The Identity Foundation of the "Global South" and China's Strategic Choices

Summary:  Against the backdrop of the collective rise of southern countries, the identity of "Global South" is different from the expressions of "developing countries" and "third-world countries". The basis of the identity of "Global South" is common political and economic preferences and visions for the international order. This article defines "Global South" as a group of sovereign states in international relations that have as their main preferences and visions a multipolar political structure, a mutually beneficial economic structure, and a diverse cultural structure. The specific content of the concrete basis of the identity of "Global South" mainly includes: emotionally, unity is preferred over dispersion; politically, autonomy is preferred over oppression; economically, development is preferred over exploitation; culturally, diversity is preferred over uniformity; diplomatically, multilateralism is preferred over unilateralism. However, due to the long-term division and disintegration of Western developed countries and the excessive focus on competition by some southern countries, it will take time to optimize the reality with ideas, and the consolidation and deepening of the identity of "Global South" are encountering various degrees of resistance. As the only permanent member of the UN Security Council, the world's second-largest economy, and a responsible major country with a sense of human community, China has the responsibility and necessity to actively play a leading role, consolidate the identity basis of "Global South", adopt constructive strategic measures, and achieve synchronous resonance of interests for itself, the Global South, and all humanity. By promoting global southern voices with multi-polar and equal political propositions, promoting global southern development with mutually beneficial and win-win economic propositions, encouraging mutual learning among global southerners with each nation's unique culture, and achieving stability for the global south with comprehensive and effective security propositions. 

"Southeast Asia" is not inherently "global". Before World War II, although the concept of underdeveloped and dominant "southern regions" had already emerged within developed countries such as Italy and the United States, and there were numerous countries across continents that met the characteristics of "southern" regions, they were isolated from each other, acting independently, and had no acquaintance with one another. They had not yet formed a global identity. After World War II, the national liberation movements that emerged worldwide and the coordinated actions of the Third World were the true historical practice starting point of the "global south" identity - "liberation" was the prerequisite for "cooperation", and "cooperation" was the result of "liberation". It can be said that the birth process of the "global south" was its resistance against the "global north" and the maintenance of the results of the resistance. Just as the reason why "workers have no borders" is that "capital has no borders", the reason why "southeast Asia" moved towards "globalization" was that "the north" had already achieved "globalization" or "semi-globalization". 

Compared with the South, the "global" identity recognition in the North has a highly clear and concrete practical basis. First, the northern countries generally have cross-continent military alliance relationships. During the Cold War, the security foundation and actual boundaries of the two major camps, the United States and the Soviet Union, were the respective spheres of influence controlled by NATO and the Warsaw Pact; since the end of the Cold War, the United States has maintained the military network established during the Cold War and has expanded it in some local areas, such as Eastern Europe and Northern Europe, starting from the Sea of Japan and extending to the Strait of Gibraltar. Almost all the Second World countries during the Cold War were drawn to the United States. Second, the northern countries generally have cross-continent financial and trade networks. During the Cold War, the world was basically divided into two parallel operating economic systems; since the end of the Cold War, relying on the European Union, the North American Free Trade Area, and later the Transatlantic Trade and Partnership Agreement, as well as the US-EU Trade and Technology Council and other mechanisms, the condition for "capital without borders" has become increasingly convenient. Third, the northern countries have formed a complete hierarchical blueprint for the international system. Although the United States and the Soviet Union had an order design of establishing an international relations pyramid and occupying the top position, after the end of the Cold War, Europe, Japan, and other parties were also happy to remain as "second-class citizens" under the American hegemonic system. Some so-called efforts to "strategic autonomy" can only be regarded as struggles to avoid falling to the bottom of the pyramid, but cannot be regarded as challenging the top countries. From a historical materialist perspective, the global nature of the North is a logically consistent and well-structured product formed through complex processes such as domestic integration, world wars, capital shaping, and policy coordination over a long historical practice. It cannot be simply assumed that as long as each Southern country has a different development level and blueprint planning from the North, a common identity recognition and "alliance" tendency will naturally emerge; nor can it be thought that as more and more such countries increase, a collective similar to "Global North" will naturally form without exerting subjective initiative. In fact, "Global South" in its initial formation and throughout the long period thereafter was merely a simple identity label based on the negation of others - there was a common reaction, but no active action; it was point-like claims, but no identity shaping. 

