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Analysis

Xi Jinping Positions China as a Reliable Partner for the Global South and for Multilateralism at the G20 Rio Summit

Peter Ma, G20 Research Group
November 19, 2024

Chinese president Xi Jinping outlined his vision for a multilateral system of global governance in two speeches delivered on the first day of the G20 Rio Summit.

During the first session on November 18, 2024, Xi outlined China’s goals and vision for this summit. He said that economic development should lie at the heart of a multilateral global order. Xi called for a prosperous and stable world where the rich do not become richer while the poor become poorer. Countries “should make global development more inclusive, beneficial to all, and more resilient,” he said.

To achieve such a world, Xi endorsed supporting developing countries in adapting to sustainable production and lifestyles. He called for an open, non-discriminatory international economic system that enables sustainable development and technological integration to bridge the North-South gap. He also supported a multilateral international system, based on the United Nations, that upholds international law.

Xi recounted China’s own history of economic development. China’s policies over the past few decades have placed the Chinese people first, he said, and the country’s poverty alleviation efforts demonstrate that it is possible for any country to defeat poverty and achieve prosperity.

Xi reaffirmed China’s role as “a reliable long-term partner of fellow developing countries,” and promised to facilitate global development through eight measures: deepening and pursuing Belt and Road cooperation, continuing to implement the Global Development Initiative, supporting development in Africa, supporting global food security and eradicating poverty, facilitating greater access to science and technology for the Global South, supporting the G20’s practical cooperation and outcomes that benefit the Global South, implementing the G20 Anti-Corruption Action Plan, and further opening up China to investment from least economically developed countries.

Xi further elaborated on his vision in a speech during the second session of the Rio Summit. He called for a stable global governance system that enables reforms to the international financial and economic architecture, and widens space for global economic development. He also called for reforms to the international financial architecture that enhance the “speaking power” and representation of developing countries, adjusting the quotas of the International Monetary Fund, and preventing spillover effects of domestic monetary policy. In regards to trade, Xi supported the World Trade Organization and opposed protectionism. He called for stronger global cooperation on digital governance and artificial intelligence, as well as implementing global climate and biodiversity agreements. Xi concluded his second speech by supporting peaceful and political settlements for conflicts in Palestine and Ukraine.

Xi’s statements in the two sessions reflect China’s enduring desire of establishing itself as a great power through the Global South. With the re-election of Donald Trump in the United States, and the instability that Trump’s second presidency is predicted to bring to the global order, Xi is using the G20 to project China as a calm and stable partner that seeks to build long-term relationships within the Global South and upholds the international system of global governance.

Peter Ma is a researcher with the G20 Research Group, and a third-year student at the University of Toronto majoring in political science and international relations.

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