What is "Global South"? China | High frequency words | "Global South"

Just as the name of the South carries its own sunshine and heat, in recent years, the concept of "global South" has been constantly heating up and has become a global hotspot.

At the BRICS Summit held in South Africa, "global South" also became a high-frequency term.

What is the concept of "Global South"?

Past and present lives

In the eyes of many scholars, "Global South" originates from the traditional concept of "Southern countries".

Xu Xiujun, a researcher at the Institute of World Economics and Politics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, pointed out that "South" is first and foremost a geographical concept, opposite to "North". Geographically, "South" refers to countries in the southern hemisphere located south of the Earth's equator, and "North" refers to countries in the northern hemisphere located north of the Earth's equator.

From the perspective of development level, developed countries are mainly distributed in the northern hemisphere, while developing countries are mainly distributed in the southern and northern hemispheres. Therefore, the international community is accustomed to referring to developed countries as "northern countries" and developing countries as "southern countries".

The later rise of "Global South" inherited the concept of "Southern countries", mainly referring to developing countries.

After the end of the Cold War, with the collective rise of developing countries and their increasingly important role in global affairs, the concept of "Global South" gradually became popular, and people increasingly focused on viewing the development and cooperation of "Southern countries" from a holistic perspective.

In Xu Xiujun's view, the "Global South" is not an international organization or political group, nor does it have a clear membership, but a group of countries that includes diverse values, cultural traditions, development levels, and diverse interests.

However, the "global south" has distinct "common genes": anti imperialist and anti colonial history, adhering to the path of independent development, advocating for multipolarity, opposing hegemony and seeking justice, and so on.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi also summarized three commonalities of the "global South": an independent and independent political background, a historical mission of development and revitalization, and a common proposition of fairness and justice.

Behind the explosive fire

Why has "Global South" become a high-frequency term?

According to Xu Xiujun's analysis, the reason can be attributed to the joint effect of objective development and subjective shaping.

Objectively speaking, this is the inevitable logic for the development and growth of the "global South" itself.

Since the 1990s, the "Global South" has gradually achieved economic rise and has now become an important political force. Especially after the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis, in multilateral settings such as the United Nations, countries from the "global south" have not turned to the US and Western camps, jointly sanctioning Russia, reflecting their increasing sense of independence and autonomy.

Boston University professor and former Chilean ambassador to China, George He, pointed out that the "global south" is moving forward, with economic prosperity and increased political visibility complementing each other, and constantly demonstrating strength on the global stage: from China facilitating reconciliation between Iran and Saudi Arabia, to Brazil proposing a peace plan to end the Ukrainian crisis.

Xu Xiujun stated that with the rise of the economy and the enhancement of political autonomy, as well as the intensification of the great power game, the strategic value of the "global south" has also become increasingly prominent, naturally becoming an object of multi-party efforts to win over.

Subjectively speaking, there are factors in the West deliberately setting issues and hyping up the "global south".

Xu Xiujun reminds us that the "Global South" is very popular in the Western world.

There is political motivation behind this. Some Western countries use the term "global south" more often than "developing countries", intentionally politicizing and instrumentalizing the concept of "global south" as a political weapon against China and dividing developing countries.

Firstly, its primary goal is to separate China from the "global south" and deny its identity as a developing country, in order to isolate and contain China. Secondly, using the narrative of the "global south" to provoke among emerging powers. For example, supporting India as a leader in the "global south" and intensifying conflicts between emerging powers.

Natural members

Although the West strives to sever China from the "global South", the fact that China is a natural member of the "global South" cannot be denied.

Xu Xiujun pointed out that China shares high similarities and consensus with other developing countries in terms of historical experiences, struggles, current development challenges and tasks, and views on international order and global governance. For example, a strong demand for common development, a commitment to maintaining peace and stability, and promoting the establishment of a just and reasonable world order.

"As the world's largest developing country, China is undoubtedly a natural member of the 'Global South'." Xu Xiujun said that as an important member of the 'Global South', China not only has its natural attributes, but also comes from China's practical contributions.

"China has long been committed to South South cooperation, firmly safeguarding the rights and interests of developing countries, and has played an important role in enhancing the international status of the 'Global South' and promoting cooperation with the 'Global South'."

Speaking of China's role and influence in the "global south", Xu Xiujun said that China has accumulated rich development experience, especially its achievements in poverty reduction, which have been universally recognized. The core demand of the "Global South" is development, and China's development experience and model can provide useful reference. Moreover, as the world's second-largest economy, China can make greater contributions in helping "global southern" countries develop their economies and promoting South South cooperation.

In contrast, the West seems to have increased its investment in the "Global South", but in reality, it only views it from a political perspective and maintains vigilance towards it. We do not want the "global south" to become a cohesive force, nor do we have the intention of truly helping it solve its development challenges.

In addition, Xu Xiujun added that from the current and future possible development trends, the "global southern" trend may bring complex impacts. On the one hand, it can provide new opportunities and space for deepening South South cooperation, which is beneficial for developing countries to further enhance their international status. On the other hand, we should also be wary of Western manipulation, hype, and attempts to divide.