Jorge Heine on Peru, Indonesia, and the Rise of South–South Trade
In an analysis for the Latin America Advisor, a daily publication of the Inter-American Dialogue, published August 25, 2025, Ambassador Jorge Heine, former Research Professor at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies and Chilean Ambassador to China, examined the growing importance of South–South cooperation through the lens of the new Peru–Indonesia trade agreement. Read the full analysis on Page 3 here.
Heine notes that earlier this year, Indonesia, the world’s fourth-most-populous nation and a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement, joined the BRICS group as a full member—an event that strengthens one of the key platforms for the Global South.
“The recent Peru–Indonesia trade agreement thus has a significance that goes way beyond a bilateral commercial accord,” Heine explains.
For Peru, the deal reflects a long-term strategy of reaching out to the Asia-Pacific—from joining APEC in 1997 and signing a Free Trade Agreement with China in 2009 to becoming part of the CPTPP. Peru’s strong economic performance, despite political turbulence, Heine argues, is tied to its understanding of “globalization as Asianization.”
While not a full FTA, the new agreement allows more than half of Peru’s current exports to enter Indonesia duty-free and grants tariff-free access to 90 percent of Indonesia’s exports to Peru. Agricultural products—such as blueberries, avocados, cocoa, and coffee—stand to benefit most.
Heine adds that as the Global North turns inward and embraces protectionism, “the action in international trade has moved to the Global South.” The Peru–Indonesia pact, he concludes, is emblematic of a broader realignment in which developing nations are increasingly shaping the future of global trade and investment.
A former research professor at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, Jorge Heine is a diplomat, international relations scholar, and lawyer. He has served as an ambassador of Chile to China, India, and South Africa. Heine has written over fifteen books, including The Non-Aligned World: Striking Out in an Era of Great Power Competition (2025), which provides insights on how the Global South can navigate the changing diplomatic landscape amid the U.S.-China rivalry.