajeng, an Indonesian beauty pageant titleholder, noted Chongqing’s scale and infrastructure, while her sister, author, news host and influencer Elizabeth Krisansia S. Rahajeng described the city’s nighttime views and lively atmosphere the most effusive terms.

The itinerary included a guided walk through key landmarks like the Liziba Monorail, which appears to pass through a residential building, and The Ring Shopping Park, a commercial space incorporating urban greenery. At the Sichuan Fine Art Institute, they explored street murals and learned about Chinese tea culture. Kyra Nayda, a full-time digital content creator based in Jakarta, remarked on the city’s mix of modern technology and traditional aesthetics, and promoted heavily to her online audience the stilt-building complex known as Hongya Cave (洪崖洞), a popular tourist destination whose towering teahouse feel has drawn comparisons to the grand bathhouse in the Japanese animated film Spirited Away. “It gives off cyberpunk vibes,” Nayda posted to her fans, “like a city from a sci-fi movie.”

Throughout their journey, the influencers continuously took photos and uploaded content to their social media platforms, sharing their experiences in real-time and engaging with their followers. With each post, they served as cultural ambassadors carrying China’s message back to Indonesia’s digital landscape.

For Cindy Karmoko, who identifies herself as a digital creator and “fragrance enthusiast,” the visit highlighted aspects of China she had not previously encountered. She noted the city’s size, transportation system, and climate, as well as its culinary diversity beyond its well-known hot pot. The trip also included visits to Chongqing’s mountainous areas and experiences such as a cableway ride across the Yangtze River and a walk through the city’s historic 18-step alleys.

The tour was arranged, according to promotional materials posted to social media, by Jakarta-based Indah Tour. But a post by the tour company made clear that it was directly supported by the Chinese embassy. 

You might ask: Is it not standard practice for government’s to have a role in tourism promotion? Consider that eight years ago, Indah Tour sent a similar group of influencers, including Elizabeth Rahajeng, to Taipei to promote tourism to Taiwan under a “Time for Taiwan” campaign sponsored by the Taiwan Tourism Bureau under the country’s Ministry of Transportation and Communications. Are these not recognizable tourism promotion tactics? 

But the clear difference in China’s case is how closely such events are tied to state-led promotional efforts at both the national and local level. On February 18, as the tour was underway, China’s official Xinhua News Agency released a report on the trip, accompanied by a video that also went out through Xinhua’s GlobaLink service. The reports were released to Indonesian media through Antara, the national news agency, which since 2016 has had a close partnership with Xinhua. In Chongqing, meanwhile, the tour was coordinated and covered by the Western China International Communication Organization (WCICO), a center run under the propaganda office of Chongqing’s CCP leadership. Also known as the Chongqing International Communication Center (重庆国际传播中心), WCICO is part of a growing network of local and regional offices now tasked with pushing China’s state narratives through connections at a more grassroots level. 

Soft Messages

The response from Indonesian audiences to these influencer-driven narratives appears largely uncritical, at least in public discourse. Posts from participating influencers, such as Rahajeng’s reflection on “China’s power, strength, and resilience,” have received positive engagement, but mostly in the form of generic likes, heart emojis, and admiration for the aesthetics of the trip. There is little visible debate or discussion about the broader implications of China’s growing influence in Indonesia. This suggests that while influencer narratives are reaching wide audiences, they may not be prompting deeper reflection on the geopolitical dimensions of China-Indonesia relations.

At the same time, mainstream Indonesian media coverage of these trips closely echoes Chinese state narratives, offering little scrutiny. Reports from national news agency Antara, which has the longstanding Xinhua partnership, highlight the beauty and modernity of destinations like Chongqing and Zhangjiajie but omit any discussion of China’s broader strategic interests. This alignment between influencer content and media narratives suggests a highly curated information environment — one where China’s soft power messages are disseminated effectively but with minimal critical engagement from Indonesian audiences.

