China News Service, Beijing, September 8. Title: Dialogue between Chinese and Latin American scholars: As geopolitical competition heats up, why can the global South persist in peaceful development?
China News Service reporter Wang Ying
Since the beginning of this year, from the US military action against Venezuela to the postponement of the US-Israel war, geopolitical risks in the international situation have continued to rise. When security, interests and competition occupy more positions on the international agenda, will the economic growth and social stability that the majority of developing countries care about be affected? In the face of camp confrontation, rising unilateralism and protectionism, how can countries in the Global South safeguard their right to development and strategic independence?
Recently, China News Service's "East-West Question" invited Xu Tianqi, an associate researcher at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China, to have a dialogue with Micaela Ovelar, a professor and researcher at the Bolivarian University of Venezuela. They said that with the current international power balance and the accelerated adjustment of the world structure, how to avoid being coerced by geopolitical games has become a new challenge for countries in the Global South. At the same time, South-South cooperation continues to deepen, providing more options for Latin American countries to expand international cooperation space and explore development paths that suit their own national conditions.
A summary of the conversation is as follows:
Reporter from China News Service: Currently, geopolitical competition is heating up. Is the world entering an "era of instability"? What impact does this have on the realization of the right to peaceful development of all countries?
Xu Tianqi: The current world is indeed facing many difficulties. As early as 2020, China made the judgment that "the world has entered a period of turbulent change." In the context of the changing international balance of power, the world structure is adjusting at an accelerated pace, and the competition between traditional powers and emerging powers has become more prominent.
Western powers, which once held global dominance for a long time, now find it difficult to accept the reality that many emerging powers, represented by China, Brazil, India, etc., are "coming together". Since Trump's second term, the United States has rarely mentioned the so-called "rules-based international order" and instead attempted to reshape a global order that can continue to maintain its hegemony and dominance, creating a lot of turmoil and crises in the world.
Overard: The current turmoil in the international situation is related to the implementation of the "New Monroe Doctrine" by the United States. The so-called "Make America Great Again" promoted by the United States is essentially to establish a new hegemonic order through power and bullying, which not only violates international law and human rights, but also harms world peace.
Facing the severe situation, countries in the Global South need solidarity and mutual assistance more than ever. From Latin America to Asia, Eurasia and Africa, countries in the Global South must deepen horizontal linkage and safeguard their legitimate rights and interests and development space in a complex geopolitical environment.
Reporter from China News Service: Historically, geopolitics has often emphasized competition between countries, spheres of influence, and balance of power. But the main contradictions of many developing countries today are economic growth, poverty reduction and social stability. How to understand the contradiction between geopolitical competition and peaceful development?
Overard: This tension reflects two very different political views. For the Global South, it first needs to clearly understand its own historical positioning and subject identity. Throughout history, southern countries have long been in a struggle against oppression and hegemony. At present, countries in the Global South should rely on multilateralism and international law to explore development paths that suit their own national conditions, and regard development and poverty reduction as their core demands.
Xu Tianqi: Historical experience shows that once geopolitical games evolve into camp confrontation or even armed conflict, the countries and people involved will often pay a heavy price. In the First World War, dozens of countries participated in the war, and the war spread to Europe, Asia, Africa and other regions; in the Second World War, more than 80 countries and regions and about 2 billion people were involved in the war, accounting for about 80% of the world's population at that time.
Whether it is the current crisis in Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East, or the sanctions and economic restrictions faced by Venezuela, Cuba and other countries, they have affected the economic development and people's lives of the relevant countries to varying degrees.
Reporter from China News Service: Have the United States’ sanctions, diplomatic pressure and other measures against Venezuela in recent years affected Latin American countries’ pursuit of their own development and strategic independence?
Overal: For a long time, the United States has regarded Latin America as its "backyard." The Trump administration forcibly controls Venezuelan President Maduro and interferes in Venezuela's internal affairs; it attempts to control and plunder oil and mineral resources, undermining the political and economic stability of Venezuela and the entire region. The Trump administration claimed that its intervention would bring peace, stability and economic reconstruction to Venezuela, but this goal has not been achieved.
