China – Global South: the current evolution of relations

Abstract

Global events of recent years indicate that it is the turn of the Developing World to take the lead in international relations. China, which positions itself as the «largest developing country», a «member of the Global South», but at the same time a «responsible world power», cannot stay away from this trend. The article examines the reasons for the recent rise of the Developing World to the forefront of international life, which include: the cumulative economic growth of the South, the increase in its political importance in the balance of power on the world stage, the growth of self-esteem of the South, whose stance, being consonant with the interests of the East, contributes to the loss of the West's ability in dictating conditions to the world majority, etc. In addition, the author considers important to determine the semantic content of the terms «Global South», «third world», «developing world» for a better understanding of the essence of the great global phenomenon that these definitions have denoted at different times. It seems that these definitions not only reflect the realities of the times that gave birth to them, but also undergo internal upgrade, becoming not just a «signboard», but also a characteristic of the phenomenon they designate. The main burden of the article falls on the analysis of the Chinese factor in the modern evolution of the Global South. It is characterized through the prism of why the importance of the South for China is growing and how Beijing is trying to provide relations with «southern» countries with additional qualitative support. The article also attempts to identify new challenges facing China in the processes of its further «rooting» in the Developing World. The article ends with a number of conclusions, among which is the author's opinion on whether the reformatting of relations between China and the Global South is taking place as a reaction to an increase in its global weight, or whether they are «simply» undergoing a stage of timely optimization.

Keywords

• china
• global south
• russia
• developing world
• north/west
• belt and road initiative (bri)
• global development initiative
• un