Model worker

China is playing a demonstrative role and working with other countries of the Global South to build a community of shared development

The Global South is becoming a leading force in promoting the reform of the global governance system in a more just and equitable direction. But it is important to recognize the range of development issues that countries in the Global South are currently facing.

First, there is a significant disparity in economic development levels among countries in the Global South. Developing countries such as China and India have achieved substantial economic growth, while most low-income countries have not shown a significant economic growth trend.

Second, countries in the Global South are more inclined to learn development models from Northern countries or directly apply their programs in choosing their economic development paths, but they have not achieved satisfactory economic growth and their overall social welfare levels have not improved.

Third, poverty remains the biggest development challenge for countries in the Global South, and poverty eradication has become their longstanding aspiration. International organizations have invested a significant amount of resources in poverty reduction in the Global South, but due to factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical conflicts, the global poverty population has shown a resilient growth trend.

Fourth, with increasing instability and uncertainty in the international food market, countries in the Global South face significant challenges in achieving the target of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals on eradicating hunger.

Fifth, the intensity of international development assistance has been weakening, and the amount of direct support for the development of countries in the Global South has been decreasing. From 2018 to 2021, the annual aid scale slowed by an average of 9.52 percent, with the intensity of aid from international organizations and countries such as the United Kingdom declining significantly.

As the largest economy in the Global South, China has achieved sustained and stable economic growth while eradicating absolute poverty. These two achievements have established China as a model for economic development among countries in the Global South. With its targeted poverty alleviation practice and economic transformation and upgrading, China has provided a valuable development example for countries in the Global South, and actively provided development support for them with resources, funding and other means.

In terms of poverty alleviation, China has made significant contributions to the development of the global poverty reduction cause, and provided practical Chinese solutions to the poverty reduction cause of countries in the Global South.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012, China has organized and carried out a battle against poverty that is unprecedented in human history, with the largest intensity and benefiting the largest number of people.

In 2021, China won the battle against extreme poverty, achieving the poverty reduction target set in the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10 years ahead of schedule.

To better share its development experience in poverty reduction and addressing food security issues with countries in the Global South, the Chinese government has used the China International Poverty Alleviation Center as a platform to develop knowledge products on poverty reduction in China, promote the establishment of a global knowledge base on poverty reduction, hold forums and policy dialogues, and provide various training courses on poverty reduction and sustainable development.

In addition to efforts to promote South-South cooperation, China has also carried out trilateral cooperation with countries in the Global North to provide new impetus for development assistance to countries in the Global South. For example, in 2012, the Chinese and UK governments jointly launched the China-UK-Malawi Agriculture Tripartite Cooperation and China-UK-Uganda Agriculture Tripartite Cooperation projects to help the two African countries improve their agricultural production capacity and address the food security crisis.

In terms of economic development, China's resilient and dynamic economic growth trajectory has provided referential development experience for the economic construction and transformation of countries in the Global South. First, relying on the continuous optimization of the economic structure to successfully achieve the transition from being a traditional agricultural country to be the largest manufacturing country in the world. Second, it has laid a solid foundation for economic growth through infrastructure construction. Since the launch of reform and opening-up in 1978, China has made great achievements in infrastructure construction, while the infrastructure construction in most countries in the Global South remains at a relatively low level. Third, China has effectively utilized its comparative advantages to attract a large amount of overseas investment to promote economic development.

China actively provides financing, technology and other development resources to countries in the Global South. In the field of outward direct investment, China's investment stock in developing economies reached $2.46 trillion by the end of 2022, accounting for 89.2 percent of the total outward direct investment. Through cross-border industrial cooperation, initiating the establishment of industrial development funds, increasing support for infrastructure construction, industrial capacity cooperation and investment, and bilateral trade, China has brought new opportunities for countries in the Global South to vitalize their manufacturing industries. In the field of international development assistance, China has not only set up the $4 billion Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund (formerly China's South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund) to support South-South cooperation, but also focused on cooperation with international multilateral institutions and platforms to support the cause of poverty reduction and the sustainable development of developing countries, especially the least developed countries.

The Global South emerged in an era of deep globalization, formed in the pattern of world political and economic relations closely connected with developed countries and embedded with each other, and is becoming a new strategic resource in the global geopolitical and economic pattern. Countries in the Global South need to recognize the differences among nations, build on modern international cooperation platforms and mechanisms, increase the representation and voice of developing countries in global governance, and jointly seek the interests of global economic development. China has actively responded to the development concerns of countries in the Global South, and has always worked side by side with other developing countries to inject strong cooperation momentum into the development of the Global South. In the future, China will continue to contribute China's ideas, wisdom and solutions to the development of countries in the Global South.

Tang Lixia is a professor at the College of Humanities and Development Studies, a professor and deputy dean at the College of International Development and Global Agriculture at China Agricultural University. Luo Yanni is a PhD candidate at the College of Humanities and Development Studies at China Agricultural University. The authors contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

Contact the editor at editor@chinawatch.cn