However, the harsh international reality demands that the southern countries must achieve self-awareness of their identities. It is undeniable that after the Cold War and globalization, the southern countries have generally developed a profound understanding of "war and peace" and "growth and development". International documents such as the "Challenges of the South: Report of the South Commission" adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1991, and "Building the Global South: The United Nations South-South Cooperation Day" released by the United Nations Development Programme in 2004, have enhanced the international status and collective identity of the southern countries; international mechanisms such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the BRICS countries have provided high-quality platforms for the collaborative cooperation of the global south; and the recent Ukraine crisis has created an opportunity for the southern countries to unite and be cohesive. However, these texts, mechanisms, and international environments have not been sufficient for the positive construction of the identity of the global south and the promotion of the positive contributions of the global south to the optimization and upgrading of the international system. Firstly, at the theoretical level, the concept standard of "global south" is still unclear. If it can be equated with "developing countries" or "third-world countries", it will lose its inherent potential to solve new problems and even lack the academic necessity to be proposed and accepted. Secondly, at the practical level, certain key issues related to the global south have still not been resolved. For example, what is the historical and practical connection between the global south and non-aligned countries? How to promote the strengthening of the identity of the southern countries among each other? These issues urgently require a coherent thinking approach to provide positive answers. Thirdly, at the interest level, in general, the global south has not yet obtained substantive benefits commensurate with its status from these positive changes, and the vast majority of southern countries are still in a passive state of being suppressed and exploited by Western capital. 

Therefore, as the sole permanent member of the UN Security Council among the Southern countries, the world's second-largest economy, and a responsible major power with a sense of the common destiny of mankind, China has the responsibility and necessity to actively assume a leading role, consolidate the identity foundation of the Global South, and, guided by principles such as political unity, economic mutual benefit, and cultural mutual learning, adopt constructive strategic measures to achieve synchronous resonance of interests for its own country, the Global South, and all of humanity. In this context, the Chinese academic community urgently needs to answer four questions: First, what are the differentiated real-world bases corresponding to the concepts of the Global South, developing countries, and third-world countries? Second, what are the specific contents of this real-world basis? Third, what factors may hinder the consolidation and deepening of the identity recognition of the Global South? Fourth, what actions should China take in promoting the optimization and upgrading of the Global South in the context of the world's overall structure? These are also the key questions that this article aims to address.

I. Research Status and Conceptual Definition 

At present, the academic and policy communities both at home and abroad have mainly focused on the following three aspects in their understanding of the Global South. 

Firstly, "the Global South" is an identity. Jon Rosenbaum and William Taylor interchanged the meanings of "South" and "developing" and believed that the integration of South-South relations is the internal integration of the relations among developing countries. Jacob Halabi, from the perspectives of altruism, realism, and constructivism in global governance paradigms, compared and mixed the terms of Global South, developing countries, and Third World countries. This is equivalent to indirectly declaring that the roles and identities of these three are essentially the same. Zhao Minghao believes that the Global South mainly refers to Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean region, Pacific Islands, and the vast developing countries in Asia. Thus, the scope of the Global South is smaller or equal to that of developing countries, and can be regarded as the historical continuation of the identity of developing countries. 

Secondly, "the Global South" is a tool. Sibha Grovugo, from the perspective of overall attributes, pointed out that the Global South was a movement initiated by former colonies to strive for equality, freedom, and an equal international status. It aimed to achieve self-liberation through foreign policies and international solidarity. Xu Mengying used India as an example to fully demonstrate that "Global South diplomacy" might be adopted by some Southern powers as a strategy to maximize the country's geopolitical interests and international prestige. Greg Bratinski, on the other hand, expressed concern that from an external perspective, the Global South might become a battlefield for the competition among major powers such as China and the United States. As a result, the relevant countries might be endowed with certain tool-like attributes in the competition among major powers. 

Thirdly, "the Global South" represents a pattern. Andrew Norton believes that the global digital and intelligent economy is expanding the economic gap between the North and the South in practice, causing an imbalance in the distribution of material wealth. The Global South represents the international group whose political and economic rights have been infringed upon in the new round of capital expansion. In other words, the formation of "the Global South" is based on its relative position to the "Global North". Zhou Guiying believes that the Global South is the greatest driving force for the current transformation of the global governance system. They form a binary tension with the old concepts and mechanisms of the West in many issues and international rules, and in fact have promoted the dynamic transformation trend of the new and old patterns of international order. Yang Hui pointed out that the rise and differentiation of the Global South have made it a "key balancer" in the reshaping of the international power order, leading to the degradation of the global institutional order to the regional institutional order, accelerating the loosening of the international norm order, and thereby promoting the multi-polarization process of the international order. 

Each of the above three understanding perspectives has room for further improvement. First, new concepts must correspond to new real-world foundations. The proposal and application of a new concept should be based on the premise that the old concepts cannot explain or cover the new phenomena. If the "developing countries" based on the level of economic development or the "Third World" based on international political status can be regarded as synonyms for "Global South", then the necessity of proposing the "Global South" concept will be greatly challenged. Currently, there are a large number of self-recognized and widely accepted "Global South" countries in the world, which indicates that "Global South" has already formed a certain reality foundation beyond the coverage of the old concepts in practice. Second, instrumental understanding cannot give concepts long-term vitality. If the "Global South" concept is born in response to the strategic needs of certain countries and only serves the maximization of the interests of a few or certain countries, then the southern countries will hardly form the current identity centripetal force. The strengthening trend of South-South cooperation indicates that "Global South" is not a "child dressed by others", it has the potential to lead the future independently. Third, defining concepts by relativity has logical problems. If "Global South" is defined as the same identity, and its feasibility basis is the existence of "Global North", then Global South will become a loosely defined existence like Hinduism, which is equivalent to declaring that "Global South" has no real foundation. In addition, it is necessary to answer why the "realistic basis" of "Global North" is like this, and this question returns to the logical origin of defining national groups by North-South. 

