Successful Jakarta Zheng He Maritime Silk Road Forum Empowers International Business Alliance The Indonesian Representative Office of the International Zheng He Society Unveiled to Carry Forward the Millennium Maritime Silk Road Cultural Heritage

On the afternoon of July 4, 2026, the high-level dialogue session of the “Jakarta Zheng He Maritime Silk Road Forum” was grandly held at the Pacific Club in Jakarta, Indonesia. Centered on the core theme of “Revitalizing the Millennium Maritime Silk Road, Jointly Building an International Business Alliance”, the event was hosted by the International Zheng He Society and co-organized by Wanxinda Group.

Bring together political and business representatives, academic experts, overseas Chinese community leaders and representatives of leading enterprises from China, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and other countries, the forum took the Zheng He Spirit as a bond to forge close connections between the inheritance of Maritime Silk Road culture, the application of digital scientific and technological innovation, industrial and economic & trade cooperation, as well as South-South coordinated development. It opened a brand-new chapter for civilizational exchange and pragmatic cooperation along the Maritime Silk Road in the new era.

Boasting an authoritative lineup and extensive coverage, the forum drew participation from dozens of official institutions, overseas Chinese business associations and benchmark enterprises, including Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Indonesia-China Friendship Association, Indonesian Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, Indonesia Guangdong General Chamber of Commerce and Indonesia Ningde Chamber of Commerce. More than 50 distinguished guests from politics, business, academia, cultural circles and other sectors gathered to discuss the inheritance of Maritime Silk Road culture, negotiate in-depth regional cooperation and jointly build a friendly bilateral future.

The forum featured six core sessions: keynote speeches, high-end business matchmaking, international resource networking, analysis of Asian market opportunities, high-level roundtable dialogue, and institutional unveiling & plaque awarding. Substantial and practice-oriented, the agenda focused on industrial implementation, integrating cultural vision, industrial insight and international perspective.

Dr. Zhang Lu, President of the International Zheng He Society, delivered a keynote speech titled Looking Back on the Maritime Silk Road Cultural Journey from Indonesia – Revitalizing the Millennium Maritime Silk Road and Jointly Building an International Business Alliance at the forum.

She stated that 620 years ago, Zheng He’s fleets embarked on seven voyages to the Western Oceans, visiting 21 major ports across Asia and Africa, with multiple stops across the Indonesian archipelago, leaving precious marks of Maritime Silk Road civilisation in Java, Malacca and other regions. Today, historical relics including Sam Poo Kong Temple in Semarang, Karimun Port and the National Museum of Indonesia stand as vivid testimony to cultural exchanges along the ancient Maritime Silk Road, as well as vital historical carriers for cross-civilisation mutual learning.

She introduced that the Society’s team conducted field visits to core Maritime Silk Road heritage sites in Indonesia and in-depth research on local historical and cultural resources. Partnering with academic institutions worldwide such as the China Zheng He Research Association and the Zheng He Cultural Museum of Malaysia, the Society has established a regular cross-border system for academic research and exchanges.

Dr. Zhang Lu pointed out that the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence and the digital economy has ushered in brand-new opportunities for inheriting Maritime Silk Road culture in the new era. The International Zheng He Society innovatively leverages AI technology to collate historical records of the Maritime Silk Road, develop digital cultural IPs and produce themed digital videos about the Maritime Silk Road, empowering the revitalisation and upgrading of traditional culture through technology.

The official launch of the Indonesian Representative Office of the International Zheng He Society will fill gaps in the protection and inheritance of Maritime Silk Road culture across Southeast Asia, supporting Indonesia in sorting out Zheng He-related maritime historical materials, safeguarding cultural heritage and preparing for world heritage inscription. Moving forward, the Society will build a regular platform for people-to-people exchanges, academic seminars and economic and trade cooperation centred on Zheng He culture. It will uphold the development philosophy of “culture empowers industries, and industries nourish culture in return”, and foster a sustainably developing international cooperation ecosystem for the Maritime Silk Road.

Vinsensius Jemadu, an official from Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, was invited to attend and deliver an address. He highly recognized the core value of Zheng He culture in bilateral friendly exchanges between China and Indonesia. He stated that over the past more than 600 years, the concepts embodied in the Zheng He Spirit — peaceful coexistence, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit, and win-win results — have long taken deep root in the hearts of the peoples of both countries.

From Sam Poo Kong Temple in Semarang to Zheng He Mosque in Surabaya, Zheng He’s footprints are deeply integrated into Indonesia’s historical memory and cultural context, serving as an important symbolic icon representing civilizational integration and people-to-people bonds between China and Indonesia. He stressed that the core connotation of peace and friendship inherent in the Zheng He Spirit is highly consistent with the current cooperation vision of China and Indonesia to deepen their comprehensive strategic partnership and jointly advance the Belt and Road Initiative, laying a solid historical foundation for in-depth cooperation between the two sides in cultural tourism, economy and trade, and people-to-people exchanges.

