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Global South

Global South
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Global South. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto addresses the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September 2025. Photo: Xinhua
Indonesia

Can Indonesia speak for the Global South in its UN Security Council bid?

Jakarta wants a fifth term on the council, but faces accusations of hypocrisy and being a ‘fence-sitter’, analysts say.

US-China relations

Opinion | Success of Xi-Trump summit lies in what happens afterwards

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2026 Xi-Trump summits

In Focus | Analysts tip a stronger hand for China ahead of Xi-Trump summit in Washington

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Vladimir Putin

Opinion | Why the Global South keeps its doors wide open to Russia

Far from being isolated, Moscow’s relationships across the non-Western world are a geopolitical constant the West cannot break.

Russian President Vladimir Putin waves while boarding a plane upon his departure from India on September 13. Photo: Kremlin/Sputnik/EPA
India

India scores Brics win with joint declaration despite divides

New Delhi ‘papered over’ differences to keep the bloc focused on trade and tech priorities, analysts say.

Brics

Xi touts Brics cooperation on AI as US titans flag tech risks

China’s President Xi Jinping promoted an AI ‘community’ at a Brics summit, while US industry leaders backed the idea of slowing the technology’s development.

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China trade

Kazakhstan to launch QR payments with China, expanding yuan’s reach in retail

Planned launch follows existing cooperation between super apps Alipay and Kaspi.kz, letting travellers use home-country app at certain merchants without exchanging cash.

A man demonstrates in April how a QR code is used to make a retail payment with the Alipay app in Indonesia. Kazakhstan now plans to launch QR-code payments with China by the end of this year. Photo: Xinhua
China’s Communist Party

China’s intelligence chief warns of risks from AI in hands of ‘hostile forces’

State data, business secrets and personal privacy are at stake, State Security Minister Chen Yixin warns as he calls for stronger safeguards.

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Hong Kong economy

Hong Kong to deepen ties with Global South and Middle East, finance chief says

Financial Secretary Paul Chan says city will build ‘networked, institutionalised’ links with emerging economies, from green finance to research and development.

India

Brics summit ends with Xi’s AI offer, Modi’s warning on critical minerals

Bloc united on US curbs but Xi Jinping’s open-source AI pitch and India’s warning on weaponised tech reveal internal friction, analysts say.

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Xi Jinping pictured at Sunday’s session of the Brics summit in New Dellhi, India. Photo: AP
Brics

Under Trump’s shadow, Brics takes step towards de-dollarisation

New Delhi Declaration pushes for cheaper and faster payments system and takes aim at sanctions and unilateral tariffs.

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Leaders of Brics member states pose for a photo in New Delhi on Saturday. From left to right: Brazil Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira, United Arab Emirates’ Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali. Photo: Indian Foreign Ministry via AP
China-India relations

Xi tells Modi of China and India’s ‘responsibilities’ as Global South powers

Leaders meet on sidelines of Brics summit in New Delhi; Indian statement says they reaffirmed that ‘differences should not become disputes’.

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Brics

Editorial | Brics summit could emerge as milestone in bloc’s unity

The expected meeting between the leaders of China and India on the sidelines of the multilateral summit bodes well for stability in Asia.

Diplomacy

Opinion | The Global South cannot afford to let its maritime border disputes fester

Cambodia’s compulsory conciliation with Thailand under UN sea law shows how international law can deliver peaceful outcomes before tensions boil over.

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
US-China relations

As clock counts down to Trump summit, Xi boosts global clout with diplomatic blitz

Beijing leverages Eurasian and Middle East ties to show Washington it has alternatives.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, wave as they board a plane at the end of their visit to Cairo, Egypt on Wednesday, September 2. Photo: Egyptian Presidential Press Office via AP
China-Middle East relations

Xi makes world tour ahead of White House summit

Chinese President Xi Jinping is meeting leaders from across the Global South ahead of a probable summit with US leader Donald Trump.

Xi Jinping

Xi Jinping calls on SCO members to team up for bigger global tech-security role

The world is at a crossroads and the group should shoulder its responsibility, Chinese president says at Bishkek summit.

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China-India relations

Asian Angle | India-China ties are warming, the time to capitalise is now

The post-Galwan freeze is over. Rebuilding economic dialogue offers both nations a win-win path forward.

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Wang Yi, China's top diplomat, and Ajit Doval, India's national security adviser, meet in Beijing on Tuesday. Photo: Xinhua
Diplomacy

Opinion | China’s multilateral pitch is finding an audience

Beijing’s push for global cooperation is clearly self-interested, but even US allies in the West can see the benefits of multilateralism.

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Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

China event asks if Apec’s rules can close growing AI gap between rich and poor

Conference hears that the bloc’s flexible structure could help in developing a fairer regulatory system.

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The Philippines

Philippines stakes claim as Latin America’s gateway to Asean

Shared history offers an edge, but analysts say the Philippines must deliver more than nostalgia to rival Singapore or Vietnam.

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Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Maria Theresa Lazaro (left) shakes hands with Chile’s Foreign Affairs Minister Francisco Perez Mackenna during a meeting on the sidelines of an Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Metro Manila last month. Photo: EPA
US-China relations

Exclusive | Waico vs Pax Silica: Southeast Asia caught between China and US in AI race

Beijing reportedly offers exclusive perks to attract Global South partners while describing the American-led body as exclusionary.

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Protesters march in Manila on August 13 against Pax Silica, a US-led initiative established in December with the aim of reducing “coercive dependencies”. Photo: AFP
China consumption

China’s economy cools amid debate about risks of global crisis

July data adds to signs of slowdown in China’s economy, while an ex-US trade representative argues that the nation’s over-reliance on exports poses global risks.

China-India relations

Open Dialogue | Nirupama Rao and Lin Minwang on the great India-China face-off

Experts debate the deep fault lines in bilateral ties – from the long-running border dispute to trust and competing narratives.

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Saudi Arabia

Russia’s role in Middle East politics endures, shifts to being ‘secondary power’

Two Russian military bases will remain in Syria as the region continues to recalibrate its relations with major powers amid the Iran war.

A Syrian rebel fighter stands at an inspection checkpoint for incoming vehicles before a Russian flag and Russian soldiers behind manning the entrance of the Russian-leased Syrian military base of Hmeimim in Latakia province in Syria in 2024. Photo: TNS
US-China relations

China urged to avoid ‘us or them’ split with US over AI governance

Both superpowers have set up their own international blocs, fuelling concerns that other countries will be forced to pick sides.

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The US and China have both set up their own international AI partnerships. Photo: Shutterstock
China-India relations

Open Dialogue | Nirupama Rao, Lin Minwang on India-China fault lines

Ex-diplomat and academic cover nations’ border wars, appeal to Global South and India-US and China-Pakistan relations in candid dialogue.

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India

Can India and China rally Brics to ease Strait of Hormuz tensions?

Analysts say a unified Brics could support Oman-led talks for a resolution and provide an alternative to US diplomacy.

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