However, it is undeniable that these studies have defined the boundaries of the identity baseline for the Global South. Firstly, there are a large number of countries in the Global South, but they are relatively weak and have strong internal driving forces for development, as well as abundant potential for common development. Secondly, the emergence of the identity of the Global South is a political phenomenon and naturally has certain power and utilitarian characteristics. Thirdly, the Global South has changed and will continue to change the international relations and global governance pattern dominated by the Western world and benefiting only a few countries. 

The diversity of southern countries determines that their identity foundation cannot be based on certain static elements. First, it is not civilization or religion. The geographical coverage of southern countries is extremely wide. There are various forms of civilizations, religious beliefs, customs, and values, and their historical origins are different. The degree of internalization of Western civilization and religion varies, and it is impossible to abstract a unified identity foundation from the conceptual world. Second, it is not the level of economic development. Although compared with Western developed countries, most southern countries are at a disadvantage in terms of economic volume, industrialization and urbanization levels, per capita income, and resource possession, some regional powers have made significant progress in certain indicators and are leading the world. Such countries are increasing. Within the global south, there have also emerged different echelons in terms of development levels. This does not mean that China is willing to remain perpetually at a lower level of productivity. Rather, it means that China will always be committed to benefiting developing countries. Thirdly, it is not about international influence. The international influence of countries like China, India, Brazil, South Africa, and Iran in the South has already surpassed that of Australia, Canada, or even the former second-world powers such as the United Kingdom and Japan. In a nutshell, this real foundation cannot simply revert to history, nor can it merely focus on the present. Instead, it must firmly look towards the future. Therefore, the identity foundation of the Global South can only be based on common political and economic preferences and visions of international order. Thus, the Global South will have distinct identity anchors and practical starting points that distinguish it from labels such as developing countries, third-world countries, or non-aligned countries. 

Given that the southern countries "are" the majority, "benefit" the majority, and "are good" the majority, and using this as the fundamental distinction from the northern countries, this article defines "the Global South" as a group of sovereign states in international relations that prefer and envision a multi-polar political structure, a mutually beneficial economic structure, and a diverse cultural structure. These three structures represent both a preference, that is, the values of each country consider them correct; and a vision, that is, the interests of each country recognize them as beneficial. In practice, some individual countries overly insist on politicizing, instrumentalizing, and even weaponizing their collective identity, but this does not represent the overall value orientation of the majority of southern countries, nor should it deny the southern nature of individual countries based on this.

II. The Content Composition of Global South Identity Recognition 

By confining the identity basis of the Global South within the scope of "preferences" and "visions", we can conduct an in-depth examination of the content elements of these preferences and visions, and based on this, assess the inherent tensions in the North-South relationship and propose China's strategic choices. 

(1) Emotional element: Be united, not divided. 

Historically, the southern countries generally had experiences of being colonized. The main reason why most of these countries remained in the "developing" and "third-world" categories for a long time was the organized military, commercial, financial and cultural invasions by Western countries. In modern history, feudal imperialist powers such as Japan and Russia colonized through the seizure of land; trade imperialist powers such as Britain and France colonized by seizing raw materials and dumping goods in the market; financial imperialist powers such as the United States colonized by opening up investment markets and manipulating trade rules. Together, they formed a large web that served the monopolistic bourgeoisie, exploiting and oppressing the colonies and semi-colonies, interrupting the independent development processes of most Asian, African and Latin American countries. Even after these countries gained independence, they often continued to be occupied by the comprador bourgeoisie supported by their respective domestic Western countries, holding the main production materials and continuously inputting the labor achievements and national resource wealth of the lower classes of the country into the West. 

However, after World War II, the southern countries also generally experienced the power of unity during certain specific historical periods. "The South" initially served as a symbol of resistance against the "North", representing the forces opposing colonialism and hegemonism. The convening of the Bandung Conference, the rise of the Non-Aligned Movement, and the establishment of the Group of 77 were the signs of the southern countries' political self-awareness during this period. In these "unorganized but disciplined" collective actions, the most important factor guiding all the southern countries to act in unison was the expectation for peace and the desire for development. Even to this day, these historical practices still have great emotional appeal and identity orientation for the Global South, and they have laid the psychological "infrastructure" for the new international order of multipolarity and diversification. 

