A train on the China-Laos Railway crosses a river in Pu'er, Southwest China's Yunnan Province, on July 17, 2021. Photo: VCG
In its global scientific collaborations, especially with Global South, China consistently maintains a people-centered approach that prioritizes solving urgent global challenges. One key distinction between China's approach and that of the Global North in engaging with Global South countries lies in the former's emphasis on "strategic patience." Unlike the short-term orientation often driven by cost-benefit calculations, China adopts a longer-term perspective.
A compelling example is the Boten-Vientiane railway in Laos, the Lao section of the China-Laos Railway, a project that would have been unfeasible from a short-term investment standpoint, given that its construction accounted for a significant share of Laos' GDP. Western private firms would have little interest in financing infrastructure projects that anticipate future demand but deliver financial returns only over the long term.
Chinese cooperation, by contrast, focuses on building productive capacity in developing countries, aiming to cultivate stronger, mutually beneficial partnerships over time. Brazil's experience offers illustrative examples. The China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite (CBERS) program, launched in 1988, continues to yield positive results, with the recent development of the CBERS-6 satellite sharing data with other South American countries. Similarly, the Brazil-China partnership in the development, testing, and production of the CoronaVac vaccine played a vital role in combating the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil and across South America.
China's efforts go beyond delivering projects, such as improving seed quality, promoting advanced agricultural techniques in countries still struggling with hunger, and developing telecommunications infrastructure and 5G networks. These contributions are indisputable. However, the country's more profound impact lies in its role in reshaping the paradigm of development financing. China-proposed initiatives such as the Belt and Road Initiative, the New Development Bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and the Global Development Initiative have reaffirmed the universal right to development for all nations.
Under China's influence, multilateral institutions such as the World Bank and Regional Development Banks have resumed offering lines of credit aimed at boosting productive capacity in the Global South—a practice that had largely ceased with the ascendancy of neoliberalism in the late 1970s. This shift empowers nations to confront their unique challenges, fostering self-reliance and sustainable growth.
China's commitment to multilateral frameworks further distinguishes its model of South-South cooperation. China's cooperation through multilateral platforms such as UN development agencies, BRICS mechanisms, and the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, facilitates project implementation, such as the FAO-China-Uganda South-South Cooperation Project, which improves agricultural yields and reduces poverty through shared technological expertise.
Multilateral cooperation has proven more effective than the traditional aid model pursued by wealthy countries since World War II. The latter often relied on the unilateral transfer of closed technology packages—so-called "black boxes"—which provided limited opportunities for learning among local communities receiving aid. This approach resulted in increased technological dependence, a reliance on imports of high-value-added goods, persistent balance-of-payments deficits, unsustainable debt levels, and the deepening of structural underdevelopment.
In contrast, collaboration among countries facing similar challenges, at varying stages of development, and drawing from a broad range of empirical experiences has yielded more meaningful results. A case in point is the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty, launched at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro in 2024. Having eradicated extreme poverty in 2021 and achieved its first Centennial Goal, China has gained deep expertise in public policy and poverty alleviation.
Today, every country is grappling with the consequences of climate change. While promoting changes in global consumption habits is essential, it is equally important to advance technologies that can mitigate environmental damage and support adaptation to a changing climate. This transition offers another lens through which to view China's contributions. China's "Great Green Wall" initiative to combat desertification has become a global model for climate resilience.
China also leads in developing clean energy technologies, such as solar panels and wind turbine components. These innovations have positioned the country as a global frontrunner in green energy generation, from building extensive solar farms in desert regions to deploying offshore wind projects. China's ability to provide affordable, reliable, and high-performance equipment is enabling other countries to expand their own renewable energy sectors.
In Brazil's case, much of the progress achieved over the past decade would not have been economically feasible without access to Chinese technology and investment. China empowers developing nations to tackle energy challenges while advancing global climate goals.
China's leadership in open science initiatives, through initiatives like the International Open Science Cooperation Initiative co-launched with Brazil, South Africa, and the African Union, challenges the monopolization of key technologies by a handful of nations.
The initiative serves as a critical counterpoint to the neo-mercantilist approach adopted by the US. One example is the US CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, which introduced restrictions on collaboration between American and Chinese scientists in the field of advanced semiconductors. Historical evidence suggests that such barriers have been largely ineffective in halting the global spread of technical knowledge.
Meanwhile, recent global developments suggest an accelerated erosion of the foundational principles established in 1945 with the creation of the United Nations. The US is increasingly pursuing unilateral and self-centered positions, operating under the belief that the interests of its own people must be protected at the expense of others.
This zero-sum outlook—where social life is framed as a binary opposition between winners and losers—is deeply rooted in Western thought. It stands in contrast to the dialectical perspective prevalent in East Asian thought emphasizes balance and mutual reinforcement, as seen in the principle of shared gain.
Today, humanity faces global challenges, such as hunger, climate change, migration, terrorism, and pandemics, that transcend borders. Addressing these issues demands enhanced political, economic, and technological cooperation, not only among equals through South-South mechanisms but also between the Global North and the Global South. A community with a shared future for mankind must recognize each nation's unique contributions and harness their strengths for the collective good.
The author is a professor at the Department of Political and Economic Sciences, São Paulo State University in Brazil
Professor Livre-Docente de Economia Política Internacional. Doutor pela FFLCH-USP. Pesquisador das Relações Brasil-China e do Instituto Nacional de Estudos Sobre Estados Unidos (INCT-INEU). Cocoordenador do Latino Observatory. Colunista do jornal China Daily, de Pequim.
