On
the banks of the shimmering Huangpu River that cuts through the Chinese
metropolis of Shanghai sits the headquarters of the New Development
Bank, co-founded by the BRICS countries more than a decade ago to foster
the shared development of the world's emerging economies. In
his visit to this new landmark in China's financial center late April,
Chinese President Xi Jinping told the bank's president and former
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff this multilateral institution has
been a result of "a pioneering initiative for the Global South to seek
strength through unity." For
the Chinese leader, the BRICS mechanism is a major platform for
promoting cooperation among countries in the Global South. In the coming
days, this year's BRICS summit will open in the Brazilian city of Rio
de Janeiro under the theme of "Strengthening Global South Cooperation
for More Inclusive and Sustainable Governance." Xi's
April visit to the bank demonstrates his long-standing commitment to
bolstering the solidarity and common development of the Global South,
amplifying the role of over 6 billion people in a world fraught with
uncertainty and challenges unseen in a century. COLLECTIVE RISE "The
collective rise of the Global South is a distinctive feature of the
great transformation across the world," Xi observed when addressing the
"BRICS Plus" Dialogue held in Kazan, Russia, in October last year. Much
more than a pure geographical or economic term, the Global South refers
to a community of emerging markets and developing countries that share
similar historical experiences, development stages and goals, and
political pursuits. The
concept of "South" was first coined in Antonio Gramsci's work "The
Southern Question" written in 1926, in which the Italian Marxist
philosopher highlighted the development gap between northern and
southern Italy. The
rise of the Global South has been decades in the making. Back in 1955,
the landmark Bandung Conference convened in Indonesia under the flag of
solidarity, friendship and cooperation, marking the awakening of the
Global South after centuries of Western colonial rule. In 1964, the
Group of 77, a coalition of developing countries, was established in
Geneva within the United Nations to promote South-South cooperation and
form a new international economic order. Through
extensive cooperation, the countries of the Global South have emerged
as a key driver of global growth. These countries have contributed as
much as 80 percent of global growth over the past 20 years, with a share
of global GDP increasing from 24 percent four decades ago to more than
40 percent today. China,
the world's largest developing country, is a natural member of the
Global South. In 2004, the United Nations Development Programme included
China in its list of more than 130 Global South countries in a report
titled "Forging a Global South." Some Westerners have challenged China's
position that it is part of the Global South. In response, Xi has
provided a clear answer. "As
a developing country and a member of the Global South, China breathes
the same breath with other developing countries and pursues a shared
future with them," Xi once said. Historically,
China has suffered from Western colonialism and imperialism, much like
other developing countries, said Cavince Adhere, a Kenya-based
international relations scholar. "Even
today, despite inordinate success by Beijing to rise from the
backwaters of development to be the second-largest economy in the world,
as well as the first developing country to eliminate extreme poverty,
China still faces common development challenges, and holds similar views
regarding the current international order and global governance," he
added. "Because of this, China has emerged as a strong champion for the
legitimate rights and interests of many Global South countries." LEAVING NO ONE BEHIND Ahead
of Xi's state visit to Brazil late last year, the Portuguese edition of
the book "Up And Out Of Poverty" was officially launched in Rio de
Janeiro. The book, first published in 1992, outlines Xi's perspectives
on poverty eradication, local governance, reform and development when he
worked in the formerly impoverished prefecture of Ningde in China's
southeastern Fujian province. Poverty
has long ranked atop among the problems facing the Global South. With
Xi's steadfast commitment and strong leadership, China has eradicated
absolute poverty in its rural areas, a feat that no one had accomplished
in China for thousands of years. At
the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro last year, Xi spoke with quiet
conviction, recounting his lifelong dedication to poverty alleviation,
from his time as a local official to his current role as China's top
leader. In
his speech, Xi said a weaker bird can start early and fly high. "If
China can make it, other developing countries can make it too. This is
what China's battle against poverty says to the world," he said. Xi's
"weaker bird" metaphor originated from his book on poverty. His speech
struck a chord with several foreign leaders, who asked the Chinese
delegation whether they could share a copy of the speech. The