It is essential to note that the role of all emotional elements has its corresponding material basis. The reason why the emotional resonance of the historical experiences and practices of the southern countries can have a positive impact on identity cognition is fundamentally that these countries do not have significant conflicts of interests with each other. They have generally focused on domestic development for a long time, the production division of labor has a strong dependence on the former colonial powers, and they have no intention or ability to expand externally. The relatively powerful China has generally adopted friendly, supportive, and facilitating policies towards the southern countries. Therefore, deriving a common identity from a common experience in a one-sided manner is a historical idealism error. The emotional empathy and connection among countries is by no means "natural and inevitable". 

(2) Political aspect: Be self-reliant and avoid oppression 

The main themes of international political life in the Southern countries are the practical significance of independent and autonomous status and the channels for expressing demands. The equal status in international law between the Southern and Northern countries does not equate to the equal status in politics and strategy between the two sides. The hierarchical international order imposed by Western countries has instead shaped two political demands of the Global South. 

First, independently explore and refine an ideology and political system that is in line with the country's own national conditions. This exploration must be led by the people of the country, with their own interests as the starting point and destination, and must avoid being criticized or hindered by foreign forces. This includes not only extreme forms of military intervention but also easily overlooked cognitive shaping and public opinion guidance. More importantly, due to different national conditions and times, there will inevitably be different modernization paths. Modernization does not have a fixed model or sole approach applicable to all countries and all times. Each country needs to carefully explore a development path that suits its own national conditions. The human geography conditions, social urgent needs, and economic development levels of southern countries vary. They must not simply copy any country's so-called "correct answers" in terms of ideology and political system. If one does not start from the actual situation of a country, establish a production relationship that meets the needs of productive forces development, then incorrect and rigid production relations will inevitably restrict and undermine the further development of productive forces and block the modernization process of that country. 

Second, participate in the creation and operation of international systems and rules at a lower cost. One of the important ways for developing countries in the South to resist the oppression of powerful forces is to use systems and rules to restrain specific power entities. These entities always want to place their own interests above those of most other countries. Enhancing the participation and voice of the Global South in international mechanisms is not only beneficial for improving their own political status but also conducive to promoting the genuine functioning of international mechanisms in stabilizing the international community and improving global governance. The collective rise of developing countries has laid a more solid foundation for developing countries to gain greater say on the international stage and to promote the multipolarity of the world and the democratization of international relations. However, some Western countries are still using their initial advantages and power status to pressure the Global South, attempting to limit the Global South to the "listening area" and "silent corner". This struggle centered around "for whom does the international mechanism serve" will continue for a long time. It is necessary to emphasize that not only does the Global South need to gain more political space, but also the middle and lower classes of the United States and other Western countries need to voice more opinions in the process of rule-making and rights expression, representing themselves and putting forward just claims. For an international mechanism, only when more countries and people participate in it and are valued can its vitality and legitimacy be most fully sustained. 

(3) Economic elements: Focus on development and avoid exploitation 

After achieving political independence, the most critical challenge faced by a large number of southern countries is the new colonialist behavior of Western countries. The major powers have shifted from the original blatant violence and power, territorial expansion and colonialism to fully leveraging political, economic, cultural, and, when necessary, military means to place the developing countries that gained political independence after World War II under their control. These countries are made to continue serving as their commodity markets, raw material sources, and investment venues, and their wealth is maximally exploited. Since the fourth industrial revolution, digital oligarchs and developed capitalist countries have monopolized and seized data without restraint by exporting data capital and digital goods; countries with technological advantages and platforms combine data and technology, opening up huge value spaces based on data-driven technological development, thereby generating value and profits. Thus, the relationship between former colonial powers and colonies, semi-colonies has been "ingeniously" transformed into the so-called "center" and "periphery" relationship. The contradiction between the center and the periphery exists as an external manifestation of the contradiction between the oppressive class (capitalist class) and the oppressed class (working class) within capitalism. As a result, while the capital-centered countries develop, the peripheral countries as a whole fall into decline. 

Therefore, in the context of increasingly efficient and covert forms of exploitation in Western countries, the "counterforce" in the Global South is bound to rebound in two directions. First, theory and practice should be combined to explore a socio-economic development model with its own characteristics. For the Global South countries to break away from their dependence on Western resources, channels, and models, they must first achieve self-reliance in their economic development model. The emergence of Chinese-style modernization has already provided an excellent model for the Global South. Practice has proved that by relying on their own strength and conducting unremitting struggles and scientific exploration, economically backward developing countries can obtain vitality from the support of their own people, form unique development advantages, and avoid the fate of being exploited. Second, domestic common prosperity and international mutual benefit and win-win cooperation should be used as guiding principles to resist exploitation and achieve sustainable development. On one hand, for the Global South countries to obtain a long-term development domestic foundation, they must break the monopoly of a few people on most resources, distribute material wealth and development opportunities to a larger population, fully mobilize the participation of social individuals in the large-scale social production, maximize the promotion of productivity development, and further distribute the development results downward to achieve a virtuous cycle of "development - distribution - benefit - re-development". On the other hand, the Global South countries should create conditions for the free circulation of production factors globally, continuously enhance their unique advantageous position in the global industrial chain, supply chain, and production chain, effectively promote the common progress of human economy and technology, and gain the initiative in technological revolution and industrial upgrading through unity and mutual assistance, professional support, and winning the active role in technological innovation and industrial upgrading. 

