UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (L) greets President of the UN General Assembly Dennis Francis (R) during the opening session of the Third South Summit of the Group of 77 and China in Kampala, January 21, 2024. /CFP
Editor's note: Mubarak Mugabo, a special commentator on current affairs for CGTN, is a Ugandan journalist. The article reflects the author's views and not necessarily those of CGTN.
Under the theme "Leaving No One Behind," delegates of China and the Group of 77 (G77+China), the largest UN intergovernmental organization of developing nations, convened in Kampala, Uganda's capital for the Third South Summit. The second summit took place 19 years ago in Doha, Qatar's capital.
The G77+China forum was designed to promote its members' collective economic interests and create an enhanced joint negotiating capacity in the UN.
Although China is not a member of this grouping, it continues to provide political support to the G77 and has made financial contributions to the group since the early 1990s.
China's engagement with the Global South has remained in line with the theme of this year's summit. Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni said that "leaving no one behind cannot be realized without adequately addressing challenges and needs faced by countries in special situations." Countries in special situations include many on the African continent, least developed countries, those experiencing war and conflict and others facing natural disasters.
Unlike the West and the wider Global North, China's commitment to ensuring a shared future for all through the high-quality Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a fairer international trade system and reforming the UN system have put it in a special place among developing countries. Reforming the UN system is another focal direction developing countries have been pushing for long!
As the largest economy among developing countries, China "stands ready to focus on practical cooperation and capacity-building with other developing countries," and to "help them unleash the potential for growth," said Chinese Vice Premier Liu Guozhong at the opening of the conference.
The Kampala summit generally intends to boost South-South cooperation, especially in dealing with challenges affecting trade, investment, sustainable development, climate change, poverty eradication, and the digital economy. These are areas where China has already supported and continue to support Global South countries.
The opening session of the Third South Summit of the Group of 77 and China is held in Kampala, January 21, 2024. /CFP
China walks with Uganda again
Uganda hosted two summits last week, namely the 19th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit and the Third South Summit. The NAM is a group of over 120 countries that are not formally aligned with or against any major power. It is the largest grouping of countries after the UN.
The two summits were hosted concurrently in Uganda with over 5000 delegates including 70 heads of state and government. This was one of the biggest international conferences organized in Uganda after the 2007 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
The G77+China being the largest grouping in the United Nations system whose intention is to have a joint negotiating capacity, China also brings on the table experience and influential solutions to such a platform.
China's pledges to cooperate with the developing world without strings attached debunked the idea that China wants to dominate the Global South. The rhetoric has now been added to the already-known Sinophobic ideals and proven myths.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Gutters also emphasized the need to reform the international financial systems created after World War II, reiterating the need to have a permanent seat for Africa at the UN Security Council to facilitate the resolution of the security challenges affecting mostly the Global South. The UN equally believes that such aspirations can be achieved by the developing countries with the support of China and the collective effort of G77.
With many leaders talking about the need for such reforms, China has been acting towards this goal through its various engagements with the developing world. This not only shows China's commitment towards pushing for win-win cooperation with other countries, it has fairly acted in a manner that does not leave any developing nation behind.
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