Xu Tianqi: The cooperation strategy between the United States and Latin America is essentially a “grabbing” model. Atlantic Council data shows that from 2020 to 2025, U.S. investment in Latin America and the Caribbean averaged approximately US$32.9 billion annually. But the premise is that Latin America is required to provide minerals, crude oil, natural gas and other resources and cheap labor, and to unconditionally cooperate with the United States in preventing illegal immigration and combating drug smuggling. In fact, this "cooperation model" is an interference in other countries' strategic autonomy.
China News Service reporter: Some countries tend to safeguard their own interests through camp confrontation, military alliances and other means, and may also achieve short-term strategic goals. Why does China still advocate the concept of peaceful development? How to understand the significance of peaceful development in solving the current geopolitical dilemma?
Xu Tianqi: The four major global initiatives proposed by China reflect global governance concepts that are different from traditional Western geopolitical thinking. Some Western countries safeguard their own interests by forming alliance systems and intensifying camp confrontation, selectively protecting the rights of some people while infringing on the rights of others. This is essentially the logic of confrontation and deviates from the universal principle of human rights.
China advocates giving priority to the realization of the rights to survival and development, safeguarding the right to peace, and emphasizes that people's happy life is the greatest human right. China refuses to use the outdated geo-game mentality to divide the world and advocates universal security and common prosperity.
Overard: The cooperation promoted by China in Latin America and around the world is opening up a new path for world peace and development. This kind of cooperation not only covers economy, trade and science and technology, but also concerns the protection of human rights and general welfare. On the other hand, some superpowers, relying on military power and economic coercion, frequently impose unilateral sanctions and even military intervention, seriously trampling on international law and human rights.
The world is currently in a critical period of transition between the old and the new order. On one side is a rising force that advocates win-win cooperation and promotes peaceful development, while on the other side is a declining force that clings to hegemony and relies on intimidation and power to maintain its status. History will eventually prove that peaceful development is the unstoppable trend of the times.
China News Service reporter: In recent years, China has continued to expand cooperation with Latin American countries. Some people believe that China's strengthening of cooperation with Latin America is part of the geopolitical competition among major powers. What do you think?
Overard: Simply defining China-Latin America cooperation as "geopolitical competition" is extremely biased. The United States regards normal cooperation between China and Latin America as a so-called "threat" to its hegemony and attempts to forcibly block the connections between Latin American countries and China. The core of South-South cooperation advocated by China is respect for sovereignty, mutual benefit and common development, which provides new options for Latin American countries to expand international cooperation space.
For Venezuela and other Latin American countries, China's development experience has certain reference significance. We hope to combine our own national conditions, history and culture, absorb the development experience of other countries, and explore a modernization path suitable for our country.
Xu Tianqi: Over the past two decades, economic and trade cooperation between China and Latin America has continued to deepen. In 2024, China-Latin America trade volume will exceed US$500 billion for the first time, more than 40 times that at the beginning of this century. China and Latin America have continued to deepen practical cooperation in trade, investment, finance, science and technology, infrastructure construction and other fields, demonstrating strong economic complementarity and cooperation resilience.
A study released by the Pew Research Center in the United States in July showed that in the six Latin American countries it surveyed, people had a slightly more positive view of China than the United States; in addition, respondents were more likely to believe that the United States interferes in other countries' internal affairs. This reflects that as the development needs of Latin American countries and the international environment change, regional people's understanding of different development models and international partners is changing. Latin American countries urgently need sincere partners who can bring real development dividends and respect their independence and sovereignty, rather than hegemonic countries. (End)
Interviewee profile:
Xu Tianqi, deputy director of the Country Research Department, Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China. Engaged in Latin American studies and U.S. Western Hemisphere policy. He has published dozens of research and commentary articles in journals and newspapers such as Latin American Studies, Human Rights, People's Daily, China Daily, South China Morning Post, and Ming Pao.
Micaela Ovelar is a professor and researcher at the Political Economics Research Center of the Bolivarian University of Venezuela (CEEP/UBV), and a political economics research scholar.
