Indonesia’s state news agency Antara is exploring closer cooperation with China’s Xinhua on artificial intelligence, marking a new phase in the two organizations’ longstanding media partnership.
Last week, Antara director Abdul Hakim met Xinhua president Fu Hua at Xinhua’s headquarters in Beijing, ahead of the 7th World Media Summit. Hakim was the first guest Fu met, and Xinhua welcomed Antara’s active role in the summit.
Hakim said Antara wants to learn how Xinhua uses artificial intelligence in its news operations, particularly to accelerate reporting and expand its international reach. He expressed interest in Xinhua Yudian, an AI-powered tool launched in June 2026 that is designed to answer questions about political news and trace information to its sources.
The World Media Summit, held in Beijing this week, brought together about 500 delegates from 330 media outlets, research institutions, and government organizations representing 112 countries and regions. Under the theme “Media in the Age of Intelligence: From Consensus to Action,” the gathering focused on the use of AI in journalism, international media cooperation, global communication standards, and coverage of China’s modernization.
Fu said the two state-run news agencies first connected in 1957, after diplomatic ties were established in 1950, and that next year will mark more than 70 years of cooperation. He said Xinhua strongly supports working with Antara, that both leaders have agreed to deepen ties, and that the media should continue telling the story of the relationship. Hakim recalled three Xinhua journalists who died in a 1955 plane incident after the Bandung Asian-African Conference, while a photographer survived by traveling by ship.
But the two agencies are far from equal in size: Xinhua has about 12,000 staff, more than 20 offices abroad, and produces around 13,000 news items a day.
China’s Expanding Media Footprint in Indonesia
I have followed this story for years. In 2022, I wrote that Xinhua had opened Indonesian-language accounts, hired local journalists, and signed content deals with outlets including Antara. A Freedom House report I helped research rated Indonesia as vulnerable to Beijing’s media influence, noting 2019 deals involving Antara, Metro TV, Xinhua, and CGTN, China’s state television.
I also described China’s tools: local offices, content-sharing deals, censorship, and guided trips, including to Xinjiang, where China is accused of abusing Uyghur Muslims. Antara’s first deal with Xinhua, in 2015, focused on fake news.
From Content Sharing to AI Integration
These tools had limits. In 2024, my co-author and I argued that the partnerships reached relatively few people, since over 70 percent of Indonesians get their news from social media. That remains true for news stories, but less so for software, which operates inside the newsroom before readers ever see the work. In December 2025, we warned about a Maritime Silk Road media platform launched in Guangzhou with outlets from 11 countries, including Indonesia.
Shrinking newsrooms find such offers hard to refuse. Several members belong to China’s state media. Shared AI tools are the next step.
Hakim said the right things. He spoke first at the summit’s Forum on Powering Intelligent Media and told delegates that AI can help journalists but cannot replace human judgment and editorial responsibility. Technology must not weaken accuracy, verification, fairness, or integrity. Smart tools require energy and computing power, so they must be affordable for developing countries. People outside major cities need credible information, and no voice should be left behind.
He welcomed closer ties between agencies in three areas: sharing trusted information and fact-checking methods; exchanging knowledge on responsible AI; and cooperating on global issues such as energy security, climate change, peace, and sustainable development. AI brings false stories, manipulated images, and uncertainty about what is real, so speed alone is not enough.
The technology has changed, Hakim said, but not the mission. Xinhua deputy editor-in-chief Ren Weidong urged agencies to stop labeling one another advanced or backward and instead pursue joint reporting that benefits all sides equally.
The Challenge of Editorial Independence
Xinhua is run by the Chinese state, and Yudian was built for political news. Readers should know how it works, what data it uses, and who can access Antara’s work. The reports do not say. The Freedom House research I worked on identified strengths, including limits on foreign ownership and critical press groups, but also weaknesses, such as concentrated media ownership and economic ties that make officials cautious.
In 2022, I urged outlets to exercise caution with content-sharing deals and be transparent about sponsored trips and content. Antara should publish the terms of its cooperation with Xinhua, label Xinhua stories, have independent experts test any AI tools, and maintain partnerships with agencies in other countries.
Hakim said technology makes media faster and smart systems make it smarter, but trust gives it meaning. China’s media reach in Indonesia continues to expand. Antara can work with Xinhua while preserving its independence. But to do so, it must be transparent about the relationship.
This article was co-authored by Yeta Purnama, a researcher at the Center of Economic and Law Studies (CELIOS), and Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat, Director of the China-Indonesia Desk at CELIOS.
- AI
- Media
- Southeast Asia
