ZHAO Minghao on National Identity, Global South and the U.S. Competitive Strategy towards China

China must strive to enhance the quality and effectiveness of its cooperation with developing countries, strengthing its influence over the Global South.

Welcome to the 12th edition of our weekly newsletter! As Trump gradually selects his cabinet members, I was recently interviewed by The South China Morning Post regarding his picks for China-related positions. I believed that while these people are undoubtedly tough on China, their future actions and statements cannot be entirely predicted based on their past stances.

ChinAffairs+ is a weekly 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 currently a visiting scholar at the Paul Tsai China Center of Yale Law School in the United States.

Through carefully selected Chinese academic articles, we aim to provide you with key insights into the issues that China's academic and strategic communities are focused on. We will highlight why each article matters and the most important takeaways. Questions or criticisms may be addressed to sunchenghao@tsinghua.edu.cn

Today, we have selected an article written by ZHAO Minghao, which focuses on National Identity, Global South and the U.S. Competitive Strategy towards China.

National Identity, Global South, and Major Power Competition, edited by ChinAffairs+

Summary

In light of the rise of the Global South and the intensification of great power competitions, the U.S. has augmented its pressure on China regarding issues in the Global South. The competition between China and the U.S. over the question of “national identity” has become more pronounced. This article begins with an analysis of the concept of national identity, revealing a new strategy employed by the U.S. in its competition with China—namely, within the Global South, questioning and undermining China's identity as a developing country, while labeling China as the "Global East". This approach aims to hinder China's development and drive a wedge between China and the Global South.

Furthermore, the article delves into the context and specific strategies behind China-U.S. competition in the Global South. The U.S. seeks to exploit internal divisions to implement a divide-and-conquer strategy, supporting countries like India in their rivalry with China over leadership. It also utilizes new mechanisms such as "Mineral Security Partnerships" and "Partnership for Atlantic Cooperation" to counterbalance China's influence in many specific areas. This emerging dynamic has significant implications for the long-term China-U.S. rivalry, and poses new challenges to China's global diplomatic strategy. China must recognize the many challenges faced by the Global South and its pragmatic orientation, strive to enhance the quality and effectiveness of its cooperation with developing countries, strengthening its influence over the Global South.

Why it matters

In recent years, the Global South has been recognized as a significant force in shaping the transformation of the international order. Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, countries in the Global South have intensified their coordination and cooperation, voicing strong opposition to a “new Cold War”. They steadily enhances their discourse power and influence in global governance. This shift has attracted significant attention from Western countries, particularly the United States, which has immediately declared its intent to establish a new partnership with the Global South.

The author argues that, this development is closely linked to the U.S. strategy of competition with China, reflecting Western concerns over the potential challenge to their dominant position in the international order. The United States is particularly apprehensive that China may push the world toward a "post-Western order". In response, the U.S. has augmented its pressure on China in relation to issues involving the Global South. Moreover, the author not only highlights the Global South as a new arena for China-U.S. competition, but also innovatively applies the concept of national identity to analyze the emerging and more prominent strategic rivalry between China and the U.S. This approach provides valuable insights for China to better understand U.S. strategies and refine its global diplomatic positioning.

Key Points

1. Viewing the Global South from the Perspective of National Identity Debate

Identity politics, based on the concept of collective recognition, is a crucial analytical dimension in understanding a nation’s political landscape and its development trajectory. It refers to the “role identity” and “social identity” differentiated race, religion, sexual orientation, and other aspects. In international politics, identity politics provides key insights, particularly through national identity, which is essential for understanding conflicts and cooperation.

Today, as geopolitical dynamics and great power competition resurge, the role of national identity in international relations is becoming increasingly pronounced: First, national identity distinctions are necessary for the formation of alliances and blocs. Second, national identity is closely linked to the competition for economic, trade, and technological interests. Third, national identity plays an important role in shaping global governance disputes.

• National identity is inherently constructed (内生性，nèi shēng xìng).

National identity is the product of the interaction of a country’s history, culture, religion, political system, ethnic relations, and other factors. Scholars argue that national identity arises from a shared belief in the legitimacy of a country's political system, profoundly influencing its governance, economic development, social stability, and foreign policy.

• National identity is mutually constructed (互构性，hù gòu xìng).

