JOHANNESBURG, Nov. 23 — By convening on African soil for the first time, the 20th Group of 20 (G20) Summit sends an unmistakable signal: the Global South is no longer content with being a passive rule-taker. It is stepping forward as a collective force to improve global governance and drive development.
Accounting for around 85 percent of global GDP and two-thirds of the world’s population, the G20 remains a primary platform for global governance. This year’s G20 South Africa Summit’s Leaders’ Declaration underscores that multilateral cooperation is essential to tackling global challenges, and it calls for stronger support for developing countries to advance inclusive growth and sustainable development.
Such calls come at a time when unilateralism, protectionism and geopolitical tensions are reshaping the international landscape, global economic recovery is fragile, development gaps continue to widen, and institutions meant to safeguard multilateral cooperation, including the United Nations, are under strain. These pressures have laid bare a deepening governance deficit that the Global South is increasingly unwilling to accept as the status quo.
In the meantime, the rise of emerging markets and developing countries has sharpened awareness across the Global South that the existing global governance system neither fully reflects their interests nor adequately represents their voice.
Against this backdrop, the two-day summit, themed “Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability,” takes on heightened significance. Global South countries made clear their expectation that all parties should uphold multilateralism, bridge the North-South development divide, and work toward a more inclusive and equitable global development framework — one capable of bringing greater stability to an uncertain world.
China’s actions reflect this broader shift. As an important member of the G20 and the largest developing country in the world, China, in September, proposed the Global Governance Initiative, which rests on five core principles: upholding sovereign equality, adhering to the international rule of law, practicing multilateralism, advocating a people-centered approach, and prioritizing concrete actions. The initiative has received widespread recognition, with many highlighting China’s constructive role in providing global public goods and advancing fairer global governance.
China-Africa cooperation illustrates how Global South partnerships can translate shared priorities into tangible development gains. Grounded in the development realities of African countries, this cooperation has strengthened their capacity-building efforts and drawn greater attention to Africa’s long-neglected development agenda. It has also helped amplify the collective influence of the Global South in global governance reform.
Meanwhile, China and Africa have worked together to advance the building of a fairer and more equitable international order and to voice the aspirations of Global South countries on the world stage, enabling the Global South to play an increasingly important role in the ongoing transformation of global governance.
Global governance is at a new historic turning point, and the need for multilateral cooperation and shared development has never been greater. As major forces of the Global South, China, Africa, and other developing countries should continue working together, uphold fairness and justice, and advance practical cooperation to help steer global governance toward a more just and equitable system. Namibia Daily News / Xinhua
