Zoon Ahmed Khan, research fellow of the Belt & Road Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, thinks China's reciprocal sanctions on the EU is not just a conversation between China and the U.S. or China and the EU, it refers to a broader conversation of North and South countries. She said that North countries dominate the global mainstream media and their narratives get more coverage, but that doesn't mean they speak for most people.

"What China represents right now is, to a great extent, the sentiment of an increasing number of countries in the Global South that have faced one-sided hostility. That is, even if they have spoken out against certain treatment, certain policies, their voice has not been heard," said Khan.