(4) Cultural Elements: Emphasize diversity rather than uniformity 

Cultural diversity is a natural configuration that aligns with the Global South. It represents the spiritual awakening of the international community in the context of globalization and the historical progressive direction of the sustainable development of the overall human civilization. 

On the one hand, the collective rise of the Global South will inevitably require a spiritual life that is commensurate with its material foundation. For some more developed Southern countries, material needs are no longer the main source of their sense of deprivation. Post-materialist demands are gradually emerging. In the long term, more Southern countries will gradually move towards the upper end of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. The values of post-materialism include the emphasis on belonging, self-expression, quality of life, governance, and aesthetics. Therefore, the Global South will collectively seek to break free from "mainstream" Western civilization and acquire a unique cultural identity at some point in history. After fully returning to individualized identities, it will contribute spiritual products for the overall identity of humanity in the new multi-civilization pattern. This process may be filled with clashes between civilizations and cultures, but this is the necessary path for the emergence of new civilization forms. 

On the other hand, the increasingly diverse international ecosystem of civilizations is in the interests of all humanity, including the West. The universality of human civilization can be achieved by respecting its particularities. Although the diversity of civilizations may increase the communication and cooperation costs among different countries, ethnic groups and communities in certain circumstances, from an overall perspective, diversity is a beneficial protective mechanism. Besides learning from each other's strengths and improving individually through mutual learning of civilizations, and providing various resources and ideas for global governance, the diversity of civilizations is an important exit for humanity to avoid overall crises. If there is only one model of civilization or cultural approach in the world, once the drawbacks of this "standardized" model intensify or its advantages reach an extreme, the world will surely fall into a dangerous situation where there is a lack of internal reflection and self-motivation internally and a lack of reference system for correction externally. Human civilization will also rapidly decline as a whole. 

(5) Diplomatic Element: Prefer multilateralism over unilateralism 

The materialist dialectics in the diplomatic field of the southern countries determines their inherent inclination towards multilateralism. 

First, we must adhere to the principle of not forming alliances, but urgently need to find an international collective that can be relied upon. As early as the 1960s, the Non-Aligned Movement initiated by third-world countries had deeply recognized the destructive and reactionary nature of "alliance confrontation", advocating for international cooperation from a perspective of all humanity rather than small groups, and promoting world prosperity. In January 2024, the 19th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement adopted the "Kampala Declaration", reaffirming several principles established at the 1955 Bandung Conference and the founding of the Non-Aligned Movement in 1961, emphasizing the need to continue strengthening South-South and North-South cooperation, fully respecting international law and international consensus principles, and jointly addressing the threats and challenges faced by developing countries in promoting economic development and social progress. However, not relying on alliance organizations does not mean not needing collective collaboration. In the complex and chaotic century-long unprecedented transformation, Southern countries need to unite with each other and rely on each other, through equal, fair, and democratic international mechanisms, to address common security and development problems and contribute new wisdom solutions to global governance. 

Second, we should oppose hegemony, but we do not want non-Western countries to replace the Western hegemony. The tragic history of the Global South was mainly caused by Western countries, and the American hegemony is the highest form of Western hegemony. Therefore, in the face of the unilateralist policies of the United States in the political, economic, military fields and global governance issues, the Global South should oppose hegemonism and power politics, and strive to promote global governance to conform to the trend of the times and develop in a more just, reasonable and effective direction. On a deeper level, what the Global South opposes is not merely the hegemony led by a certain Western power, but the diplomatic environment and global governance pattern dominated by hegemonism. In other words, we should oppose both the "content" of hegemony and its "form". This is a diplomatic value orientation deeply rooted in the blueprint of multilateralism.

III. Realistic Obstacles to Consolidating and Deepening Identity Recognition 

Although the Global South is gradually establishing a clear identity foundation through historical practice, certain real factors are also hindering this process. The development of history always follows a spiral upward trend. These real obstacles, on the one hand, are indeed not conducive to the consolidation and deepening of the identity of the Global South, but on the other hand, they also stimulate a deeper level of identity integration. 

(1) The developed Western countries have long been in a state of division and disintegration. 

The United States and other Western countries have long reaped the benefits of dividing and ruling the Global South. They are deeply wary of the situation where the Southern countries unite as one and stand united against common threats. They will undoubtedly use their strength and various political levers to prevent the Global South from moving towards unity. 

