Confidence boost

China has provided a viable alternative to the West’s path of modernization and development for African countries

By CHARLES ONUNAJU 

LI MIN/CHINA DAILY

Multipolarity as the emerging structure of contemporary international relation is shaped by the objective historical course from which emerging economies and countries in the Global South are translating their sovereignty to independent course of action and seeking inclusion and participation in devising and shaping global agenda. The rise of the countries in the Global South is giving impetus to the emerging trend of multilateralism as the central theme in global governance and consequently, institutionalizing the structural framework of multipolarity as the compelling praxis for global affairs.

In contemporary times and even with the emerging trend of multipolarity, it is still imperative for emerging economies and countries of the Global South to deliberately construct and promote the requisite guardrails to enhance and support the tendency of multipolarity and multilateralism.

China’s development has had a decisive impact on the global stage and created a wave of unprecedented confidence among the countries of the Global South that development and modernization are possible within the framework of their respective national initiatives and endeavors.

Prior to the emergence of China, modernization and development were mostly seen as the prerogatives of advanced Western capitalist economies, along with Japan, and therefore, any modernization and development endeavor must proceed along the paths already taken by the West or at least be guided by them.

Consequently, most of the national initiatives of countries in Africa were largely limited to explorations of Western models, with the support of Western institutions and personnel.

But the compelling failure of the economic package of the “Washington Consensus” created doubts among many countries of the Global South. The meteoric development of a non-Western power and the peaceful and stable trajectory of the rise of China created and supported the groundswell of the opinion that development and modernization should be within the context of indigenous and local initiatives and efforts. This has solidified into a confident path for development and modernization. China, having blazed the trail for a non-Western development and modernization paradigm that is shaped by its own realities, has placed its experiences in the public space.

Not only has China demonstrated the responsibility of a major power by sharing its experience through diverse international platforms, but it has also made tangible contributions to the modernization and development of the countries of the Global South by creating public goods. Over the past more than 10 years, the Belt and Road Initiative, a framework for international cooperation spanning infrastructure construction, financial integration, policy alignment and people-to-people communication, is widely recognized as one of the greatest international public goods. The connectivity of infrastructure, within and across countries and spanning several regions across the world has been a practical spur for modernization and development.

In Africa, the BRI has supported the closing of the connectivity gaps within the region and provided impetus for the construction of the economies of scale through the current framework of the African Continental Free Trade Area, one of the world’s largest free trade areas.

It is a year since the historic document of the China-Africa Dar es Salaam Consensus was published. It was the culmination of the scholarly endeavors of China-Africa think tanks to offer clarifications, promote innovative paradigms and generate fresh momentum for the trajectory of China-Africa cooperation.

Think tanks in China and Africa have now been integrated in the follow-up mechanism of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, a multilateral framework that drive relations between China and Africa.

China’s other important initiatives, such as the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative, have also resonated strongly across the Global South, aligning seamlessly with their aspirations for an inclusive, multipolar global order, where experience sharing, extensive consultations, joint contributions and broadly shared benefits are the norms.

The inclusive security framework, in contrast to the inward-looking alliances and blocs and “small yards with high fences” created by the United States, has brought home the reality that all humanity shares a common responsibility to establish a community with a shared future.

With a solid cooperation framework that has withstood the test of time, China, Africa and the G20 can play more decisive roles in safeguarding the multilateral system and preserving the multipolar world order, especially with the rise of extreme right-wing nationalism in major countries of the Global North, especially the US and countries in Western Europe.

With the recognition of experience that trade and investments are credible engines for development and even the oxygen to sustain it, China and Africa must play constructive roles to preserve the international trade system and contribute significantly to the pushback against the politically motivated use and abuse of tariffs especially by the new US administration.

Expanding trade through the use of local currencies and other innovative methods would take the steam out of the US-initiated tariff wars and expose the US administration for its historical absurdity and the futility of its attempts to obstruct the wheel of history.

Strengthening emerging international institutions such as the New Development Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization that seek to complement the older institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund should be vigorously pursued as crucial guardrails to safeguard multipolarityand guarantee the multilateral system, featuring open and constructive dialogue.

The considerable international profile of China-Africa cooperation as an all-weather community with a shared future for the new era means they are uniquely positioned to carry forward their cooperation model as an example of international cooperation characterized by the outcomes of tangible and real results.

The effective follow-up mechanism for China-Africa cooperation, which leaves no room for complacency, serves as a guarantee for pragmatic progress.

The framework of sustainable dialogue and mutual respect in China-Africa cooperation are essential prerequisites for its sustainability.

The basic understanding of the Global South for the centrality of the United Nations system and for international law as the foundation for civilized international relations should be boldly strengthened, especially as countries in the Global North make revisionist retreats from these core pillars of the international system.

The whole range of issues that mankind has to grapple with, ranging from climate issues to disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing need a lot of exertions to minimize their risk and broadly share their benefits. An insular global order riddled with inward-looking nationalism has dangerous prospects, as it has the potential to instigate clashes among civilizations and derailing from the benefits from the advances in science and technology.

China and Africa can play pivotal roles in ensuring that the pillars of multipolarity are firm and strong enough to withstand the shock of emerging revisionism and atavistic nostalgia, now on display in most of the Global North.

The author is director of the Center for China Studies, Nigeria. The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily.

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