In 2017, Indonesian President Joko Widodo said that Tsinghua University is known in Indonesia as one of the best universities for technology which produced many of China's leaders. The president also revealed a plan to establish a Tsinghua Southeast Asia Center for innovation.
The Tsinghua Southeast Asia Center (Tsinghua SEA) is an organization that focuses on non-degree education and cultural exchange. The Tsinghua SEA will focus on talent training, academic exchange and cooperation in Southeast Asia and around the world. It will serve the needs of Indonesia and Southeast Asian countries in terms of human capital training in the face of Industry 4.0, and contribute to the Belt and Road Initiative and UN Sustainable Development Goals.