First, by taking advantage of the dependence of many southern countries on Western countries in terms of security and economy, it is attempted to induce these countries to take sides in important international affairs and support the West. For instance, the Biden administration has invested heavily to strengthen military cooperation with ASEAN countries such as Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam. It has also used the pretext of combating illegal fishing and enhancing law enforcement capabilities to lure certain Southeast Asian countries to deepen maritime police cooperation with the United States. At the same time, using the lure of industrial chain transfer, it has promised to increase support for Southeast Asian countries in areas such as trade facilitation, technological innovation, infrastructure construction, digital economy, industrial green transformation, and capacity building, in order to help them enhance supply chain resilience. For the ASEAN region itself, although the differential treatment of ASEAN countries by the United States is in line with its own interests, it is not conducive to internal coordination within ASEAN and may lead to its fragmentation. For the relationship between ASEAN and its neighboring countries, luring individual ASEAN countries to provoke or replace China will weaken the unity of the Global South. 

Second, they launch cognitive and propaganda campaigns, widely shaping public perceptions such as "the West is harmless", "China has selfish motives", and "the South is divided". They aim to undermine the fighting morale of the Global South, stir up internal conflicts within these countries, and beautify the international image of Western countries. For instance, Western countries like the United States have continuously and comprehensively attacked the "Belt and Road Initiative", in an attempt to estrange the emotional interaction and interest integration between China and the participating countries. The Western countries slander that the "Belt and Road Initiative" is "China's tool for dividing economic spheres of influence, spreading ideology, and establishing military alliances" - this is precisely the subjective projection of what Western countries have done in history. They unjustifiably accuse China of spreading its own economic development model through economic aid and infrastructure construction, causing economic division in the world, and corroding universal values such as democracy and freedom in economic cooperation, leading to the spread of corruption and dictatorship. This is a classic portrayal of Western countries since the colonial era. Some Southern countries unknowingly fall into their trap, become more vigilant and cautious towards China, but remain ignorant of the Western countries that actually led them into a miserable situation. 

Third, they launch legal and diplomatic battles, aiming to remove China, which has the ability to "dominate the overall situation", from the ranks of the Global South. For instance, on March 27, 2023, the US House of Representatives passed the "China Not a Developing Country Bill" with 415 votes in favor and 0 votes against, demanding that the State Department take action to remove China's status as a developing country in international organizations. At the 2023 Hiroshima Summit of the G7, the G7 invited the leaders of developing countries such as India, Brazil, Vietnam, Indonesia, Comoros, and Cook Islands to attend as observers, intending to demonstrate that these countries are the representatives of the Global South and to lock in the mainstream Global South in an institutionalized manner, while excluding China. Although both China and the international community consider such actions unworthy of rebuttal, the erroneous issue of "whether China belongs to the Global South" has been raised in theory and practice, providing "cards" for countries with ulterior motives towards China. 

(2) Some southern countries have overly focused on competition. 

It is undeniable that some southern countries aspire to play a leading and driving role in South-South cooperation and contribute constructive forces. This is a beneficial move that is conducive to enhancing the identity of the Global South. For instance, in March 2023, Indian Prime Minister Modi stated at the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in New Delhi that India's assumption of the rotating presidency was to provide a platform for the Global South to voice its opinions. After the Ukraine crisis, Russia has been striving to gain political support from the Global South and has been actively promoting South-South cooperation within the framework of BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, accelerating its integration into the South-South cooperation framework. In Brazil, after Lula returned to power, he immediately expressed his intention to revitalize the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) and use it to lead cooperation among the Global South. 

However, some major Southern countries have improper motives for seeking leadership. They do not aim to better safeguard the overall interests of the Global South or fulfill their obligations to the international community; instead, they merely seek to achieve their immediate and local practical interests. This not only provides space for the Western strategy of division but also directly undermines the confidence and identity of the Global South in cooperation. For instance, in recent years, India, in its pursuit of becoming a "prominent and influential country", has sought to dominate the security order in the Indian Ocean and the surrounding areas of South Asia through military power, to shape a unique and influential cultural identity centered on Hinduism, to establish a comprehensive industrial and manufacturing system and to undertake the outsourcing of bulk products from Western countries, and to direct all these goals at China. The areas where China and India could have cooperated mutually beneficially have been regarded by India as a zero-sum game battlefield, to the extent that India has even gone as far as taking a "always oppose China" stance in many global Southern international cooperation mechanisms. For example, at several SCO summits held in recent years, India either directly missed them or ignored the joint declaration reaffirming support for the "Belt and Road Initiative" by all member states. Another example is that India has a negative attitude towards the enhancement of the international status of the RMB. As of October 2023, the Indian government did not allow its state-owned oil refineries to pay for Russian oil imports in RMB, which led to the delay of at least seven batches of oil imports. India has also long obstructed the issuance of the currencies of member states within the BRICS group, "New Delhi explicitly stated that it will not participate in the proposed BRICS currency because it believes this is an attempt by China to gain hegemony." These actions have significantly slowed down the progress of major Southern countries in enhancing regional cooperation levels and promoting new types of partnerships. 

