China’s state-run Global Times on Sunday praised Foreign Minister Wang Yi for paying his first overseas visits of 2024 to Africa and Latin America, where China wants to build closer ties with developing nations of the “Global South.”
“The strong bond between China and many developing countries is not only based on extensive economic cooperation but also on unwavering support for each other’s core interests, as exemplified by the Taiwan question,” the Global Times said.
No government in Africa or Latin America has a “core interest” in Taiwan. What the Chinese Communist Party newspaper meant was that developing nations were happy to pledge their devotion to China’s claims on Taiwan in exchange for financial and diplomatic incentives from Beijing. Not many government officials or businessmen in Jamaica, for example, would be willing to jeopardize lucrative Chinese contracts by standing up for Taiwan’s right to hold elections and determine its own fate.
The “Taiwan question” has given China a quick and reliable tool for judging if Global South nations are willing to shift away from the Western world and enter China’s orbit. The Global Times repeatedly showered praise on African and Latin American leaders willing to sing hosannas to the “One China principle,” while the United States and Europe insist on supporting Taiwan’s autonomy (while also not recognizing Taiwan’s sovereignty):
Strong consensus in each other’s core interests, as well as on most international affairs, is the solid foundation and prerequisite for China’s ties with developing countries. Take the Taiwan question as an example, most developing countries keep a clear mind and stand firm with the one-China principle, while a few countries, willing to serve as US vassals, always seek to stir up confrontation with China on this question, Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Sunday.
Li said it is crucial for the Global South to assert its stance on the Taiwan question, making it clear to some Western nations that endorsing the one-China principle is the prevailing consensus and that any interference or provocation in the Taiwan Straits by these Western countries is unwelcome. The Western countries’ provocations on the Taiwan question are only amusing themselves on the international stage, he said.
The Global Times fumed over Western nations sending congratulatory notes to Taiwan’s recently elected President William Lai Ching-te. When the Philippines did the same, China immediately threatened and bullied it. The message to other developing nations is clear: tell Beijing what it wants to hear about Taiwan and the deep coffers of China’s Belt and Road infrastructure program will be opened.
Chinese analysts quoted by the Global Times claimed the greatest source of anxiety in the Global South is the potential return of Donald Trump to the White House next year, an event that would supposedly cause “unease for the global economy.”
Nikkei Asia on Monday suggested the Global South is more immediately concerned with the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas wars, both of which are hurting developing economies and could lead to further destabilization.
The coming years will probably also see a struggle for leadership of the Global South community between China and India, which has been outspoken in seeking a leading position as “the world’s largest democracy” and feels it was ahead of China in articulating the commonalities that link Global South nations. India feels it is a more authentic example of an “emerging economy” than China, the world’s second-largest economy, and it can offer other developing nations a path to greater influence without shedding Western democratic ideals in favor of China’s authoritarian model.
Nikkei Asia noted that contrary to the Global Times’ triumphalism about China taking a leadership role, the October 2023 Belt and Road Summit had only 24 participating nations, compared to 37 in 2019. The loss of attendance was “partly because there were nations taking issue with the deepening of ties between China and Russia.”
Foreign Affairs last month suggested the West should put all its chips on India as a counter to China’s influence among developing nations.
“China seeks to turn the global South against the U.S.-led order and enlist these countries in a Chinese-led counterpart, making the global South the base for China’s rise. India, by contrast, expresses concerns about the current dominant U.S.-led order but wants to see that order reformed, not overthrown,” Foreign Affairs noted.
“Taking more seriously the grievances articulated by India and other global South countries about, for instance, the inequities of global institutions, such as the U.N. Security Council, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund, will also weaken the appeal of a Chinese-led order. But without such proactive engagement, the global South could very well become China’s geopolitical backyard,” the article suggested.
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