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Global South

Global South
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Global South. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
Illustration: Craig Stephens
Diplomacy

Opinion | The 21st-century order has outgrown 20th-century institutions

Despite international tensions, countries still seek cooperation based on shared interests. Institutions must embrace this trend.

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Lunar New Year

Letters | As we celebrate the Lunar New Year, let’s ensure we do better by horses

India

India AI summit aims to shift focus from model races to scaled reality

Japan

Opinion | Takaichi’s anti-China stance won’t bolster Japan’s security

As the US-led order unravels, the Japanese prime minister’s militaristic approach goes against the global shift towards cooperation with China.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Mainland China

As I see it | Outside its few red lines, China is the ultimate win-win country

While China has red lines regarding Taiwan, Communist Party rule and national unity, everything else is negotiable.

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China-India relations

China and India seek reset in talks, but old fault lines remain

Beijing stresses partnership and multilateralism; New Delhi underscores border stability, caution and gradual steps after years of strain.

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India

India’s trade blitz seeks to keep afloat a sinking global order

‘Jolted out of its slumber’ by US tariffs, New Delhi is aggressively diversifying trade alliances to act as a bridge in a polarised world.

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (centre) with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (right) and European Council President Antonio Costa at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on January 27. Photo: European Council/dpa
Artificial intelligence

Opinion | How ‘ghost workers’ stand at the crossroads of AI development

The future of artificial intelligence depends not only on algorithms but on who controls and benefits from the labour that machines rely on.

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US-China relations

Opinion | Beijing must be clear-eyed about its national interests abroad

As the US disrupts international norms, China should reconsider its place in the world system to protect its overseas investments.

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Trade

Opinion | The India-EU trade pact is a rebuke of US economic coercion

Beyond trade liberalisation, the partnership will weaken Washington’s ability to use tariffs as leverage and dictate the rules of global economic engagement.

From the left, European Council President Antonio Costa, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen raise their joined hands at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on January 27. Photo: Handout via dpa
US-China relations

Opinion | How the world can design a new trade architecture

Even as the US overhauls world trade norms, China’s quiet but influential role in redefining globalisation is impossible to ignore.

Cargo containers are stacked on a ship at the Port of Los Angeles in Los Angeles, on October 15, 2025. Photo: EPA
China economy

Opinion | How a rising China is becoming a provider of global public goods

When China provides the hi-tech, low-cost hardware of development and multilateral banks provide regulatory oversight, the Global South wins.

Indonesia

Peace or chaos? Indonesia’s participation in Trump-led board stirs debate

Critics say the decision runs contrary to Jakarta’s support for Palestine and decades-old foreign policy strategy of multilateralism.

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Indonesia

‘Resilience’ is Indonesia’s new foreign policy buzzword, but is it just rhetoric?

Analysts warn the vague concept lacks a long-term strategy and risks Jakarta drifting from its non-aligned values into transactional deals.

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Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto (left) meets UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets in 10 Downing Street on Tuesday. Photo: dpa
China-Latin America relations

Xi, Lula stress UN’s value in call as US actions unsettle regional diplomacy

China reaffirms commitment to international law, negotiated diplomacy in region, while Brazil eases visa requirements for Chinese nationals.

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Presidents Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Xi Jinping after a signing ceremony and a joint press conference, in Beijing in May, 2025. Photo: AFP
Diplomacy

Opinion | Why so many states reject bloc rivalry to choose partnership with China

It’s a calculated choice to keep growth, infrastructure momentum and policy space alive in a world that punishes the economically exposed.

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European Union

Opinion | In the tech race, Europe can choose a path that sidesteps US-China rivalry

To avoid technological marginalisation, Europe can play to its strengths by focusing on deployment standards instead of the US-China rivalry.

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Brics

Could the Iran crisis push Global South blocs to deepen security ties?

A lack of response from the SCO and Brics could have a negative impact on the groups – but the crisis could also bring them closer.

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US President Donald Trump has threatened “very strong action” if Iranian authorities begin executing anti-government protesters. Photo: AFP
China trade

China pledges green-energy push with Global South, signals wider market opening

Sixth entry in Communist Party mouthpiece’s editorial series calls domestic market ‘world’s rarest resource’, vows supply-chain support to aid industrialisation.

US-Venezuela conflict

The US, Venezuela and why China is even less keen on talk of a G2

Beijing may seize on growing distrust of Washington and pitch itself to Global South as the more stable power, observers say.

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Donald Trump

US’ Asian allies reluctant to slam Trump’s ‘cowboy tactics’ against Venezuela

These countries fear the consequences of criticising the US, particularly given Trump’s willingness to use the tariff threat in trade talks.

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Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in handcuffs after landing at a helipad in New York, escorted by US federal agents on Monday. Photo: TNS
Climate change

Opinion | How China quietly became the world’s climate policy leader

For better or worse, the future of climate action will be shaped as much by Beijing’s relentless pragmatism as by Western ideals.

Wind turbines are seen in Suichuan county, Jiangxi province, on July 17, 2025. Photo: AFP
Diplomacy

Letters | China’s Latin America policy paper speaks language of multipolarity

Readers discuss why Beijing’s outreach to the region should not be seen as a challenge to Washington, the HK$2 subsidised transport fare for the elderly, and Hong Kong’s New Year countdown.

China’s soft power

From Labubu to blockbuster films, was 2025 the year of China’s soft power?

Chinese lifestyle brands and other cultural exports proved to be a hit around the world this year, here are some of our most notable stories.

European Union

Opinion | As Doha Forum made clear, Europe is losing its seat at the table

Consumed by Ukraine, the EU has effectively retreated from global engagement. An urgent foreign policy recalibration is needed.

Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani speaks on the first day of the 23rd edition of the annual Doha Forum in Qatar on December 6. Photo: Reuters
US-China relations

Beyond bipolar: why China-US rivalry defies the Cold War model

Chinese scholar Wang Jisi warns that current world order with ‘two superpowers and many strong powers’ faces growing risk of conflict.

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“I do think the United States has an attitude towards China, but it also has strategies towards China,” says Peking University scholar Wang Jisi, seen here at a talk in Beijing in January. Photo: Handout
China technology

Opinion | Why the Global South is embracing Chinese AI

The US champions AI as an autonomous agent, a content creator. China exports a vision of AI as a digital nervous system for the real economy.

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Africa

Opinion | How China can help Africa build human capital

To truly harness their potential, countries across the continent seeking to industrialise must develop education and infrastructure in tandem.

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