(3) It will take some time before our thoughts can fully optimize reality. 

After a long period of practical exploration and theoretical advancement, theories and guidelines regarding the common identity and collective actions of the Global South have been continuously introduced in various countries. Especially in China, with the overall concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind, focusing on issues such as development, security, civilization, and the prominent problems in the context of the major changes over the past century, it has proposed global development initiatives, global security initiatives, and global civilization initiatives, pointing out the correct direction for reducing the deficits in peace, development, security, and governance. 

However, the Global South does not merely refer to geographical location and physical entities. It also has profound geopolitical demands, social and cultural connotations, and economic development significance. It is a mixed entity encompassing the commonalities of the geopolitical and economic aspects of various countries. From a practical perspective, the characteristics of dispersion and significant differences will remain the basic features of the Southern countries. Dispersion determines that the overly vast geographical space of the Global South is difficult to achieve the regional integration model of ASEAN in a short period of time, especially for countries spanning across continents and oceans, which find it hard to focus on similar issues as priorities; Differences determine that countries with different cultures and levels of development have higher transaction costs and find it difficult to form a composite political and economic community like the European Union and adopt similar policies in professional fields and issues simultaneously. In this context, for the Global South to form a strong identity and international political linkage with internal systematicity, initiative, and standardization, it will require a relatively long time. Overall, this may involve three stages: The first is the stage of initial consensus, where Southern countries passively unite in a "negative" manner during the process of opposing Western oppression and exploitation; the second is the stage of internal integration, where Southern countries gradually seek to actively propose political and economic plans that are in line with their own and global interests, carry out broader production division and interest connections, and form stable strength growth and identity in the process of constantly overcoming difficulties; the third is the stage of outward orientation, where based on a positive and conscious identity, Southern countries, according to the development needs of productivity, actively correct their domestic and global production relations, and collectively inject new ideas and take new actions to shape a new form of human civilization. 

Currently, the Global South as a whole is in the process of transitioning from the first stage to the second stage. That is, to a certain extent, they have achieved self-awareness of their identities, but their strength and cohesion are still inferior to those of Western countries. Although some of the leading Southern powers have already shown the proactive and exogenous characteristics of the third stage, they still need higher-level resource integration among Southern countries to exert a greater influence on reality and interests through theory and identity.

IV. China's Strategic Choices 

As the world's largest developing country and one of the major Southern countries, China has the will and ability to strive for more just rights for the global South. In order to make the collective rise of the global South more in line with the requirements of productive development and the trend of a healthy international political and economic order, and to ensure that this process forms a positive interaction with the growth of China's interests, China can make efforts in four aspects to play a leading role, consolidate and further enhance the international status and rise quality of the global South. 

(1) Promoting the voice of the Global South through a multi-polar and equal political proposition 

The political interests of China lie in promoting the extensive participation of southern countries in the process of democratization of international relations, and jointly building a global governance concept of consultation, cooperation and sharing with all countries. It is necessary to find the greatest common denominator of interests in the full expression of the interests of all countries, consolidate and solidify peace as the theme of the times, and create favorable external conditions for the development of one's own country and the southern countries. The trend of world multi-polarization is the general trend of historical development and the direction of historical progress. China must "advocate the principle of consultation, cooperation and sharing, oppose hegemonism and power politics, and support the United Nations in playing an active role in international affairs. In the new round of global governance system reform, expand the discourse power and representativeness of 'global south' countries, and safeguard and maintain common interests." First, it is necessary to resolutely safeguard the authority and status of the United Nations, jointly practice true multilateralism with the southern countries, and fully exert China's "ballast stone" role in the United Nations as the spokesperson for the global south, especially to be courageous in correcting the imbalance of power structure formed based on Western colonial history and the "deafness" of major powers' coordination. Second, it is necessary to vigorously promote that international mechanisms dominated by southern countries fully serve the needs of global south countries to express their views, propose initiatives, integrate ideas and design plans, providing platforms and contributing ideas for solving global governance problems and integrating regional resources. International cooperation mechanisms such as the "Belt and Road Initiative", the BRICS mechanism, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization can also play a greater constructive role in serving the global south through methods such as expanding membership, promoting equality, innovating concepts, and cross-mechanism coordination. Third, in international mechanisms dominated by the West, China should actively propose political concepts and distribution plans for political power that are commensurate with the rising strength and status of the global south, promoting international politics to develop in a more fair, reasonable, inclusive, open, and secure and stable direction. For example, China can propose the Special Drawing Rights in the International Monetary Fund (IMF), promote the trust fund to flow to low-income countries in a practical way, and call on Western private financial institutions to fulfill the commitment of their governments to reduce debts to low-income countries. 

