China, Indonesia to launch digital health lab

China and Indonesia are strengthening their digital health cooperation by establishing a joint laboratory focused on AI in medicine.

The Indonesian Ministry of Health signed a tripartite memorandum of agreement with Xuzhou Medical University and Indonesia’s National Standardization Agency (BSN) to create the Joint Laboratory for Digital Medicine and Proactive Health, reported national news agency ANTARA.

Deputy Health Minister Benjamin Paulus Octavianus said the partnership will support collaboration in treatment, research, standardization, and the medical devices industry, while ensuring digital technologies are used safely and responsibly. “This collaboration provides a crucial foundation for developing a digital health system and deploying AI in medicine, aimed at improving the quality of public services,” he said.

Indonesian Deputy Minister of Health Benjamin Paulus Octavius witnesses the signing of an MoA on the establishment of a China-Indonesia Joint Digital Health Laboratory in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, China. (Photo: Indonesian Consulate General in Shanghai)

The lab will help Indonesia adopt new technologies in its health system while maintaining compliance with national standards. Funding, governance, and timelines have not yet been disclosed.

Indonesia has pursued overseas partnerships to boost technology transfer, strengthen its medical devices sector, and protect data sovereignty. The new agreement follows a 2024 collaboration with China’s Tsinghua University on vaccine and genomics ecosystems.

Indonesia has also expanded ties with China across multiple industries as a key partner in the Belt and Road Initiative. Chinese hospitals have increasingly joined regional health research projects, including efforts with Singapore’s National University to advance precision cardiovascular care. Last year, Indonesia also signed an MoU with Philips to transform its health system, with digital health as a key focus area.