Chinese Language Skills Open Doors to Education and Careers for Indonesian Youth

Dragon Media News Desk

More young people in Indonesia are learning Chinese, seeing it as a path to higher education in China and wider career opportunities at home.

A study and career expo held in Jakarta on Sunday brought together 21 Chinese universities, including Peking University and Tsinghua University. About 3,000 students, Chinese-language learners and parents attended to learn about opportunities to study in China.

Among them was 16-year-old Calysta Jacqueline Wijaya, who hopes to study pharmacy in China. Now in her first year of high school, she has studied Chinese for 11 years. She wants to bring her professional knowledge back to Indonesia and use it to help others. To prepare, she is working to improve her score on the Chinese Proficiency Test, known as the HSK.

Her classmate, 15-year-old Richard Dharma Hungnata, has studied Chinese since his first year of primary school and can already speak it fluently. Visits to Beijing, Shanghai and other Chinese cities strengthened his interest in China’s development. A keen student of mathematics and physics, he hopes to study engineering at a Chinese university. He plans to take the HSK after his second year of high school to strengthen his university applications.

Zheng Wenting, a Chinese-language teacher who also runs a Mandarin education centre in Indonesia, said more parents have been enrolling their children in Chinese classes, while more students are aspiring to study in China. A decade ago, her institution enrolled about 50 students per intake; it now attracts nearly 500.

For a growing number of Indonesian young people, Chinese-language education has become part of a longer academic journey—from learning characters and pinyin in primary school to exploring university programmes and career options. Language skills can help students gain admission to universities and broaden their employment prospects.

Dexter Godwin, an Indonesian graduate of Beijing-based China University of Petroleum, attended the expo to share his experience with prospective students. He earned a degree in petroleum engineering in 2025. After learning about the university’s strengths in the field, he decided to study in China. During his four years there, he gained professional knowledge and learned Chinese. He has since started a career at an oil company operating in Indonesia.

“I feel fortunate to have studied at China University of Petroleum for four years and to be able to put what I learned into practice,” Godwin said. He added that he had benefited from his academic training and the support of his teachers.

As cooperation between China and Indonesia expands in trade, infrastructure, energy and other sectors, young professionals with both Chinese-language skills and specialised expertise are finding broader career prospects.

Chinese Testing International said Indonesia has 56 HSK test centres and has recorded more than 300,000 test takers since the examination was introduced there in 2001. In 2026, Indonesia ranked fourth worldwide in the number of HSK test takers.

Liu Xiaolong, the company’s deputy general manager, said Chinese-language learning, study in China and career development were becoming increasingly connected. As bilateral cooperation grows, demand is rising for young professionals who combine Chinese-language ability with specialised knowledge, he said.

Chen Wu, education counsellor at the Chinese Embassy in Indonesia, said youth exchanges were important to sustaining friendship between the two countries. China welcomes more young Indonesians seeking to deepen their understanding of the country through educational experiences, he added.