(2) Promoting the development of the Global South through mutually beneficial economic propositions 

In the context of economic globalization, China's economic interests lie in promoting the universal prosperity and development of all countries through a "rising with the tide" approach rather than a "draining the pond to catch all the fish" strategy. China aims to achieve lasting gains from the global division of labor and the flow of resources. Economic globalization involves the global flow and allocation of economic elements such as capital, technology, products, and labor, reflecting the objective trend of close economic ties and mutual dependence among countries. However, the monopolies and exploitation caused by the free development of globalization are not conducive to the stable and healthy operation of the world economy. China should not only seize the development dividends of economic globalization but also take into account the fair distribution mechanism of global development achievements, and encourage developed countries to fulfill their aid commitments, so that the benefits of development can be more widely shared by people of all countries. This is also the fundamental reason why China must regard mutual benefit and win-win cooperation as the guiding principle for participating in economic globalization and cooperating with the economies of the Global South. First, in infrastructure investment and construction, we should leverage our institutional advantages, undertake the historical responsibility of cross-cycle construction, and form a close connection among the Global South, including China, at the physical level. The "cycles" crossed not only include time cycles but also cover the development cycles of expansion, recession, contraction, and recovery. Second, through the process of RMB internationalization, we should form a capital link and settlement mechanism based on bilateral or multilateral relations, consolidate the financial security of the Global South, and prepare the liquidity funds for the construction of the internal and external dual circulation. Third, we should introduce higher-quality open policies and actively promote the formation of a resilient integration relationship among social forces such as enterprises, universities, media, and non-governmental organizations in the Global South, not only strengthening China's important position in the global production chain, education chain, and communication chain, but also comprehensively driving the economic and social development of the Global South. 

(3) With the cultural proposition of "appreciating one's own culture while also respecting and learning from others", we encourage mutual learning among the Global South. 

The core of China's cultural interests lies in absorbing the excellent cultural achievements of the entire human race while also providing the world with beneficial ideas based on Chinese traditional culture. Through full interaction, it promotes the optimization and upgrading of both domestic and global civilizations. "The world is diverse. Just as the universe cannot have only one color, the world cannot have only one civilization, one social system, one development model, or one set of values. Every country and every nation has contributed to the development of human civilization. We must fully respect the diversity of different nations and different civilizations." Therefore, China must "promote common values of all humanity, advocate respecting the diversity of civilizations, oppose ideological lines and camp confrontations. Support all countries in exploring their own development paths, respect the social systems chosen by the people of all countries, strengthen exchanges and mutual learning in governance, and jointly contribute to the progress of humanity." First, we must firmly oppose erroneous views such as "civilization conflict theory" and "racial superiority theory", take mutual respect as the premise for international interactions, "advocate harmony and cooperation, oppose isolation and closure; advocate coexistence and progress, oppose dominance based on one's own strength; advocate maintaining harmony and stability, oppose the law of the jungle." Second, we must constantly summarize and discover global cultural and intellectual achievements, find and practice the greatest common denominator of human common values, conform to the trend of cultural diversification corresponding to political multipolarity, neither using interests and benefits as the basis, nor sacrificing interests for principles. Third, we must inject advanced vitality from the excellent ideological achievements of Chinese civilization into the survival and development of the Global South. China is continuously empowering its own modernization construction with beneficial cultural elements of its own nation and has achieved significant phased achievements. Providing cultural and development experience for the Global South is an inherent obligation of China as a responsible major country. 

(4) Achieving global south stability through comprehensive and effective security propositions 

China's security interests lie in successfully resisting the political infiltration, military containment and rule blockade by hegemonism, and developing the ability to project power remotely in a peaceful manner while ensuring the basic security of its surrounding regions. This is to protect its expanding overseas interests. Therefore, China is bound to seek to promote the establishment of a balanced, effective and sustainable security framework, respecting the reasonable security concerns of all countries, and promoting the political settlement of hotspot issues. First, it is necessary to play the role of a "stabilizer" for the international security landscape, maintaining and adjusting the balance with important strategic anchors such as the United States, Russia, Europe, and India, and creating overall peaceful external conditions for the security and stability of the Global South. At the same time, it is advocated that major powers take the lead in being fair, trustworthy, cooperative and abiding by the rule of law, and abide by the UN Charter and international law. Second, it is necessary to resolve regional conflicts and tensions involving Southern countries, and mediate and encourage peace talks, opposing hegemonism's use of regional conflicts to escalate disputes and benefit the South, and opposing regional powers' bullying and violation of rules. Third, it is necessary to continuously contribute new thought-based public products from the perspective of security concepts, security initiatives and security frameworks to the international community, and lead the Global South to jointly participate in the resolution process of regional disputes and global issues such as terrorism, climate change, cyber security and biological security. (Author: Zhang Yifei, Associate Researcher at the Institute of American Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)