Is China winning the Global South?

US leaders say America needs to step up

Illustration of Xi Jinping and a Chinese dragon alongside a globe and latitude lines
Beijing aims to "make the world dependent on Chinese technology and supply chains"
(Image credit: Illustration by Stephen Kelly / Getty Images)

China is "forging ties in the Global South," said The Washington Post, making inroads with countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America whose leaders increasingly seek an "alternative to Western hegemony" led by America and Europe. Beijing has increased its joint military drills with countries like Tanzania and Mozambique, and has sought to expand the U.N. Security Council to include the developing world. It's all part of China's attempt to achieve "greater legitimacy on the global stage."

Those efforts are boosting China's standing. "In a lot of the capitals around the world," Stanford University's Oriana Skylar Mastro told the Post, "they're now thinking first of Beijing, and then of Washington." 

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Joel Mathis, The Week US

Joel Mathis is a writer with 30 years of newspaper and online journalism experience. His work also regularly appears in National Geographic and The Kansas City Star. His awards include best online commentary at the Online News Association and (twice) at the City and Regional Magazine Association.