The Semantic Tug-of-War: How China Co-opted the "Global South" to Reshape Global Discourse

In the lead-up to the pivotal U.S.-China summit scheduled for September 2026, President Xi Jinping embarked on a high-stakes diplomatic offensive. Between August and September, he navigated a grueling itinerary that included the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, and the BRICS summit in Delhi, punctuated by a strategic tour of the Middle East.

While the geographical reach of his travels was significant, the most striking feature of his rhetoric was the recurring and deliberate use of the term “Global South.” In both Bishkek and Delhi, Xi framed these organizations not merely as regional security or economic blocs, but as the vanguard of the Global South. This rhetorical maneuver is far from incidental; it represents a calculated evolution in Beijing’s foreign policy, marking the culmination of a years-long struggle to define—and ultimately capture—one of the most influential buzzwords in contemporary international relations.

A Chronology of Conceptual Transformation

The journey of the term “Global South” within Chinese political discourse has been marked by hesitation, suspicion, and a final, assertive embrace.

1. The Era of Skepticism (2020–2022)

Originally, in academic circles, the “Global South” was a concept intended to highlight systemic inequality, suggesting that the challenges of the “South” were not confined to geography but were embedded within the structures of the developed world. However, following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, Western nations began utilizing the term to delineate a new geopolitical axis. By framing the world as a confrontation between advanced democracies and an autocratic bloc—consisting of China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea—Western rhetoric utilized the “Global South” as a catch-all for the remaining, unaligned states.

Beijing initially viewed this with extreme hostility. Chinese policymakers feared that the label was a Western-engineered wedge designed to isolate China from its traditional allies in the developing world. Beijing’s bedrock identity has always been that of a "developing country," and it viewed any attempt to categorize it separately from the developing world as a diplomatic threat.

2. The Turning Point: The India Shock (2023)

The strategic landscape shifted dramatically when India, China’s regional rival, hosted the “Voice of Global South Summit” in January 2023. By excluding China from this forum, New Delhi effectively staked a claim to the leadership of the developing world. This exclusion came as a significant shock to the leadership in Beijing, forcing a reassessment of their stance toward the terminology.

3. The Strategic Pivot (Mid-2023–2025)

Following the enactment of China’s Foreign Relations Law in June 2023, which explicitly reaffirmed the nation’s status as a “developing country,” the rhetoric began to thaw. In July 2023, Foreign Minister Wang Yi began incorporating the term “Global South” into his speeches—albeit with a crucial caveat: the use of quotation marks. This orthographic choice signaled that Beijing was adopting the term while maintaining a distance from the Western-defined version.

By 2024, the quotation marks began to appear less frequently. By 2025, in a seminal piece published by Wang Yi in the party journal Qiushi, the quotation marks were gone entirely. By the time of the 2026 SCO and BRICS summits, President Xi Jinping’s usage of the term was absolute and unadorned, signaling its full integration into the Chinese geopolitical lexicon.

Decoding the Chinese Definition

China has never provided an official explanation for this tactical shift, but the logic is evident to seasoned observers of Chinese statecraft. As the term gained traction among leaders of developing nations, Beijing realized it could not afford to sit on the sidelines. By reclaiming the narrative, China sought to define the Global South on its own terms, a quintessential exercise in what Beijing calls “discourse power” (huayuquan).

During a July 2023 press conference, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning provided the definitive Chinese framing: “The ‘Global South’ is the family of emerging markets and developing countries.”

This definition stands in stark contrast to the Western conceptualization. Where the West views the Global South through the lens of governance or human rights, China defines it through the lens of economic and systemic independence. According to Beijing, the defining qualities of the Global South are “independence,” “development,” and “justice.” In this narrative, China positions itself as a “natural member” and an elder sibling to this collective, effectively casting the “Global South” as a synonym for the “non-West.”

Supporting Data and Geopolitical Realities

The efficacy of China’s strategy is evidenced by the changing composition of the organizations it leads. The expansion of BRICS and the deepening integration of the SCO are not mere administrative tasks; they are institutional manifestations of this discourse.

• Institutional Alignment: By hosting these summits and utilizing the “Global South” label, China has effectively neutralized the perception that it is an outlier. Instead, it frames the expansion of BRICS+ as the natural unification of the Global South.
• The Membership Paradox: Critics often point out that the inclusion of Russia and Turkey in these forums complicates the “Global South” identity. However, China’s definition—which centers on the “family of emerging markets and developing countries”—bypasses the traditional North-South development metrics in favor of a political alliance against Western hegemony.

Official Responses and Diplomatic Implications

The Chinese government’s aggressive adoption of the term has sent ripples through international forums. While Beijing views this as an act of solidarity, Western capitals remain wary.

The primary implication is the creation of a parallel narrative system. In the Western view, the Global South is a collection of nations to be courted and persuaded toward democratic norms. In the Chinese view, the Global South is a political movement of nations that share a common history of colonization and a common future of "national rejuvenation."

Furthermore, this shift creates a difficult environment for smaller nations caught between the two poles. If the "Global South" is now a term effectively owned and defined by Beijing, countries that wish to maintain good relations with both the U.S. and China must navigate a linguistic minefield. Using the term in a Chinese-sanctioned way risks signaling alignment with Beijing, while avoiding it entirely may risk alienating a significant portion of the non-Western world.

Conclusion: A Term of Shifting Sands

The contest over the term “Global South” is far from settled. It remains an elastic concept, stretched to fit the agendas of the actors who wield it. However, the transformation of China’s approach—from suspicious rejection to enthusiastic ownership—is one of the most significant diplomatic maneuvers of the decade.

By successfully embedding itself as the leader and representative of this collective, China has not only defended its status as a developing nation but has also weaponized the terminology to challenge Western influence. As the 2026 U.S.-China summit approaches, the definition of the "Global South" will likely remain a key friction point. The story of this term is not just a study in semantics; it is a clear reflection of a world in flux, where the power to name a group is the first step toward the power to lead it. The struggle over this seemingly simple phrase is, in reality, a high-stakes battle for the architecture of the 21st-century global order.