#4 China Scholar Insights on the Global South
The rise of Global South is influencing various aspects of global politics.
Welcome to the fourth edition of China Scholar Insights! China Scholar Insights is a newly launched feature by ChinAffairs+, which aimed at providing you with the latest analysis on issues that Chinese scholars and strategic communities are focusing on. We will carefully select commentary articles and highlight key points. Questions or criticisms can be directed to sunchenghao@tsinghua.edu.cn.
ChinAffairs+ is a newsletter that shares Chinese academic articles focused on topics such as China’s foreign policy, China-U.S. relations, China-European relations, and more. This newsletter was co-founded by me and my research assistant, ZHANG Xueyu. I am SUN Chenghao, a fellow with the Center for International Security and Strategy (CISS) at Tsinghua University, and a visiting scholar at the Paul Tsai China Center of Yale Law School (fall semester 2024).
Chinese Scholars on the Global South
Background
In recent years, the Global South has become not only a research subject in international relations, but also a new perspective and tool for analyzing world affairs. With the African Union joining the G20, the expansion of BRICS, the Group of 77 and China Summit, and other collaboration initiatives, the Global South is increasingly expressing its unique voices on the global stage. Meanwhile, the rise of Global South is also reshaping how northern countries consider their foreign policy and significantly influencing various aspects of global politics.
Summary
Rooted in world history, regionalism within the Global South has evolved through multiple stages, beginning with the rise of ASEAN and its experience in the development of the Global South. Nowadays, the Global South countries are making their contributions to global development, drawing attention from northern countries. Their influence in international discourse is rising, but simultaneously faced with challenges both internally and externally. Major powers among them are the Greater BRICS Cooperation and the China-Africa cooperation. Meanwhile, the prospect of the Global South depends on the younger generation from the “South”, who must stive to realize a shared future through a global perspective.
Insights
ZHAO Kejin: The Next Thirty Years belong to the "Global South," and the "Global South" depends on the Youth of the "South"
Facing the accelerated evolution of profound global changes, Southern countries are increasingly emerging as a critical force in reforming the global governance system. The choices made by the Global South, particularly its youth, will directly shape the future and destiny of Southern countries and the entire world.
The Global South: Pursuing Global Development, Global Security, and Global Governance
First, the Global South shares the aspiration for global development. Compared with the countries in the North, the basic conditions of the Southern countries have been fundamentally different. Therefore, Southern countries can advance modernization paths suitable for their national conditions.
Second, the Global South shares a unified position on global security. Southern countries face not only security threats from Northern countries but also threats among themselves and challenges shared by all humanity. Similar development environments and a common vision for global development, aligning their positions on global issues forms the foundation of a unified position for the Global South.
Third, the Global South adheres to shared principles of global governance. Currently, Global South countries are severely underrepresented in global governance and lack sufficient influence in decision-making. This calls for active participation by the Global South in reforming and building the global governance system, moving it toward justice and equity.
Global South Youth: Rooted in the South, Engaged with the World
Youth are the vanguard of global development, the backbone of maintaining world peace and security, and a dream team in global governance. They must remain rooted in their regions, tackling the challenges facing Southern countries in global development, security, and governance, exploring development paths suited to Southern realities, and advocating for governance solutions that amplify the voices of the South.
At the same time, Southern youth must embrace a global perspective, striving to become global citizens committed to the common cause of humanity. They should not only represent the aspirations and voices of Southern countries but also empathize with the shared future and challenges of all humanity.
In the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, youth in the Global South are well-positioned to harness AI, big data, cloud computing, and other emerging technologies to drive modernization.
TANG Xiaoyang: The cooperation between China and Africa can be situated within a broader global and historical context.
The main demand of African countries is economic development
Over the past two to three decades, African countries have realized that their economic underdevelopment has hindered the fulfillment of their political aspirations. Thus, they are increasingly prioritizing economic development, improving employment and infrastructure.
Key challenges in China-Africa cooperation: Economic factors and Fragmented markets
In the short term, challenges in China-Africa cooperation primarily arise from external factors such as global economy. For instance, high interest rates in the U.S. have increased financing and investment costs for Africa.
