There was a message in China’s focus on developing countries at the annual UN General Assembly leaders’ meeting last week.
According to observers, China is eyeing greater support from the developing world as it faces increasing isolation from the West, while also seeking to position itself as an important player in the global order.
China made clear its support for developing nations in a position paper released for the 79th session of the General Assembly, a gathering of top officials from around the world that wrapped up in New York on Monday.
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The position paper called on the international community to address challenges faced by emerging economies and stressed the need to give developing nations a greater voice and representation, including through changes to the United Nations, which Beijing has long urged.
“China advocates an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalisation. It believes in equality between countries big or small, and opposes hegemonism and power politics,” the paper said.
“China holds that countries, regardless of size and strength, should be enabled to take part in decision-making, enjoy their rights and play their roles as equals in the process toward multipolarity.”
The five-point paper also described China as a member of the “Global South”, saying that it “always stands with all countries of the South through thick and thin”.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi doubled down on Beijing’s positions in his address at the UN general debate on Saturday, saying countries needed to share development opportunities and push for inclusive globalisation.
“All countries, regardless of their size and strength, are equal members of the international community. International affairs should be handled through consultation by all countries,” Wang said, while also calling for the interests of developing nations to be protected.
China’s stance at the UN General Assembly is seen by some observers as part of its attempts to “break the power hierarchy that dominates multilateral bodies”. Photo: AFP alt=China’s stance at the UN General Assembly is seen by some observers as part of its attempts to “break the power hierarchy that dominates multilateral bodies”. Photo: AFP>
Amitendu Palit, senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Institute of South Asian Studies, said China’s stance at the UN General Assembly – and its pronounced support for developing countries – were in line with Beijing’s attempts to “break the power hierarchy that dominates multilateral bodies”.
China has in recent years sought to portray itself as a champion and leader of the developing world, challenging the Western-led order. It has also joined a chorus of global voices calling for change in institutions like the UN to give a greater say to developing nations.
“In this regard, it needs to work with the developing countries,” Palit said, though he suggested that reform of UN institutions would be “difficult”.
“China needs to propose an effective alternative for achieving its objectives that will have the support of developing countries.”
According to Courtney Fung, a non-resident fellow with Asia Society Australia, China has three objectives at the UN General Assembly: “to ensure developing countries accept China as a peer; to recast Beijing’s positions on human rights, development and security as standard fare and not deviant; and [to show] China’s policy approaches are more effective than those of the United States”.
Some developing countries, she said, may hold similar positions to China and would allow Beijing to point to its own like-minded cohort.
But Beijing’s rhetoric towards the developing world would be weighed against its actual policy efforts, including its respect for the interests of smaller states.
As an example, Fung cited China’s repeated reference to “legitimate security concerns” in the context of the Ukraine war. She said this could be “interpreted as a comment towards ‘might makes right’, which is problematic for states that need rules to protect their sovereignty”.
Stefanie Kam, an assistant professor at Nanyang Technological University’s Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, also said China’s support for developing nations could be seen in the context of its efforts to be an “important player in the global order”.
In doing so, Beijing needs to reassure the world of its peaceful rise, advocate for the Global South, and support developing countries in its dual identity as a rising power and a global “peer competitor” to the US, according to Kam.
“Along with China’s global rise and its increasing global footprint, China also recognises the need to proactively address a range of challenges beyond its borders, as evident in its contributions to UN peacekeeping missions, to reflect its role as a responsible global power,” she said.
“Beijing has been actively courting the developing world by advocating for and championing the interests of developing economies. This sits well with Beijing’s desire to provide a more favourable alternative to the US-led liberal order.”
Kam suggested that China’s support for developing economies would likely be followed with “economic inducements” – including through frameworks like the Belt and Road Initiative and other diplomatic engagements – especially as Beijing faces increasing isolation from the West.
These could allow China to “co-opt countries and cultivate strategic allies in the developing world through comprehensive partnerships and mechanisms to advance its overall foreign policy objectives”, she said.
Wang Yiwei, a professor of international relations at Renmin University of China, said that while many developing countries had shown support for China on issues involving human rights and Taiwan, that was not the reason behind Beijing’s support for the developing world.
He stressed that China, as the world’s largest developing country and one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council, had the responsibility to call for reforms and shape the international order into one that was “fair and reasonable”.
“[Developing countries] are not sufficiently represented, they don’t have enough say. Who will speak for them or speak from their perspective?”
This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP’s Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
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