Chinese leader has placed great emphasis on development. For him,
"development holds the master key to solving all problems," particularly
when the global development gap continues to widen. Over the years, Xi
has also been active in rallying global efforts to put development back
on the international agenda as a central priority. When
attending the general debate of the 76th session of the UN General
Assembly in 2021 via video, Xi proposed the Global Development
Initiative, an international policy framework to promote sustainable
development around the world. To date, the initiative has garnered the
support and participation of over 100 countries and 20 international
organizations. To
boost common development in the Global South, Xi has been promoting
practical cooperation through major infrastructure projects within the
Belt and Road Initiative. During his foreign visits over the years, Xi
would launch or visit major projects, such as the Chancay Port in Peru,
the Dushanbe No. 2 power plant in Tajikistan and the Colombo Port City
in Sri Lanka. When hosting leaders of the Global South in Beijing, Xi
would also discuss with them major projects for cooperation during their
talks. Xi
believes that the Global South should be the main driving force for
common development and that "On the path to modernization, no one, and
no country, should be left behind." He also supports countries of the
Global South exploring paths of modernization tailored to their
distinctive national conditions, rather than following Western
development models. Also
at last year's G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Xi outlined eight measures
in support of Global South cooperation, ranging from high-quality Belt
and Road cooperation to boosting development in Africa. Months earlier,
at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing last year, Xi
unveiled 10 partnership actions and granted zero-tariff treatment on all
product categories to the least developed countries with which it has
diplomatic relations. Gu
Qingyang, associate professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public
Policy at the National University of Singapore, said, "China can play a
positive role in the development of Global South countries," adding that
Chinese technology and expertise in industrial development can support
the modernization of the Global South's various regions. EMPOWERING GLOBAL SOUTH IN INTERNATIONAL GOVERNANCE As
Xi once observed, in the face of global changes of the century,
pursuing modernization and working for a more just and equitable
international order are the sacred historic missions of Global South
countries. Xi
described the BRICS countries as "leading members of the Global South,"
calling for building BRICS into "a primary channel for strengthening
solidarity and cooperation among Global South nations and a vanguard for
advancing global governance reform." Since
becoming Chinese president in 2013, Xi has always been a steadfast
champion of BRICS cooperation. In Xiamen, he advocated for the "BRICS
Plus" program at the 2017 BRICS summit, calling for more active
participation from other emerging markets and developing nations. He
played a crucial role in propelling the BRICS' historic expansion in
2023, ushering in the era of greater BRICS cooperation. Effective
coordination between BRICS members and other countries in the Global
South has been adding more bricks to the global governance architecture.
The New Development Bank exemplifies this effort. Xi
said the bank serves as "an important emerging force in the
international financial system," which should work to "make the
international financial system fairer and more equitable and effectively
enhance the representation and say of emerging markets and developing
countries." Over
the years, China, under Xi's leadership, has taken concrete steps to
advocate for developing countries, help Global South countries enhance
their representation and voice in international governance, and promote a
more just and equitable international order. At
the 2022 G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, China took the lead in
supporting the African Union (AU)'s membership in the G20. In their
meeting on the sidelines of the summit, then Senegalese President Macky
Sall, who was also the AU chairperson that year, thanked Xi for being
the first to publicly support the AU's G20 membership. The
global leadership today remains lopsided, and rebalancing this skewed
system is a shared imperative for both the Global North and South, said
Paolo Magri, managing director and chair of the advisory board of the
Italian Institute for International Political Studies, a think tank. "Global
South countries marching together toward modernization is monumental in
world history and unprecedented in human civilization," Xi said at the
"BRICS Plus" Dialogue in Kazan, Russia, last year, while acknowledging
that "the road to prosperity for the Global South will not be straight." "No
matter how the international landscape evolves, we in China will always
keep the Global South in our heart, and maintain our roots in the
Global South," Xi pledged. (Xinhua reporter Yan Yujing in Nairobi also contributed to the story.
