Divide and rule

Western countries are trying to drive a wedge between China and countries of the Global South

With major-power competition escalating, the Global South has grown into a key force in the global arena, and several developing countries have accumulated significant economic heft and political clout over the past few decades. As a result of their growing influence and strategic importance, Global South countries have been increasingly fought over by major powers in their geopolitical contests. To preserve the West's dominance in the international system, the United States, Japan and Europe are attempting to drive a wedge between China and other Global South countries by copying the same tactic adopted in promoting the "Indo-Pacific" strategy.

The Ukraine crisis has led to the increased dependence of Europe on US military protection, and under the "leadership "of the US, Western countries now share the same stance on many major issues. But in doing so, they have become increasingly disconnected with the rest of the world, with Global South countries paying more attention to the economy and development and upholding political neutrality.

In response, the US, Japan and Europe are seeking to woo "swing states" in the Global South, such as Brazil, India, Indonesia, and Turkiye, to forge a "united front" with these countries, thereby winning the global public opinion war, and serving their national interests. Japan, for example, has been actively engaging with Global South countries to win them over on behalf of the West.

To counter China's influence among Global South countries, the West has reduced its economic dependence on China and framed it as a threat to the "rules-based international order", while roping in Global South countries to decouple from China under the guise of protecting supply chain resilience and economic security. By doing so, they aim to contain China's rise through the forming small cliques.

The West also intends to obstruct the creation of a new global financial system.

The Ukraine crisis has fueled a de-dollarization trend among Global South countries, which is reducing the influence of the US in global trade and investment. To maintain its hegemony in the world financial system, the US has been trying to drum up support from Global South countries to initiate a new "globalization "that shuts China and Russia out, and redefine the rules of the global financial system.

On this basis, the US, Japan and Europe have reached a strategic consensus on their approach to the Global South.

First, the West is attempting to enhance the resilience of supply chains for critical minerals along with Global South countries on the grounds of "de-risking" and create a so-called alliance of supply chain resilience for emerging industries. They take a flexible approach in imposing financial sanctions to court Global South countries to reshape the global economic order. Second, the West is offering alternatives to the China-led Belt and Road Initiative to fund infrastructure building in developing countries. Third, the West is using a "one area, one policy" approach to deepen ties with developing nations. For instance, Japan has spearheaded the West's agenda-setting on issues related to Africa, while the US and Europe back Japan's endeavor to entice members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in the name of "co-creation". Meanwhile, they are attempting to strengthen relations with Latin American states in a bid to build a "Western Hemisphere alliance of supply chains". Fourth, the West is forming small multilateral frameworks to court Global South countries and incorporating issues concerning the Global South into multilateral mechanisms with the G7 at the core to enlist the support of major players of the Global South.

All in all, since the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis, the West has adjusted its strategy toward the Global South to forge closer ties with developing countries and alienate them from China and Russia so as to gain an upper hand in its long-term competition with China and Russia.

Specifically speaking, the US tends to employ the bloc mentality to coerce and divide Global South countries, while Japan and Europe follow the steps of the US on the one hand, and seek to court developing countries in a softer way to achieve strategic autonomy on the other hand.

In response to the concerted efforts of the West to win over and divide the Global South, China, as the world's largest developing country and a "natural member" of the Global South, has always stood by other developing countries.

As the world has entered a new period of disorder and transformation, China is committed to building a community with a shared future for the Global South by implementing the Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative and Global Civilization Initiative and advancing cooperation under the framework of the BRI. The country will also leverage cooperation platforms such as the BRICS mechanism, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to expand cooperation with other developing countries.

China aims to build the BRI into a bridgehead in its comprehensive opening-up drive, and carry out multilateral exchanges and cooperation with other developing countries at more levels. As China provides more and more global public goods to other Global South countries, it will surely replace the West-led global system that is exclusive and hierarchical with a more fair and just global governance system that features extensive consultation and joint contribution for shared benefits.

The Global South is building up political and economic heft, and China's development has presented an alternative path of development to other developing states. The US, regarding China as the greatest threat to its hegemony, has implemented an all-round containment and suppression campaign against China and seeks to forge a parallel system that excludes China. To this end, it attempts to "divide and rule" the Global South and build a "global united front" against China. Japan and Europe, which have their own agendas, are playing the role of a third force in the China-US competition while aligning themselves with the US.

In this context, China will strive to find the largest common ground and expand the common interests of all parties by maintaining an open global system, thus firmly standing on the right side of history.

The author is a council member of the Chinese Association for Japanese Studies and a fellow at the Research Institute for Regional Cooperation in Northeast Asia at the Tianjin Academy of Social Sciences. The author 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.