The National Museum of Indonesia has one of the best and the most complete collections of Chinese ceramics discovered outside of China, dated from the Han, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, spanning for almost two millennia.

Research indicates that the Chinese sailed to India via Indonesia as early as Western Han period (205 BC to 220 AD) as a part of the maritime silk road and firm trade relations were subsequently established.

[11] Traditionally, the Indonesian archipelago, identified by ancient Chinese geographer as Nanyang, was the source of spices such as cloves, cubeb, and nutmeg, raw materials such as sandalwood, gold and tin, as well as exotic rare items such as ivory, rhino horn, tiger fur and bone, exotic birds and colorful feathers.

A Chinese monk, I-Tsing, visited Srivijaya in 671 for 6 months during his mission to acquire sacred Buddhist texts from India.

In 1293, Kublai Khan of Yuan dynasty sent a massive expedition of 1,000 ships to Java to punish the defiant king Kertanegara of Singhasari.

Maritime empires such as Srivijaya, Majapahit, and later Malacca sought trade permits to establish relations with lucrative Chinese markets.

[16] The report was composed and collected in Yingya Shenglan, which provides a valuable insight on the culture, customs, also various social and economic aspects of Chao-Wa (Java) during Majapahit period.

In December 1989, the two sides held talks on the technical issues regarding the normalization of bilateral relations and signed the Minutes.

Foreign Minister Ali Alatas of Indonesia visited China on invitation in July 1990 and the two sides issued the "Communiqué on the Restoration of Diplomatic Relations between the Two Countries".

On 8 August, Foreign Ministers of China and Indonesia on behalf of their respective governments, signed the Memorandum of Understanding on the Resumption of Diplomatic Relations.

[30]: 161 In September 2017, two giant pandas, Cai Tao and Hu Chun, arrived in Jakarta from Sichuan province to be placed in Taman Safari in Bogor as part of the 60th anniversary celebrations of China–Indonesia bilateral relations.

"[32] In November 2021, the Chinese embassy in Jakarta presented testimonies from Uyghur government and community representatives in Xinjiang as well as those from Nahdlatul Ulama to counter Western allegations of abuse.

[33] China has also granted scholarships for santri to study in the country, leading some of them to issue defenses of its Xinjiang policy in Indonesian media.

[36][37] China has remained on top of Indonesia's key major trading partners, serving as the country's largest export and import market.

China serves as Indonesia's largest export destination after overtaking Japan and United States, reaching US$16.8 billion.

[42] In Indonesia, Chinese companies invest in sectors including mining, hydropower, solar panel production, electric vehicle batteries, and industrial silicon.

[45][46][47] It was said that China's offer to build the Jakarta-Bandung line without requiring loan guarantee nor funding from Indonesia was the tipping point of Jakarta's decision.

[53] In 2024, The Financial Times reported that Indonesia is attempting to decrease Chinese investment in new nickel mining and processing projects.

This strategy aims to help Indonesia's industry become eligible for tax incentives in the United States, aligning with the Biden administration's efforts to limit Beijing's impact on the electric vehicle supply chain.

The Indonesian government and industry stakeholders are restructuring nickel investment deals to position Chinese companies as minority shareholders.

Abdurrahman Wahid of Indonesia paid a state visit to China, during which the two countries issued a joint press communiqué.

[citation needed] In April, President Abdurrahman Wahid of the Indonesian People's Consultative Assembly visited China.

[55]: 47  The speech announced the signing of a comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries and the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

[55]: 47 From November 8 to 11, 2014, newly elected Indonesian President Joko Widodo paid his first official overseas visit to China to attend the APEC summit in Beijing.

Many Chinese Indonesians felt that the term (in reference to them) was derogatory and racist, connoting "backwardness, humiliation, queues and bound feet".

[71] On 23 June 2016, Indonesian President Joko Widodo visited Natuna islands on a warship, this was meant to send a "clear message" that Indonesia was "very serious in its effort to protect its sovereignty".

[72] Following the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling on 12 July 2016, Indonesia called on all parties involved in the territorial dispute to exercise self-restraint and to respect applicable international laws.

[78] This led to a stand-off between the countries and Indonesia's decision to send its fishermen to join warships in the area to help defend against Chinese vessels.

[79] Indonesia had deployed two Kapitan Pattimura-class anti-submarine corvettes at Great Natuna Island in early January, and later added one Martadinata-class guided-missile frigate, two Bung Tomo-class corvettes, one Ahmed Yani-class frigate, one Makassar-class landing platform dock (LPD), one Cakra-class diesel submarine and four F-16C/D fighter jets to the deployment even when China vessels appeared to have backed down from the region.

[88][89] According to a December 2021 survey from the Australian Lowy Institute think tank, Indonesians were becoming increasingly wary of China and Chinese investments, with six in 10 of the 3,000 respondents agreeing that Jakarta should join with other nations to limit Beijing's rise.