In the medium to long term, fragmented markets lead to political instability in Africa, making it difficult to establish efficient logistics and industrial channels. Additionally, high internal logistics costs, the relatively small size of markets, and the complexity of diverse legal and regulatory systems resulted in challenges for investments to achieve their expected returns.
Addressing challenges, Quality rather than Quantity is needed
In response to these challenges, China adheres to the principle of non-interference in internal affairs and emphasizes "quality", pragmatically advancing small but practical and impactful projects.
Increase the economic complementary: Africa’s economic structure is characterized by low complementarity, with most countries exporting resources outward while importing industrial goods. To address this, Chinese projects often focus on producing different industrial products in different African countries.
Infrustructure Construction: Transnational infrastructure development presents challenges. Instead of politically pressuring African countries to open their markets, China offers practical support by building cross-border infrastructure to improve regional connectivity.
Global significance: China-Africa cooperation and paths to modernization
The theme of the 2024 Beijing summit of the forum on China-Africa cooperation (FOCAC), "Joining Hands to Advance Modernization and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future", accorded with key issues regarding China-U.S. cooperation. The Chinese path to modernization highlights the uniqueness and autonomy of each country, which encourages African countries to pursue their own paths and develop independently while contributing to the diversity of modernization models worldwide.
FAN Hongwei and ZHAO Zherui: ASEAN's Journey in the Context of Global South Regionalism
Regionalism within the Global South has traversed a long path from its nascent stage during colonial eras to a complex web of organizations post-World War II. ASEAN, a prominent player in Southeast Asia's regionalism, has carved a unique trajectory.
The Rise of Regionalism in the Global South and the Role of ASEAN
The roots of regionalism in the Global South trace back to colonial times, evolving significantly and reaching its peak in the countries of the South with the establishment of the United Nations after World War II.
ASEAN, as a typical example of regionalism in the global South, has managed to develop a difficult-to-integrate region into the most successful and dynamic region in Asia in terms of regional co-operation through its unique ‘ASEAN Way’, which is based on the principles of sovereign equality, the non-use of force, the peaceful resolution of conflicts, and non-interference in internal affairs. The establishment and development of ASEAN has not only strengthened the regional co-operation between countries, but has also expanded the forms of regionalism in practice and promoted the development of open regionalism in the global South.
ASEAN Expansion and Intervention in the Global North
The end of the Cold War heralded a new era for ASEAN, which took the opportunity to initiate the process of expansion. However, ASEAN's expansion and transformation have been met with varying degrees of interference and resistance from countries of the global North. In the face of pressure from the global North, ASEAN adhered to the principle of non-interference in internal affairs and succeeded in completing the unification and integration of ASEAN with the Southeast Asian region, demonstrating its unity and autonomy
The ASEAN experience and the “prisoner's dilemma” of regionalism in the global South
In the broader canvas of the Global South's regionalism, many organizations, such as Mercosur and SADC, have faltered due to the "Prisoner's Dilemma." Individual member states, often swayed by parochial interests during crises, undermined collective progress. During the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, ASEAN demonstrated remarkable resilience. It recognized the crisis's systemic nature and devised comprehensive regional strategies. Mechanism innovations, both internally and externally, were pivotal. Meanwhile, the leadership role of Indonesia and the unwavering support from neighboring countries, especially China, were instrumental.
ASEAN WAY: Avoid the “prisoner's dilemma”
ASEAN's experience lies in its success in avoiding the “prisoner's dilemma” and in pursuing progress in regional integration on the basis of ensuring internal solidarity. Its “ASEAN Way”, with its “negative solidarity” function, had enabled ASEAN to seek breakthroughs in crises from both internal and external perspectives, and ultimately to turn crises into opportunities. As the Global South continues to assert itself, ASEAN stands as a paragon of successful regionalism, offering valuable insights and inspiration for the future odyssey of regional cooperation in the Global South.
Du Lan: “The Great Golden Brick Cooperation” brings together confidence and strength for the Global South
The Kazan Summit: achieved substantial results in three aspects
The 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan invited over 30 countries to engage in discussions on strengthening multilateralism and promoting equitable development, resulting in the issuance of the “Kazan Declaration” with 134 points. The Declaration enhanced BRICS cooperation around three core issues: political and security, economic and trade cooperation, and culture exchanges.
