China welcomes Cambodian and Zambian leaders as it forges deeper ties with Global South
Sep 15, 2023
The leaders of China and Zambia have announced an upgrading of their ties to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, as the world’s second-largest economy forges deeper ties with the Global South
BEIJING (AP) — The leaders of China and Zambia announced an upgrading of their ties to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership on Friday, as the world's second-largest economy forges deeper ties with the
Global South
.Chinese President Xi Jinping also met new Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet earlier the same day, and with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro earlier this week.
The trio of leaders from Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America speak to China’s growing role in those parts of the world. Chinese state banks have financed roads and other infrastructure projects and Chinese companies have built factories, mines, hotels and casinos.
China has in turn won diplomatic support from many Global South countries on contentious debates and votes at the U.N. and from Cambodia in China’s territorial disputes with other Southeast Asian nations in the South China Sea.
Its outreach to the Global South has taken on greater geopolitical import as China seeks allies to push back against growing pressure from the United States and its partners on multiple fronts.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported online that Xi and Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema announced the upgraded partnership at a meeting at the Great Hall of the People, a monumental building on one side of Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
That came two days after
China announced
it had upgraded diplomatic ties with Venezuela to an “all weather” partnership — a status China has granted to only a handful of countries — after the Xi-Maduro meeting.Development loans from China and others have saddled some countries,
including Zambia,
with unsustainable debt levels, sparking debt crises that stymie economic development. More than 40% of Cambodia’s $10 billion in foreign debt is owed to Chinese institutions.Hun Manet made China his first official foreign visit after succeeding his father, Hun Sen, who ruled Cambodia for 40 years.
The U.S. had shown disapproval of Hun Sen’s undemocratic moves and is uneasy over the expansion of a Cambodian naval facility with Chinese assistance. Hun Sen consistently denied that Cambodia had granted China the right to set up its own military base at Ream Naval Base.
After his meetings in Beijing, Hun Manet plans to join other Southeast Asian leaders this weekend in southern China at the 20th ASEAN-China Expo, which promotes cooperation in trade, investment and tourism.
MORE NEWS
Alexander Zverev Becomes World No.1 For First Time In His Career
Alexander Zverev secured the world number one ranking for the first time by beating Tallon Griekspoor to reach the Vienna Open quarter-finals.
UN names China's Blue Bay initiative world restoration flagship
China's Blue Bay Restoration Initiative was named a World Restoration Flagship by the United Nations (UN) on Thursday during the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17) in Yerevan, Armenia.
CPC Central Committee holds press conference on plenary session
CPC Central Committee holds press conference on plenary session
Even UFC champ Zhang Weili under pressure to find boyfriend from pushy Chinese parents
Even Asia’s first UFC world champion, Zhang Weili, cannot escape the pressure of Chinese parents pushing her to get married. A year ago, Zhang, now 37, said she was glad her family was not rushing her to marry, preferring to focus on her fighting career and leave relationships to fate. But in an interview posted on social media this week, Zhang revealed her parents grew deeply concerned about her love life during the first half of the year, saying they were “pushing really hard”. In the...
Thousands of birds take to the skies over Yellow River Delta
Thousands of birds take to the skies over Yellow River Delta
Golden hues everywhere! Autumn at its finest!
Golden hues everywhere! Autumn at its finest!
Inside the PLA’s new austerity drive: lean, mean, printing-on-both-sides machine
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is distributing second-hand briefcases, salvaging screws and steel bars, and reusing holiday decorations to keep costs down as part of a thrift campaign emphasising growth through frugality. It forms part of a broader cost-cutting effort in the Chinese military under Beijing’s 15th five-year plan covering 2026 to 2030, which calls for building the armed forces through “diligence and thrift” and pursuing a path of “high efficiency, low cost and...
Chinese scholars warned of challenge of ‘translating academic research into policy’
Chinese academic courses designed to deepen understanding of different countries or regions face a challenge in better informing policy and moving beyond frameworks developed in the West, a conference in Beijing has heard. Speakers said that as the country’s international engagement deepened, it needed a better understanding of the nations it engaged with, including their political systems, histories and strategic priorities. The discipline – known in China as “area studies” – draws on...
Chinese scientists dissatisfied with jobs but optimistic about future, survey says
Chinese scientists are less satisfied with their jobs than researchers in any other major country, according to a survey that also found they are more optimistic about their careers than their counterparts in the United States and Britain. Only 51 per cent of the 157 respondents from China said they were satisfied with their jobs, according to the survey published this month in the British scientific journal Nature, down 24 per cent from 2018. The survey drew 3,882 respondents from 133...
In Michigan Senate race, Trump’s softer China tone gives candidates room to look elsewhere
Two years ago, Mike Rogers stood before the Republican National Convention and warned that it was “impossible to build an EV without getting into bed with the Communist Party of China”. The former US House Intelligence Committee chairman made opposition to Chinese investment a prominent theme of his 2024 Senate bid in Michigan, which he narrowly lost to Democrat Elissa Slotkin. Now, as Rogers runs again, US President Donald Trump’s softer approach towards Beijing has given candidates more room...
Asian Champions Trophy: Harmanpreet Singh, Sukhjeet Singh Star As India Outclass China 5-2
Harmanpreet Singh and Sukhjeet Singh struck two goals each as India defeated China 5-2 to make it two victories in two games at the Asian Champions Trophy.
Teen Star Anmol Kharb Shocks Christophersen; Sindhu, Lakshya March On At Hylo Open
Anmol Kharb continued her dream run at the Hylo Open with a brilliant comeback victory over world No. 12 Line Christophersen to reach the quarter-finals.