National identity arises through the competition and interaction between different national groups or blocs. Outside the capitalist group and the socialist group during the Cold War, a number of countries in regions such as Asia, Africa, and Latin America formed a loose collection, namely "The Third World", with emphasizing "revolution", "decolonization", and "anti-imperialism". Meanwhile, China seeks to enhance a shared, anti-American Asian identity, while the U.S. seeks to reinforce an open Asian-African identity which rejected China.

• National identity has a collective dimension (集体性，jí tǐ xìng).

Collectivity is also a product of the recent resurgence of geopolitics and great power rivalry. Although the heterogeneity within the Global South, these countries share common experiences, historical struggles, development challenges and strategic interests, which enable them to maintain a strong sense of political autonomy, contributing to the mission of global peace and development.

2. Background of Increased U.S. Pressure on China in the Global South

Over the past few decades, China’s national strength has significantly increased, making it the world’s second-largest economy. To some extent, China faces a national identity dilemma arising from the overlap of its “great power status” and “developing country status”. However, in the context of the China-U.S. competition, China’s national identity issue has become a critical lever for U.S. pressure on China. By questioning and undermining China’s identity as a developing country, the U.S. aims not only to create greater obstacles to China's economic development, but also to distance China from other developing countries, thereby isolating China from the Global South.

• Firstly, the issue of China’s “developing country status” is questioned by the U.S.

The status of developing countries is linked to a series of preferential treatments. U.S. hawks believe that China’s rapid development is attributable to its integration into the U.S.-led international economic order. As the U.S. clearly identifying China as its primary competitor, it seeks to strip China of its developing country status, shaping an international environment unfavorable to China’s development, thereby widening the gap between the Global South and China. This can also undermine China’s efforts to unite with other developing countries for mutual strength.

• Secondly, the Global South has become an important lever for the U.S. to compete with China.

Since the Trump administration took office in 2017, the U.S. government has framed its China policy primarily around strategic competition. China's “Southern Strategy”, implemented through initiatives like the Belt and Road Initiative, is viewed as a threat to U.S. hegemony and alliance. In this context, the U.S. has identified weakening China’s relationships with developing countries as a key component of its strategy to contain China.

• Thirdly, the U.S. is concerned about its declining influence on the Global South.

For a long time, countries in the Global South have expressed dissatisfaction with their marginal position in the U.S.-led international order. While the U.S. promotes a “rules-based international order”, its practices often involve unilateral bullying, the use of force, and coercion on others. Under the pressure of the new Cold War, many countries in the Global South have adopted a strategy of “active non-alignment”, refusing to blindly follow Western nations. Notably, the autonomy displayed in the Russia-Ukraine conflict has raised concerns among the U.S. and other Western countries, prompting them to seek stronger relationships with the Global South in hopes of regaining their trust.

3. The Main Strategies of the U.S. in Competing with China in the Global South

The competition among major powers is closely related to struggles over national identity. To undermine China’s identity as a member of the Global South, the U.S. along with its Western allies, is vigorously contesting the definition of the Global South, labeling China as the “Global East”. The U.S. aims to employ a divide-and-conquer strategy within the Global South, supporting countries like India to compete for leadership. Additionally, in areas such as energy transition, public health, food security, and infrastructure, the U.S. enhances its relations with the Global South, particularly wooing “swing states”. The U.S. is also working to create political obstacles for China’s cooperation with relevant developing countries, strengthening the influence of Western nations in the Global South through new mechanisms like the Partnership for Atlantic Cooperation.

• Firstly, the U.S. exploits internal contradictions in the Global South to counterbalance China.

Leadership Controversy: Based on differences between China and some members of the Global South on some issues, the U.S. has exploited this new tension to expand its influence. It has pushed countries like India, Brazil, and South Africa to take on leadership roles within the Global South, in order to weaken China’s appeal to developing countries.

Controversy over Power and Influence: The U.S. seeks to influence the distribution of power among Global South countries in international mechanisms, dilute China’s institutional power. In addition, the U.S. aims to utilize the economic risks and debt issues related to the Belt and Road Initiative, seeking to stir up anti-China sentiment within the Global South and promoting the “alternative solutions” proposed by the U.S. and its Western allies.

• Secondly, the U.S. seeks to replace "cooperation with China" with "cooperation with the U.S.", promoting the "de-risking" and the "northization".