Chen Riling, Chairman of Wanxinda Group, delivered a keynote speech themed Zheng He in a New Era: Boosting South-South Cooperation through Chinese Modernization. Based on the global development landscape of the new era, he centered on the inclusive and win-win spirit of Zheng He’s maritime expeditions to elaborate on the reference value of Chinese modernization for the development of Global South countries.

He stated that Chinese enterprises are sailing overseas in the new era. Relying on advanced manufacturing technologies, core scientific and innovative capabilities, high-quality industrial capital and mature development experience, they deeply engage in South-South cooperation, help numerous developing countries explore independent paths to modernization, and achieve mutually beneficial results and common development.

He proposed that Wanxinda Group will cooperate with the International Zheng He Society to further develop the Zheng He cultural IP, build distinctive cultural tourism brands, set up platforms for intangible cultural heritage exchanges, and cultivate a team of youth ambassadors for friendly communication. Adhering to the principle of “culture sets the stage while industries put on the show”, the two sides will leverage people-to-people cultural exchanges to empower pragmatic economic and trade cooperation, continuously expand the scope of South-South cooperation, and contribute to building a community with a shared future for mankind.

Handa Suleiman, Vice Chairman of Cushman & Wakefield Indonesia, attended the forum and shared key insights. He disclosed that he is of Chinese descent and highly recognizes the development model of Chinese modernization, which he believes offers an outstanding template for the industrial transformation and upgrading of Global South countries.

He pointed out that the “Two Countries, Twin Parks” cooperation mechanism between China and Indonesia stands as the most representative physical carrier of South-South cooperation. Standardized industrial parks, green industrial supporting facilities and a comprehensive real estate service system serve as core support for foreign-funded enterprises to cultivate the Indonesian market and achieve long-term localized development.

He advocated carrying forward Zheng He’s philosophy of equal reciprocity, openness and win-win cooperation. Through regular non-governmental economic and trade exchanges, both sides can deepen bilateral industrial cooperation, and fuel coordinated regional industrial upgrading, green and low-carbon transition as well as high-quality development.

Al Busyra Basnur, Chairman of the Indonesia-China Friendship Association, attended the event together with senior management of the association and delivered an address. A veteran diplomat and former Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Indonesia to Ethiopia, Djibouti and the African Union, he has long been committed to Asia-Africa cooperation, the promotion of the Bandung Spirit, and people-to-people and economic & trade exchanges under South-South cooperation.

He introduced that the Indonesia-China Friendship Association was founded in 1955 during the Bandung Conference. As a national core non-governmental platform for friendship with China under the guidance of Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it has dedicated itself to non-governmental exchanges between China and Indonesia for decades. Taking the important opportunity of the 76th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Indonesia in 2026, the association will take Zheng He’s Maritime Silk Road culture and the Bandung Spirit as core carriers to launch a series of commemorative activities including a positive energy essay contest with a thousand participants, so as to continuously deepen people-to-people bonds, cultural integration and pragmatic economic and trade cooperation between the two peoples.

Ms. Sarifa, Chairperson of Malaysia Green Point Party, was invited to the forum and delivered a speech. She fully recognized the core spirit of Zheng He’s civilization featuring sustainable trade, openness and mutual learning, and offered full support for advancing the Green Maritime Silk Road. She stated that moving forward, she will continuously boost linkages between Malaysian and Chinese environmental think tanks, youth green exchanges, and in-depth cooperation on intangible cultural heritage and eco-cultural tourism, to facilitate green and low-carbon development across Southeast Asia and the lasting inheritance of Maritime Silk Road culture.

During the high-level roundtable dialogue session, Xu Zaishan, Executive Vice Chairman of the Indonesia China Business Council (ICBC), presided over the event. Distinguished guests from all sectors including Dr. Zhang Lu, Vinsensius Jemadu, Chen Riling, Dr. Wu Mingli, Deng Deming and Chen Yongzhi gathered to conduct in-depth discussions on core themes such as inheriting the Zheng He Spirit in the new era, innovative revitalization of Maritime Silk Road culture, integration of cross-border resources, and innovative pathways for South-South cooperation. Bridging ancient and modern cultural heritage and pooling wisdom from China and abroad, the forum built broad consensus on deepening diverse cooperation between China and ASEAN.

A highlight of the forum was the unveiling ceremony for the Indonesian Representative Office of the International Zheng He Society, which formally improved the global dissemination system of Zheng He culture and its localized development framework in Southeast Asia, filling the institutional gap for systematic inheritance, academic research and international exchanges of Zheng He and Maritime Silk Road culture in Indonesia. Going forward, the Representative Office will focus on five core work streams: preservation of Maritime Silk Road historical records, research on cultural heritage, support for world heritage inscription, youth people-to-people exchanges, and industrial & economic trade linkage. It will keep revitalizing the millennia-old Maritime Silk Road civilization, deepen all-round friendly cooperation between China and Indonesia, rally Maritime Silk Road partners across Southeast Asia and the globe under the banner of the Zheng He Spirit, and continuously empower South-South cooperation and exchanges and mutual learning among human civilizations in the new era.

(Article and photos provided by Gong Quanyuan, President of Indonesia Gonggong News Agency)