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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.
President Xi Jinping, right, shakes hands with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez during a meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on April 11, 2025. Photo: EPA-EFE
Diplomacy

Opinion | China’s multilateral pitch is finding an audience

Beijing’s push for global cooperation is clearly self-interested, but even US allies in the West can see the benefits of multilateralism.

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Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

China event asks if Apec’s rules can close growing AI gap between rich and poor

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The Philippines

Philippines stakes claim as Latin America’s gateway to Asean

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US-China relations

Exclusive | Waico vs Pax Silica: Southeast Asia caught between China and US in AI race

Beijing reportedly offers exclusive perks to attract Global South partners while describing the American-led body as exclusionary.

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Protesters march in Manila on August 13 against Pax Silica, a US-led initiative established in December with the aim of reducing “coercive dependencies”. Photo: AFP
China consumption

China’s economy cools amid debate about risks of global crisis

July data adds to signs of slowdown in China’s economy, while an ex-US trade representative argues that the nation’s over-reliance on exports poses global risks.

China-India relations

Open Dialogue | Nirupama Rao and Lin Minwang on the great India-China face-off

Experts debate the deep fault lines in bilateral ties – from the long-running border dispute to trust and competing narratives.

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Saudi Arabia

Russia’s role in Middle East politics endures, shifts to being ‘secondary power’

Two Russian military bases will remain in Syria as the region continues to recalibrate its relations with major powers amid the Iran war.

A Syrian rebel fighter stands at an inspection checkpoint for incoming vehicles before a Russian flag and Russian soldiers behind manning the entrance of the Russian-leased Syrian military base of Hmeimim in Latakia province in Syria in 2024. Photo: TNS
US-China relations

China urged to avoid ‘us or them’ split with US over AI governance

Both superpowers have set up their own international blocs, fuelling concerns that other countries will be forced to pick sides.

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China-India relations

Open Dialogue | Nirupama Rao, Lin Minwang on India-China fault lines

Ex-diplomat and academic cover nations’ border wars, appeal to Global South and India-US and China-Pakistan relations in candid dialogue.

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India

Can India and China rally Brics to ease Strait of Hormuz tensions?

Analysts say a unified Brics could support Oman-led talks for a resolution and provide an alternative to US diplomacy.

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Vessels transit the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas in southern Iran on Monday. Photo: AFP
China-India relations

Why Beijing struggles to win Indian hearts and minds despite diplomatic thaw

China should use bottom-up tactics to win over the Indian public and bolster its Global South sway, scholars write.

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Protesters destroy Chinese goods in Kolkata, India, on June 18, 2020, soon after the countries' militaries clashed on their border. Photo: AFP
US-China relations

In Focus | Race for UN top job enters final stage: choice may ‘make or break’ bloc

A strong, visionary leader is needed as next secretary general as Iran war rages during one of most ‘unpredictable times geopolitically’.

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China trade

Opinion | China’s exports feed the Global South’s industrial engines

Far from stifling development, China’s export portfolio indicates a positive-sum diffusion of industrial growth.

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Artificial intelligence

Editorial | US aims to dominate AI but China’s open-source approach is unstoppable

Washington’s fear of China’s rapid AI progress is evident in US officials trotting out tired accusations and threatening sanctions.

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People visit the Moonshot AI stand, featuring the Kimi K3 model, during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on July 18. Photo: AFP
Hong Kong economy

Editorial | Boosting trade with the Global South makes sense for Hong Kong

To help local and national firms go global, Hong Kong’s statutory trade office should foster links in regions with untapped opportunities.

A container ship sails through Hong Kong waters on April 2, 2025. Photo: AFP
Japan

Japan courts India, Malaysia to escape US-China AI duopoly

Fears over foreign software curbs have pushed Tokyo to pitch its own tech to Asian partners and others.

Artificial intelligence

Opinion | China’s AI vision gives the Global South a seat at the table

A new global AI body gives Beijing the platform to push for affordable access and technological autonomy, framing AI as a public good.

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Artificial intelligence

China, long seen as the world’s factory, is now building AI ‘token factories’

The surge in compute capacity underpins Beijing’s ambition to establish itself as a national ‘AI highland’.

Beijing aims to add 50,000 petaflops of intelligent computing power in the second half of 2026. Photo: Shutterstock Images
China economy

Opinion | China won’t waste its reserves to cushion oil price impact of Iran war

On the contrary, conserving strategic reserves and letting prices spike in the short term may bring long-term benefits.

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Science

China’s AI weather warning system Mazu expanding across Global South

The system has been designed to provide ‘tailored’ services that help developing countries better prepare for extreme weather events.

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Artificial intelligence

China AI summit hears Global South needs equal access to avoid digital divide

Delegates at the World AI Conference in Shanghai warn fragmentation risks isolating emerging markets and concentrating advanced computing in rich economies.

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The World AI Conference in Shanghai comes amid mounting concerns that a digital divide could exclude emerging markets from critical development opportunities. Photo: Xinhua
Artificial intelligence

Editorial | China’s vision for global AI governance is inclusive

The approach to AI development championed by President Xi at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference stands in contrast to the one adopted by the US.

President Xi Jinping delivers a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the 2026 World AI Conference in Shanghai on July 17. Photo: Xinhua
US-China relations

US-China AI rivalry becomes a battle to export competing tech governance visions

Will the world choose Washington’s market-driven approach or Beijing’s open-source model that aims to be accessible and safe?

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2026 Xi-Trump summits

Formal China-US G2 framework key to world peace: top Beijing adviser

Noted political scientist Zheng Yongnian argues that de facto ‘Group of Two’ structure has already emerged between the rival powers.

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India

Beyond payments: India aims to architect Indonesia’s digital future

A successful digital collaboration with Indonesia could elevate India into ‘a primary architect of its infrastructure’, analysts say.

A customer pays cash to buy vegetables next to a QR code of Paytm, a digital payments firm, on display at a roadside market in Ahmedabad, India, in February 2024. Photo: Reuters
European Union

Opinion | EU should think twice before weaponising its market against China

Market size and coercive leverage are not the same thing and the EU remains more dependent on China than policymakers think.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Universities in Hong Kong

Letters | Western-centric university rankings overlook Asia’s rise

Readers discuss the Centre for World University Rankings methodology, the plan for bigger flats in Northern Metropolis, and the Bangladeshi PM’s visit to China.

Artificial intelligence

The AI industrial revolution: why US faces a historic tech reckoning from China

From EVs to robotics, China’s advancement in cutting-edge tech has seen it shake off the West’s long-standing belief in US exceptionalism.

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