Resolution 2758 a pillar for Global South cooperation

This year marks the 55th anniversary of the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758, a pivotal milestone that made the one-China principle a fundamental norm governing international relations and a broad consensus of the international community. This landmark achievement has significantly enhanced China's engagement in UN affairs, thereby amplifying the voice and influence of developing nations.

The adoption of the resolution highlights the interplay of shifting global power dynamics, coordination among UN members, and multilateral institutional processes, and is a historical reference for collective action by the Global South today.

The current cooperation among Global South countries on development reflects their growing ability to engage in international affairs. This progress is supported by the representation and consultation channels provided by international institutions, and by sustained economic and social development and collective action.

Despite differences, these countries share common concerns in development financing, trade opportunities, technology access, and representation in international bodies. Collaboration with China enhances local development and global governance, strengthening their influence through institution building and international discourse.

Trade cooperation underscores deep economic ties, with South-South trade reaching $7.2 trillion in 2025, accounting for 28 percent of total global goods trade. China's vast market, comprehensive manufacturing system, and supply chain linkages offer developing countries access to industrial goods, production means and market opportunities. As cooperation deepens, these trade relationships are poised to enhance export diversification, industrial upgrading, and value-added growth.

The Belt and Road Initiative enhances transport, energy supply and information connectivity for participating countries. By integrating infrastructure development with industrial ecosystems, operations, maintenance, and talent training, the benefits extend beyond projects to include business operations, job creation, and regional economic linkages, transforming connectivity into local development capacity.

Cooperation in public health and food security has bolstered development resilience, evolving from emergency support to technical collaboration and capacity building. Additionally, partnerships in green energy, climate adaptation, and digital infrastructure have helped developing countries enhance energy supply, improve information connectivity and expand digital economy applications.

Industrial and trade collaboration can enable countries to integrate into regional and global value chains. Infrastructure development enhances long-term performance. Additionally, cooperation in public health and agricultural technology strengthens the ability to address health risks and improve livelihoods.

China's public goods initiatives offer comprehensive frameworks for global development. The Global Development Initiative supports the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, while the Global Security Initiative promotes dialogue and consultation to address security challenges.

The Global Civilization Initiative emphasizes respect for diverse cultures and international exchanges, and the Global Governance Initiative advocates for sovereign equality, international rule of law, multilateralism, and better representation for developing countries. These initiatives provide guiding principles and frameworks for discussion, with specific projects serving as vehicles, creating a mutually reinforcing dynamic.

Resolution 2758 demonstrates that developing countries can enhance their role in international affairs by using multilateral mechanisms to express positions and coordinate demands. Today, through collective action, Global South nations can transform shared development concerns into consistent policy coordination and institutional participation.

Developing countries leverage regional cooperation, South-South mechanisms, and multilateral platforms such as the UN, Group of 77 and BRICS to transform their development demands into policy proposals, facilitating policy exchanges, position coordination, and participation in global governance.

China engages deeply in global development governance through a three-stage mechanism: expanding opportunities, building capacity, and fostering institutional participation. This approach enables developing countries to participate more broadly in global economic activities. By focusing on talent training, technology application, industrial ecosystems, and public governance capacity building, external cooperation can be effectively translated into local development outcomes.

Ultimately, developing countries seek to enhance their international influence by proposing policies, participating in agenda setting, influencing rule discussions, and including legitimate concerns and stakeholders in international decision-making. On issues such as development financing, food security, climate change, and digital governance, strengthening South-South cooperation and multilateral coordination boosts their participation and encourages the international community to better address diverse development needs.

As developing countries enhance their development capacity, they gain practical experience and expertise to engage more effectively in global governance discussions. Through regional cooperation, South-South mechanisms and multilateral platforms, they can strengthen information exchange, coordinate policy positions, and unify diverse development demands into common policy propositions. This synergy between development capacity and collective action forms a crucial foundation for the Global South to bolster its international influence.

China's practice demonstrates that trade cooperation, infrastructure development, public health and food security support, knowledge sharing, and green and digital collaboration can enhance development foundations and create opportunities for developing countries by fostering self-reliance.

Moving forward, it's crucial to align development needs with cooperation projects by integrating resources, technology, and talent support. Improving mechanisms for project implementation, operation, maintenance, and performance evaluation is essential. Promoting policy exchange and coordinating positions among developing countries through multilateral platforms will further these goals. Respecting the needs of countries, supporting their role as primary actors in cooperation, and enhancing local capacity building and sustainability of outcomes are also vital.

Development-oriented practices, grounded in cooperation and supported by multilateral coordination, are expected to enhance the inclusiveness of global governance and boost the representation of developing countries.

The author is the executive dean of the Country and Area Studies Academy at Beijing Foreign Studies University, dean of the BFSU-SOAS Joint Institute and a board member of the UN Association of China.

The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

If you have a specific expertise, or would like to share your thought about our stories, then send us your writings at opinion@chinadaily.com.cn, and comment@chinadaily.com.cn.