Pursuit of a polyphonic world
Goal of the global majority should be less financial speculation and more physical production, less division and more cooperation
Looking back at the different paths the world has taken over the past 30 years can help us determine which one will benefit all of humanity in the next 50 years. What China has achieved in the past decades is what the Global South may have to achieve in the future. The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has acknowledged that over the past decade China has made "the greatest antipoverty achievement in history".
Since the first ministerial conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation was held in Beijing in 2000 to 2020, China has helped African nations build and modernize over 13,000 kilometers of roads and railways, nearly 1,000 bridges and 100 ports, as well as 66,000 km of power transmission and distribution networks. China has financed over 130 medical facilities, more than 170 schools, and established over 3,500 businesses. These companies have directly and indirectly created millions of jobs, with over 80 percent of those positions filled by locals. For example, in agriculture — a sector vital to national sovereignty — China has become the second-largest destination for African agricultural exports. It has established agricultural cooperation mechanisms with 23 African countries and regional organizations, signing 72 bilateral and multilateral agreements. Since 2012, 23 agricultural demonstration centers have been set up in Africa, 7,456 African trainees have received agricultural training in China, and over 50,000 Africans have benefited from projects under which Chinese agricultural experts have been sent to the continent.
In contrast, since the Sept 11 terrorist attacks on the United States in 2001, the European Union and NATO have launched wars, in the name of fighting terrorism that have led to the devastation of countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya and Somalia. According to a study by Brown University in Rhode Island in 2023, more than 4.5 million people have died in these wars, and this figure continues to rise. These countries have seen their basic economic infrastructure nearly obliterated, while terrorism and drug trafficking, instead of diminishing, have only spread, including into new regions such as West Africa.
Despite this, some EU officials continue to claim that the West is a "garden", and most of the rest of the world is a "jungle", which could invade the garden. In a world where some are attempting to redivide the global order into blocs under the pressure of such Western organizations as NATO — which endeavors to claim regional authority following the Ukraine crisis — the idea of a European power has resurfaced. We hear more and more European leaders, such as the French president, calling for "Europe's strategic autonomy" so that Europe may avoid being a vassal of the US in the illusion of a global competition, a zero-sum game in which one side wins everything. Yet, any rational person can see that only a polyphonic world, based on mutual development and new agreements for a global development and security architecture that includes all nations, is and will remain the only solution to the problems of our time.
It is also becoming increasingly clear that a new system is emerging, with intense discussions in the Global South on how to establish a de-dollarized system, for instance, through an expanded "BRICS Plus "grouping. At the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan in October 2024, it was announced that nine countries joined as new "partner states".The "BRICS Plus" group now represents over 4.6 billion people, or about 57 percent of the world's population — certainly the global majority now.
There is no fundamental conflict of interest between China and Europe, because China and certain European leaders are willing to engage in win-win cooperation. Together, they aim to better preserve and develop global industry and supply chains, whose stability and fluidity benefit the entire world. Indeed, the development of Africa and certain Asian and Latin American countries can only take place within the framework of international cooperation, not through the geopolitical divisions of blocs as seen during the Cold War. This second option will inevitably lead the world into a third world war.
France and Europe should serve as a bridge and catalyst for a new paradigm where the G7 does not oppose "BRICS Plus", and the West no longer conflicts with the rest of the world. Europe's goal should be to create a harmonious humanity where systemic rivalry is replaced by mutual benefit, and the clash of civilizations is avoided in favor of a genuine dialogue among civilizations.
In this context, France can and must play a leading role, as it has maintained stable and friendly relations with China since January 1964, when General Charles de Gaulle officially recognized the People's Republic of China. We celebrated this long-standing collaboration with our Chinese friends last year in France.
I am delighted that cooperation between France and China recently gained momentum. In 2022, an official cooperation agreement was announced. This agreement covers seven projects worth more than $1.7 billion, focusing on infrastructure, environmental protection and new energy. These investments will take place in regions such as Africa and Central and Eastern Europe. These projects include hydroelectric power, and the modernization of ports and roads in Africa. This is great news for France, China and, of course, Africa. The world needs good news more than ever.
This can be the goal of the global majority: to create one world — less financial speculation and more physical production, less division and more cooperation. This is the path to success for the world. After all, we all live under the same sky.
The author is a researcher at the Schiller Institute, France. 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.