China has said it pursues a level of “national cultural soft power” (文化软实力) commensurate with its perceived role as a rising global power. This reference to “soft power,” which the leadership has used internally since 2007, echoes the concept popularized by political scientist Joseph Nye, referring to a country’s ability to influence others through attraction rather than coercion. But far from encouraging the more natural and grassroots-driven exchange of ideas that Nye’s concept entails, Beijing has taken a managed approach — preferring state-driven economic partnerships and cultural diplomacy over real choices that give agency to the local populations potentially impacted by China’s growing presence. 

China often defines its “soft power” project against the immense influence of the US-led West, bemoaning the outsized influence of Western media. But China’s hard-nosed — even “sharp” — approaches to its soft power initiatives, put developing countries like Indonesia in a difficult position, particularly given their own challenges when it comes to media health and information integrity. Many of China’s actions, including the frequent diplomatic visits to local Indonesian media made by the country’s foreign ministry and stressing concepts like “shared destiny” and the need to “tell China’s story well,” are less about public diplomacy and open exchange, and more about loosely coercive influence. 

The recent influencer trip to Chongqing is another textbook example. By leveraging the reach of young, popular Indonesians, Chinese state actors at the central and regional level hope to cultivate a new generation of Indonesians who see the country not as a looming economic threat, but as a land of opportunity, beauty, and modernity.

The rise of Indonesian social media influencers has given China a unique opportunity to shape perceptions in a way that feels organic. Unlike traditional government-led PR campaigns, influencer marketing capitalizes on trust. Indonesians are among the most active social media users in the world, and influencers are often seen as more relatable and credible than traditional media or official statements. Their firsthand experiences in China, shared through vlogs, Instagram stories, and TikTok videos, have the power to normalize positive narratives about China among their millions of followers.

Far from being an improvised tactic,  the idea of engaging with social media influencers is rooted in the discussions at last year’s China-Indonesia Media Forum, where the role of influencers in fostering closer ties between the two nations was explicitly addressed. During the forum, the proposal to form an Indonesia-China influencer community was introduced as a way to further strengthen bilateral relations. This acknowledgment underscores that China’s engagement with Indonesian influencers is not a spontaneous trend but rather a carefully planned strategy within a broader diplomatic framework.

This influencer-driven approach allows China to sidestep traditional diplomatic and media channels, which are often met with skepticism. Instead, audiences see authentic-seeming testimonials from personalities they admire, making the messaging more persuasive. For younger Indonesians, who consume news and cultural content primarily through social media, these influencers become key opinion leaders shaping how China is perceived.

Challenges and Limitations

However, this strategy is not without risks. While these curated trips paint a picturesque image of China, they do not address the real concerns of many Indonesians—ranging from the treatment of Uyghur Muslims to the ongoing South China Sea tensions. Furthermore, social media endorsements, no matter how visually compelling, can be met with skepticism, especially when audiences suspect a promotional agenda behind them.

Transparency is key to maintaining credibility. If Indonesian influencers fail to disclose the nature of their trips, their audiences may begin to question their motives. The backlash against influencers who are perceived as too promotional or politically motivated can be swift and unforgiving. As China continues to engage Indonesian influencers as part of its soft power agenda, both parties will have to navigate this delicate balance carefully.

Another challenge lies in the broader landscape of digital influence. Many Indonesian influencers have built their brands on authenticity and relatability. If their association with China appears overly orchestrated or politically motivated, they risk alienating their audiences. This could ultimately undermine the very soft power strategy China hopes to deploy, reinforcing existing distrust rather than alleviating it.

Indonesia finds itself at a crossroads. As Chinese investments continue to shape the nation’s economy, the battle over public perception intensifies. Will China’s assertive soft power efforts succeed in rewriting its image in Indonesia through social media influencers? Or will the deep-seated distrust prove too formidable a challenge? One thing is certain: Indonesian influencers are now at the center of this influence game, and in a digital age where narratives are shaped in the palm of our hands, their role will only grow in significance.

As Beijing and Jakarta navigate their complex relationship in the coming years, perhaps the most powerful diplomatic tools won’t be found in formal state meetings or economic agreements, but in the carefully filtered Instagram posts and TikTok videos of Indonesia’s digital stars. In this new era of influencer diplomacy, the boundaries between soft power, marketing, and international relations have never been more blurred — or more consequential.