The Indonesian government is in debt negotiations with China over its $7.3bn “Whoosh” bullet train, as the Beijing-backed high-speed railway racks up losses and risks creating an unmanageable debt burden for Jakarta.
The rail link connecting the capital Jakarta with the third-most populous city of Bandung was developed jointly by Indonesian and Chinese state-owned companies under Chinese President Xi Jinping and former Indonesian president Joko Widodo. Three-quarters of the project was funded by Chinese loans.