'Fundamental actor'

"As a major driver of global trade — and the largest trading partner of more than 100 countries — as well as a key source of investment, China has become a fundamental actor, particularly within the Global South," he said.

During the SCO Summit in Tianjin, China announced plans to implement 100 "small but beautiful" livelihood projects in SCO member states with concrete needs. Besides, it pledged to provide 2 billion yuan ($281 million) in grants to member states this year and extend an additional 10 billion yuan in loans to member banks of the SCO banking consortium over the next three years.

Starting next year, China will double the number of SCO special scholarships from current levels and launch the SCO Doctoral Innovation Training Center to jointly cultivate high-level academic and scientific talent. Over the next five years, it will also establish 10 "Luban Workshops" in member states and offer 10,000 training opportunities to support human resources development.

At the 80th session of the UN General Assembly held in September, China announced the launch of the China-UN Global South-South Development Facility (2025-30) in partnership with the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation, to accelerate sustainable development by promoting practical South-South and triangular cooperation.

"China is a long-standing partner of UNOSSC and a leading contributor to the United Nations Fund for South-South Cooperation," said Dima Al-Khatib, director of UNOSSC. "We look forward to launching the China-UN Global South-South Development Facility to support green and resilient development, digital transformation, risk reduction, sustainable industrialization, and the economic empowerment of youth and women, with particular attention to least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, and small island developing states," she said.

Andrei Chevelev, former head of the Asia-Pacific Unit Sector for Priority Africa and External Relations at UNESCO, hailed China for its belief that the current global order should fully reflect today's realities and that institutions such as the UN need reforms to better fulfill their roles.

"At present, China is the only permanent member representing the Global South, and without broader representation, it is difficult to achieve truly shared responsibility in global governance," he said.

He said that unilateral measures imposed outside the UN framework violate international law and World Trade Organization rules, and such practices undermine fair trade and distort the global system.

"The international political and economic landscape is highly complex, marked by the emergence of new military blocs and growing instability. Therefore, all members of the Global South should assume greater responsibility to create a fair and stable international system," he said.

Xu Bihong in Beijing contributed to this story.

liujianqiao@chinadaily.com.cn