The Global South is emerging as a significant political force, powering steady economic growth while advancing multipolarity and global governance reform

Global South countries face persistent development challenges, compounded by mounting external pressures from unilateralism, protectionism and hegemonism.

To navigate the intertwined crises and changes, the Global South must forge shared values, strengthen institutional foundations and deepen solidarity.

The rise of the Global South is reshaping the world economy. In 2025, Global South economies are projected to grow by 4.2 percent overall, more than triple the average growth rate of the G7 and accounting for about 80 percent of global growth. Their share of global GDP has surpassed 40 percent, signaling a clear shift in the world’s economic center of gravity. Global trade and supply chains are also increasingly rebalancing toward the Global South, transforming them from production bases into key manufacturing hubs and consumer markets.

Meanwhile, South-South cooperation is reaching new heights, catalyzed by expanding ties in trade, investment and technology. The first trilateral summit among China, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Gulf Cooperation Council held in May 2025 in Kuala Lumpur established a new model for cooperation and shared development among Global South partners. Multilateral platforms such as the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, the China-CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Forum and the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum continue to deepen strategic alignment, build mutual trust and strengthen coordination in international affairs to safeguard common interests.

The collective rise of the Global South is also reshaping the international security landscape. In September 2024, several Global South countries established the “Friends for Peace” group on the Ukraine crisis, advocating a political settlement and working to advance peace and stability.

Global South countries call for stronger arms control and common security. Their security vision is rooted in the pursuit of peace, development, equity and justice, offering new possibilities for a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture at both the global and regional levels.

However, the path to prosperity remains fraught with challenges. The United States’ “reciprocal tariffs” have undermined multilateral trade rules, placing developing countries at a disadvantage by restricting exports, eroding competitiveness and costing jobs. Some nations continue to pursue unilateralism and power politics, applying double standards that heighten tensions within the Global South. In multilateral mechanisms such as the G20, the World Trade Organization and climate negotiations, developing countries still struggle to secure equal rights, opportunities and voices in rule-making.

As global development imbalances worsen and progress toward the United Nations’ 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda is lagging, some developing countries are trapped in overlapping crises, with their basic rights to survival and development under threat. These consequences of long-standing structural imbalances in the global economic system have left many Global South countries locked in dependency on other states.

Gaps in technological capacity and governance pose further obstacles. Due to shortfalls in basic research, core algorithms, advanced chips and computing infrastructure, developing countries are at risk of falling behind in the new wave of technological transformation and losing strategic autonomy through excessive dependence on external systems.

Therefore, building a fairer and more inclusive system of global governance is both a historic mission for the Global South and a fundamental guarantee to ensure that the benefits of development are shared by all.

At its 59th session in July 2025, the UN Human Rights Council adopted by consensus a resolution proposed by China on behalf of Global South countries, titled “the contribution of development to the enjoyment of all human rights”, driving the broad recognition of the concept of promoting human rights through development. Moreover, the G20 Summit in South Africa placed the development concerns of the Global South at the center of the global agenda.

The Global South is leveraging the BRICS mechanism and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to drive global governance reform. In the recent expansion of BRICS, Indonesia joined as a full member, while Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam became partner countries. The “greater BRICS” framework is poised to advance more institutionalized, multilevel and high-quality cooperation. Meanwhile, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization continues to broaden its scope, and now stands as the world’s largest regional organization in terms of geographic coverage and population.

Amid unprecedented global changes, the Global South must strengthen its value-based consensus, speak with one voice and demonstrate responsibility.

The Global South countries should establish a system of rules based on extensive consultation, joint construction and shared benefits. Permanent mechanisms for coordination and decision-making must be improved, with more effective channels for policy communication, position alignment and crisis response to translate collective consensus into unified action.

Practical cooperation should focus on development finance, climate change, digital governance and supply chain security, supported by dedicated entities to reduce reliance on external systems.

Greater emphasis should also be placed on shaping rules and standards. This includes developing technical, trade and investment norms suited to developing countries’ realities and fostering independent knowledge systems and narratives. These approaches will support the Global South to better integrate its diverse resources and enhance its collective bargaining power.

China has consistently aligned itself with other developing countries, amplifying the collective voice of the Global South while shouldering the responsibility of a major country.

China has given all the least developed countries with which it has diplomatic relations zero-tariff treatment for all tariff lines and has made it easier for African LDCs to export to China. At the Eighth China International Import Expo, a special exhibition area for products from LDCs attracted 163 companies, up 23.5 percent from the year before.

China has responded to calls from the Global South to bridge the digital divide, proposing the establishment of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization to foster global innovation collaboration and safety governance.

China has also strengthened its financial support for development. It upgraded the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund to $4 billion and established the Global Development Project Pool, which has supported over 1,800 cooperation projects.

As an active contributor to climate action, China continues to help developing countries strengthen their capabilities. By October 2025, China had signed 55 memoranda of understanding on South-South cooperation to address climate change with 43 developing countries and conducted over 300 sessions of capacity-building programs.

Through practice and institutional initiatives, China continues to enhance the Global South’s voice and influence in international affairs. Together with more than 30 countries, it established the International Organization for Mediation in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, providing a new platform for developing countries to participate in and help shape international dispute resolution mechanisms. China’s own path of defense modernization and peaceful development also offers a stable foundation for both security and growth across the Global South.

Wu Zhicheng is the director and a professor at the Institute of International Strategy at the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (National Academy of Governance). Yang Hui is a lecturer at the same institute.

The authors 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.