China and Indonesia established diplomatic relations on 13 April 1950, which has suspended on 30 October 1967 due to the occurrence of the "September 30 event" of 1965. The bilateral relations began to ease since 1980s. 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 Agreement on the Settlement of Indonesia's Debt Obligation to China and the Communique on the Resumption of Diplomatic Relations between the two countries.
Chinese Prime Minister Li Peng visited Indonesia on invitation in August 6, 1990. In his talks with President Soeharto, the two sides expressed their willingness to improve and develop the friendly relations and cooperation between the two countries in the spirit of looking forward and on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-Existence and the Ten Principles of Bandung Conference. On 8 August, Foreign Ministers of Indonesia and China on behalf of their respective governments, signed the Memorandum of Understanding on the Resumption of Diplomatic Relations. The two sides declared the formal resumption of the diplomatic relations between China and Indonesia on that day.
The bilateral relations developed steadily since the resumption of diplomatic relations of the two countries. The leaders of the two sides have maintained exchange of visits and contacts. As a result, mutual understanding and trust had been increasing, laying the foundation for the healthy and steady development of bilateral relations. The two Ministries of Foreign Affairs set up a consultative mechanism. The recent years have witnessed the constant deepening of economic and trade cooperation and increase of the trade volume year by year. Exchanges and cooperation in other fields are under way. China and Indonesia have maintained good coordination and cooperation in international and regional affairs. Some of the issues between the two countries left over by history are starting to be solved.