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Opinion | US should join China in building a better Global South, not hinder it
- Through the Belt and Road Initiative and trade, China is contributing to the development of the Global South, and winning hearts and minds as a result
- US efforts to counter and contain China’s influence, on the other hand, are anachronistic, misguided and the product of a Cold War mentality
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US President Joe Biden was at it again recently when he accused China of leaving its partners “dead in the noose” on its Belt and Road Initiative. Nowadays, his administration is at pains to counter China’s influence in the developing world.
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It has launched and relaunched an infrastructure funding plan for developing countries, now called the Global Investment and Infrastructure Partnership, rejoined Unesco, the UN’s heritage body, and is pushing regional economic initiatives such as the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework while boosting its military presence on the South Pacific Islands.
The Biden administration’s campaign to undercut China’s influence has a historic parallel. To contain the Soviet Union after the second world war, the US left no stone unturned in its quest for influence, employing means ranging from diplomacy and economic help to psychological warfare and military power.
But China differs from the Soviet Union in some fundamental aspects.
First, unlike the Soviet Union, China is not interested in exporting its ideology. Instead, China devotes itself to building a shared future for mankind, envisaging a world where all countries and peoples live in peace and prosperity.
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Second, the Soviet Union was as interested in expanding its sphere of influence as the US and even supported its allies in proxy wars against America. In contrast, China’s engagement with other developing countries is concentrated in the economic and commercial fields.
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