  • Energy and Mineral Sector: In the context of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the U.S. government aims to reshape critical mineral supply chains and promote clean energy, enhancing economic and trade cooperation with relevant developing countries. Through mechanisms like the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council, the U.S. leverages its allies to implement the “de-risking” from China. Meanwhile, to replace China’s influence in this field, the U.S. provides technology and resources to developing countries, incorporating countries with abundant mineral resources into the Western-led "friend support" framework. This will diminish China’s position in the supply chains for key minerals such as lithium, nickel, and cobalt.

  • Public Hygiene Sector: The COVID-19 pandemic has made public health a significant concern for many developing countries. Through mechanisms like the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, I2U2, and the Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy, the U.S. makes a lot of efforts to attract the Global South.

  • Food Security Sector: The U.S. has accused Russia of weaponizing food issues, striving to assert its global leadership in addressing food security challenges. The Biden administration has announced investments of over a billion dollars to meet the urgent humanitarian needs for global food assistance, expanded the Feed the Future initiative, and launched the Roadmap for Global Food Security mechanism to mobilize collective action from over 100 countries.

• Thirdly, the U.S. integrates Western powers by new mechanisms, weakening South-South cooperation.

Infrastructure has become a crucial arena for great power rivalry. The U.S. believes that China’s Belt and Road Initiative transforms its economic influence into geopolitical power, increasing the appeal of China's development model among Global South nations. Given China’s advantages in infrastructure development, the U.S. needs to emphasize mobilizing and integrating the resources of its allies. Through mechanisms such as the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, the “Partnership for Atlantic Cooperation”, the U.S. starts from less controversial issues such as climate and sustainable ocean development, integrating the trade and infrastructure networks of India, the Middle East, and Europe, in order to counter the growing influence of China and Russia in the Global South.

Conclusion

The “re-engagement” of the Global South has become a significant issue in world politics. Against the backdrop of the resurgence of great power competition, the U.S. seek to isolate China from the Global South. However, limited by domestic environment, the U.S. faces numerous challenges in implementing this strategy. More importantly, countries in the Global South are reluctant to become pawns in the great power competition. They embrace a multipolar world order, adopt hedging strategies, and strive to maintain their own flexibility. In response to the pressure exerted by the U.S. and other Western nations on the Global South, China needs to approach this challenge from multiple dimensions, including vision, power, interests, rules, and prestige.

China should also focus on enhancing the quality and effectiveness of cooperation with other developing countries, which will provide strong strategic support in addressing the long-term China-U.S. rivalry. Firstly, China can leverage platforms such as the Belt and Road Initiative and the Global Development Initiative（全球发展倡议，quán qiú fā zhǎn chàng yì）to intensify coordination. Secondly, China must effectively implement the Global Security Initiative（全球安全倡议，quán qiú ān quán chàng yì）, uphold the international system with the UN at its core, and stay committed to the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security. Thirdly, China should further strengthen platforms such as the BRICS and the SCO, support mechanisms like the “Non-Aligned Movement and the Group of 77, enhancing the institutional power of the Global South within the international system.

About the Author

Zhao Minghao 赵明昊: Dr. Minghao ZHAO is a Senior Fellow at Institute of International Studies/Center for American Studies, Fudan University. Prior to joining Fudan University in 2019, he served as a senior fellow and deputy director for strategic studies at China Center for Contemporary World Studies, the in-house think tank of International Department of the CPC’s Central Committee (IDCPC). He has been awarded the IDCPC Prize for Excellence in Policy Research for several times. He also holds the following positions: Member of China National Committee, Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP); Non-resident Senior Fellow at the Institute of International and Strategic Studies, Peking University; Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Center for International Security and Strategy, Tsinghua University.

His research focuses on China’s foreign policy, Sino-US relations, and Asia-Pacific security. He has been awarded research grants from many institutions. His opinion pieces have been featured in People’s Daily, China Daily, New York Times among other media outlets. He has participated in international research projects, such as Global Trends and China-US Relations, and has been invited to speak at international conferences.

About the Publication

The Chinese version of the article was published by The Chinese Journal of American Studies（《美国研究》）. It was founded in 1987 as a quarterly publication, and since 2014 it has been bimonthly. It is sponsored by the Institute of American Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Chinese American Society. Publish articles by Chinese scholars studying various aspects of American society, including American politics, economy, diplomacy, military, technology, culture, history, art, and thought. It is a common ground for all Chinese scholars engaged in studying American issues, and a center for exchanging knowledge and understanding of the United States.