The Global South sees an alternative modernity by looking to China

Editor's note: Zhang Zhipeng, a special commentator for CGTN, is a research fellow at the School of Marxism of Fudan University and the Center for World Think Tank Studies of Shanghai International Studies University. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi's visit to Beijing this February captured the attention of international observers. With Uruguay serving as chair of the Group of 77 and China, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States and the Southern Common Market in 2026, Orsi's engagement with China underscores an emerging collective drive across the Global South: building a multipolar order where modernization is no longer a monologue dictated by the West.

Yet the prevailing strategic framework in Washington, a legacy of decades-long unipolar thinking, struggles to process this structural shift: It still tends to view the Global South through a lens of inspection rather than introspection. The developing world is either perceived through a telescope as a distant "Other" – a relic of colonial Orientalism – or under a microscope, treated like a specimen to be analyzed.

Engagement between China and its fellow Global South nations, however, offers an alternative frame: a window. If the Western gaze seeks to inspect, this window opens onto three distinct vistas of an alternative modernity.

Dominant tropes in Western reporting often impose a heavy filter over China, depicting the country as trapped in "exotic" pre-modern customs. China is not alone in this. The stereotypes are all too familiar: Latin America teems with drug dealers and revolutionaries, Eastern Europe is cast in a gloomy, oppressive gray, and the Islamic world is synonymous with turbulence and extremism.

The rise of decentralized digital platforms, however, allows the Global South to bypass traditional Western gatekeepers and reclaim its narrative agency.

Consider Li Ziqi, one of the most influential Chinese video bloggers known for her poetic portrayal of rural life. While her rural aesthetic is certainly romanticized and curated, it points to the possibility of a non-Western modernity: Modernization can be decoupled from Westernization. One does not need to become a New Yorker to live a modern, dignified life. Modernization does not erase tradition, nor does the indigenous way of living belong in a museum. It merits the screen on its own terms. That is why Li has inspired the young generation across the Global South, especially in Southeast Asia, to seize the power of self-definition.

If the first vista reveals how tradition reconciles with modernization, the second reveals the shared struggle in finding a path to it.

To some Western theorists, being modern means being Western. China's rise, alongside the rapid development of the Global South, demonstrates that alternatives do exist. The Global South can, and must, find its own path to modernization, grounded in local conditions and traditions.

To be sure, this path is fraught with friction. Development can be violent and uneven. Across the developing world, nations are grappling with the same issues China continues to wrestle with, such as the tension between rapid economic growth and environmental preservation, and the clash between traditional rhythms and industrial efficiency.

Indeed, this vista reveals not just the scars of China's own journey of modernization, but the complexities of its collaboration with fellow Global South nations. For instance, Chinese companies are not immune to challenges in adapting to local labor laws and cultural norms, as seen in controversies over China's electric vehicle maker BYD's factories in Brazil.

China claims no silver bullet for these problems. Nor does it believe in a one-size-fits-all solution. Precisely because China has navigated these very detours, its experience represents something far more valuable: a map of where not to go.

But it is not a map for replication. China has its unique scale and governance structure, and the Global South itself is not free from internal rivalries and divergent national interests. In this regard, what China offers is not a blueprint to copy and paste, but a reference point to achieve stability and prosperity, an outcome that serves the interests of the entire world.

The third vista is cultural. Modern Western thought, under the influence of Cartesian dualism, tends to separate man from nature, theory from practice and the conceptual from the tangible. Crucially, it uncouples speculation from production, which can lead to the unrestricted accumulation of capital.

Chinese philosophy, in contrast, is holistic. It proceeds from the oneness of man and nature, and focuses on connections and co-existence within a system, a logic that extends to the global order.

Notably, this philosophical outlook finds a powerful resonance in the Islamic world. What began as a strategic search for counterweights to the Bretton Woods system, exemplified by the local currency swap agreement between China and Saudi Arabia and the local currency settlement cooperation between China and Indonesia, has evolved into a recognition of shared economic values.

Increasingly, Islamic nations are discovering that China's focus on the real economy means more than industrial policy: It is a structural alignment. China's industrial capacity constitutes the complementary assets that Islamic capital requires.

Speculative financial derivatives thrive on capital driven by short-term liquidity, with creditors demanding immediate returns. While this logic aligns with Wall Street's agenda, it can misalign with the developmental needs and cultural traditions of the Global South, for instance, the Islamic prohibition on Maysir (gambling) and Riba (usury).

In this context, China offers "patient capital," emphasizing long-term investment and risk-sharing partnerships. Consider the Lusail Stadium, the Gwadar Port, and the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway. These projects embody China's "shared development based on infrastructure" approach, which mirrors the Islamic world's Sukuk principles: Value must be anchored in tangible assets.

The Global South is increasingly aware that financial assets held in foreign jurisdictions are vulnerable to geopolitical headwinds or sanction uncertainties, but a railway on domestic soil cannot be confiscated or frozen. In an increasingly volatile world, infrastructure is the bedrock of true sovereignty.

The question is no longer whether the Global South will find its own narrative and geopolitical agency – it is already happening. The real question lies in the engagement with the new pluralistic world that is taking shape right now. The era of the "telescope" or "microscope" is over. The future belongs to those willing to open the window and see.

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