How China merges funding and diplomacy in push to lead the Global South
- Beijing will be the backdrop this year for gatherings of Latin American and African leaders, part of a long-standing relationship with developing countries
- China is promoting itself as an alternative to the West-led international order, analyst says
In addition to the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), the Chinese capital will be the backdrop for the China-Latin American and Caribbean Forum (China-CELAC).
During the 2021 China-CELAC forum, Beijing pledged to cooperate in areas including infrastructure, education, and green energy. Between 2000 and 2022, China had pledged more than US$170 billion in Chinese loans while CELAC countries had received US$130 billion.
Paul Nantulya, a China specialist at the National Defence University’s Africa Centre for Strategic Studies in Washington, said the summits were part of China’s efforts to counter the US-dominated international system.
“The two multilateral forums are part of a system of multilateral institutions that China built over the past two decades in an effort to construct an alternative international architecture alongside the current global order,” Nantulya said.