What is the world historical significance of deepening cooperation in the “Global South”? , based on the three major initiatives

On September 11, Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and director of the Central Foreign Affairs Office, attended the Dialogue of BRICS High-Level Representatives on Security Affairs with the "Global South" in St. Petersburg and said that since the beginning of the new century, the "Global South" has grown in momentum. This is the trend of historical development and the hope for a century of change.

2024 is a bumper year for "global South" cooperation, and an important starting point and milestone for Asia-Africa-Latin America unity. The China-Arab States Cooperation Forum has celebrated its 20th anniversary, and the China-Latin America and Caribbean Community Forum has achieved success over the past decade. The successful convening of the new Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation has made foreign media believe that it has lit up the "global South moment", pushing the atmosphere of "global South" cooperation, which is a collection of emerging market countries and developing countries, to a climax, and has attracted great attention worldwide. China has lit up the "global South moment" of building a community with a shared future for mankind on the basis of the "three major global initiatives", and this contribution is undoubtedly of far-reaching world historical significance.

1. Deepening cooperation in the “Global South” has clarified the common theme of pursuing modernization together

The theory of world history is a theory that Marx based on the materialist conception of history and revealed the development trend of human society from closed to open, from regional history to global history according to the law of contradictory movement between productive forces and production relations, economic base and superstructure. Therefore, the development process of world history is closely related to the modernization process of human society. As a kind of social change, modernization is a transformation from traditional society to modern society, from traditional agricultural society to modern industrial society, and it is also a process in which backward countries quickly catch up with advanced industrial countries.

The 2024 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation attracted leaders of all 53 African countries with diplomatic ties with China, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, and representatives of more than 30 international and African organizations. The meeting proposed the "six modernizations" and put forward a specific action plan for China and Africa to jointly promote modernization, clarifying the common theme for building a model of new international relations and building an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era. The "global South" has joined hands to promote modernization, injecting a peaceful and stable force, a backbone force for open development, a constructive force for global governance, and a promoting force for mutual learning among civilizations into the complex international and regional situations and the world of chaos, and promoting the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind.

2. Deepening cooperation in the “Global South” provides a path for the development of post-modernization countries

Modernization is an inevitable trend in the development of world history and an inalienable right of all countries. Historically, because different countries entered industrialization at different times, some Western countries that entered modernization earlier took advantage of their advantageous position in the modernization process and brought great suffering to the vast number of developing countries through colonization and plunder. After the end of World War II, with the independence and development of third world countries represented by China and Africa, the historical injustice in the modernization process has been corrected to a certain extent. But overall, the "global South" is still generally in the position of a post-industrialization country.

The world today is facing a major change that has not been seen in a century, and the international order is undergoing profound and complex changes. The "Global South" is showing an upward trend in terms of its own modernization and its voice in the global governance system. However, it is undeniable that the modernization and voice of the "Global South" are inevitably subject to tests and challenges from developed countries, its own internal situation, and the evolution of the international system. This requires all countries to work together more unitedly to deal with it.

At the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, President Xi Jinping proposed to jointly promote fair and reasonable modernization, open and win-win modernization, people-oriented modernization, diversified and inclusive modernization, ecologically friendly modernization, and peaceful and secure modernization. This initiative not only provides an effective and feasible path for China and Africa to jointly pursue modernization, but also provides a new solution for the "global South" to explore the path of modernization that is different from the Western modernization development model. In particular, the "Ten Partner Actions" between China and Africa to jointly promote modernization in the next three years provide an important reference for deepening China-Africa cooperation and leading the modernization of the "global South".

3. Deepening cooperation in the “Global South” demonstrates the pursuit of common values ​​for all mankind

"Promoting the common values ​​of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom for all mankind" is the value pursuit proposed by the Communist Party of China based on the great changes that have not been seen in a century, in order to seek the common interests of mankind and lead the common development of mankind. Guided by this common value, the global civilization initiative, global development initiative and global security initiative proposed by the Communist Party of China provide important ideas for pursuing the common values ​​of all mankind.

Working together to promote the modernization of peace and security and the modernization of openness and win-win cooperation reflects the "global South"'s pursuit of common values ​​of peace and development, and provides a modern development direction for promoting the implementation of global security initiatives, promoting the benign interaction between high-quality development and high-level security, and jointly maintaining world peace and stability.

Working together to promote fair and reasonable modernization and eco-friendly modernization reflects the pursuit of the common values ​​of fairness and justice by the "Global South", and lays the foundation for the implementation of global development initiatives. The core essence of fair and reasonable modernization is to ensure that all countries have equal rights and opportunities in pursuing modernization, and advocate that all countries explore a path of modernization that suits their national conditions on the basis of respecting laws. Eco-friendly modernization adheres to the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, jointly promotes global green and low-carbon transformation, and lays the foundation for the de facto equality of modernization rights and opportunities in the Southern countries.

Working together to promote people-centered modernization and pluralistic and inclusive modernization reflects the pursuit of the common values ​​of democracy and freedom by the "Global South", and provides a path for promoting the global civilization initiative. People-centered modernization aims to improve people's sense of gain, happiness and security in the process of modernization, and jointly promotes the fruits of modernization to benefit all people, which is highly consistent with the ultimate goal of Marxism in pursuing the free and all-round development of people. Pluralistic and inclusive modernization advocates mutual respect, tolerance, coexistence, exchange and mutual learning among different civilizations, and reflects the equal and free development based on mutual respect and tolerance among different countries and races.