When the BRICS recently decided to invite six countries to join as new members, Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed the expansion as a historic move that highlights the resolve of the BRICS to pursue unity and cooperation in the developing world. Beyond the BRICS, Xi’s comment is precisely a reflection of what China envisions for the Global South.
Since war broke out in Ukraine, the US-led West has found itself in a somewhat awkward position where, despite its lobby and charm offensive, the Global South can’t be persuaded into siding with the West on this war. In a recent example, a July summit between the European Union and Latin America failed to reach even a bland statement on the war due to their huge rift on this issue. The root cause of this “West against the rest” phenomenon is that the West has in many ways failed to grasp the real concerns and priorities of the Global South.
To most developing countries across Asia, Africa and Latin America, there are much more pressing issues to worry about – recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, indebtedness, food security, climate change, etc. Plus, ties with Russia also matter to many of them, so they have pragmatically taken a neutral position that enables them to better navigate the geopolitics related to the war.
In addition, Washington’s narrative in framing the war – in fact, many other international issues as well – as “democracy versus autocracy” is certainly not helpful in winning the hearts of the Global South countries. A little critical thinking would tell us that to define whether or not a country is a democracy using Western criteria alone is in and of itself undemocratic, and it only runs a risk of entrenching the existing ideological divisions in the world today.
Multi-polarity is becoming a reality in the world.
China’s ideas such as a “community of shared future” and “balanced, sustainable security architecture” appear to better dovetail with the realistic needs of the Global South countries. In essence, China’s worldview calls for shelving frictions and prioritizing cooperation for the sake of mutual prosperity, rather than pushing countries to choose sides. More importantly, China’s proposals on global governance are not empty slogans. Instead, they are based on concrete actions in China’s foreign policy.
When it comes to helping mitigate conflicts, for instance, China supplies more UN peacekeeping troops than the other four permanent members of the UN Security Council combined. Since 1990, Chinese soldiers involved in UN peacekeeping missions have left their footprints in more than 20 countries and regions across Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa. During a June visit to China by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Xi Jinping raised a three-point proposal aimed at working towards peace between Palestine and Israel. China has been involved in mediating between the two sides since 2002 when China set up its special envoy for the Middle East. Some observers might view the Iran-Saudi Arabia rapprochement as China enjoying the fruits of earlier diplomatic work done by others, but the deal was a result of many years of balanced diplomacy and trust-building that China has carried out in the Middle East.
In China’s mentality, peace and development come hand in hand. While the former certainly paves the way for the latter, the latter can also enhance the former in return. Let’s not forget that China’s growing economic ties with both Iran and Saudi Arabia are an indispensable factor behind Beijing’s successful brokering of the Iran-Saudi rapprochement. And at a time when ASEAN has become China’s largest trading partner, there are more incentives on both sides to maintain stability in the South China Sea.
In terms of development, it is no secret that China has made enormous efforts to promote trade, cross-border investment, and infrastructure connectivity across the Global South. According to data compiled by the Chinese government, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has over the past decade driven investments worth close to $1 trillion by incubating over 3,000 projects around the world. As a result, some 420,000 jobs have been created and nearly 40 million people have been lifted out of poverty in countries involved in the BRI. To a large extent, it is the success of the BRI that has prompted Western countries to roll out their initiatives in a bid to compete with China, such as the G7’s Build Back Better World and the EU’s Global Gateway.
From China’s perspective, anyone’s promise to invest in the Global South is not a bad thing. The BRI itself represents a platform that is open to the West as well, and some Western corporations have already benefited from it. In 2016, General Electric gained orders worth $2.3 billion for construction and engineering projects under the BRI. Similarly, Siemens has worked with over 100 Chinese partners on BRI-related energy and mining projects. Citibank and Deutsche Bank have participated in the financing of BRI projects. By comparison, given the fact that a starting point of the Western initiatives is to compete with the BRI, whether they’ll provide opportunities to Chinese companies remains an open question.
Trade and investment are one aspect of China’s contribution to development in the Global South. Furthermore, its economic rise over the past few decades represents a victory for the mentality that each country deserves a development path in accordance with its conditions. China has pursued its economic achievements through a path featuring not only learning from the advanced economies but also keeping its DNA. In this sense, there could be tremendous inspiration for underdeveloped countries regarding how to manage their future destiny.
It looks like multi-polarity is becoming a reality in the world today. In one example, the G7 industrialized countries’ share of global GDP declined to less than 45% in 2021, compared to nearly 70% in the late 1980s. As a major power in the developing world, China has a responsibility to help bolster unity and prosperity in the Global South. The goal is to establish a more equitable world order with increased representation of the Global South in international affairs.
The writer is a host with CGTN Radio and can be reached at [email protected]