The political goal of the Declaration: The Declaration proposed to promote a multipolar world order and establish a more equitable, effective, and democratic international governance system. In the face of current localized conflicts and regional tensions, the Declaration emphasized the importance of communication for peaceful resolution of disputes and strengthened cooperation in key areas.
The Declaration proposes measures to promote economic development: The Declaration listed effective economic cooperation measures facilitate trade and investment facilitation among BRICS countries, opposing unilateral sanctions and restrictive measures.
The Declaration promotes exchanges among BRICS nations: The declaration proposes specific measures in the fields of culture, education, and youth cooperation to enhance the friendships and understand among BRICS countries.
The BRICS mechanism : the core mechanism representing the Global South.
Over the past decade,The BRICS mechanism has shown great advantages. The development opportunities inherent and the fairness and justice represented by the BRICS mechanism attracts the increasing application for join. Currently, the international balance of power is undergoing significant shifts, and the vast majority of countries in the Global South are eager to change the unjust world order and the relatively lagging global governance arrangements.
China's actions: actively promoted and led BRICS cooperation.
As the largest economy among the BRICS countries and a member of the Global South, China has always been a key leader and driving force in BRICS cooperation. At the Kazan Summit, China elaborated on the development direction and fundamental principles of “Greater BRICS Cooperation”. In terms of cooperative measures, China put forward the “Five BRICS” initiatives and announced specific measures such as the establishment of China Cooperation Center for BRICS Special Economic Zones, which received positive responses from other parties.
Sun Jisheng: The Construction and Prospects of the International Discourse Power of the Global South
Rising Influence of the Global South: As the gap between the North and South narrows, Southern countries' strength and international influence continue to rise, becoming a key part of the global agenda. As Global South nations develop, they are now prioritizing their interests and advocating for a fairer global system, no longer following major powers.
The Global South's Struggle for Unified Influences: The Global South faces several challenges in enhancing its international discourse power.
The internal diversity and differences of the Global South countries make it difficult to form a unified international force.
The Global South lacks a strong political consensus. Differences in leadership and coordination issues hinder its ability to enhance its international influence. Without clear goals or a coordination mechanism, internal disunity limits its impact on the global stage.
The efforts to strengthen discourse power are often contained by the actions of great powers. With intensifying great power competition and a tense geopolitical landscape, the narrative of the Global South is often overshadowed by geopolitical interests. Major powers also actively interfere, undermining unity and sowing division within the Global South.
China's Strategy for Empowering the Global South: China’s approach to promoting the Global South in enhancing international discourse power includes several key aspects.
China unites Southern countries to leverage their numerical strength and promote collective action for global peace. Southern countries should uphold true multilateralism and work together to promote global stability.
China strengthens cooperation with various countries to enhance the Global South's discourse power in development. China promotes common values such as peace, fairness, democracy, and freedom while respecting cultural differences and encouraging mutual learning among civilizations.
China pushes for a more just and equitable global governance system to enhance the discourse power of the Global South in emerging fields, such as the internet, space, deep sea, polar regions, and artificial intelligence, governance rules are still evolving.
Conclusion
The Munich Security Report 2023 recognized that countries in the Global South can become crucial “swing states”, which tip the balance between the systemic competitors and therefore shape the fate of the international rules-based order. In the recent years, northern countries have worked to integrate the Global South countries into international and regional systems led by the north. Meanwhile, the Global South countries are aiming to establish their own cooperative frameworks and platforms for dialogue. As a key member of the Global South, China should make joint efforts with other countries to contribute to a prosperous future of the Global South.
Writers and Editors for Today’s Newsletter:
Writers：
GAO Liangyu, WANG Jiaying, HU Lingzhi, BAI Xuhan and HNIN Lei Lei Wai, Tsinghua University
Editors:
SUN Chenghao, ZHANG Xueyu, U.S.-Europe Program, Center for International Security and Strategy, Tsinghua University
