Chinese Ambassador to Ukraine Ma Shengkun Publishes Signed Article in Ukrainian Media, Titled “Joining Hands on the Path to Common Prosperity: China and the Global South Pursue Mutually Beneficial Development”
On September 21, Chinese Ambassador to Ukraine Ma Shengkun published a signed article titled “Joining Hands on the Path to Common Prosperity: China and the Global South Pursue Mutually Beneficial Development” in Interfax-Ukraine and on the Ukrainian online outlet EconomistUA.
The full text of the article in Ukrainian was published on both media platforms.
The world today is undergoing profound changes, and the collective rise of the Global South has become an irreversible trend of the times. Today, the Global South accounts for 70 percent of the global population, over 40 percent of global economic output, and contributes 80 percent to world economic growth. In this historic process, China has always been the most sincere friend and the most reliable partner of the vast number of developing countries.
China’s cooperation with Global South countries is not a zero-sum game, but a process of mutual success. It is not a one-way street, but a process of mutual empowerment. China’s practice has fully demonstrated that development is a universal right of all countries, not an exclusive privilege of a few. From sharing development experience and opening up market opportunities to steadily advancing Belt and Road cooperation, as well as from jointly upholding peace to promoting common development, China’s cooperation with Global South countries has always followed one main theme: mutual success and mutual empowerment. As for the so-called claims that China is “kicking away the ladder,” “squeezing developing countries out”, or “extracting” benefits, they are neither in line with the facts nor able to withstand scrutiny.
I. China Provides Tangible Support for the Global South Through Its Own Development
First, “hard connectivity” in infrastructure. Over the past several decades, China has transformed from a traditional agricultural country into the world’s second-largest economy. According to the World Bank’s international poverty line of US$1.90 per person per day, China has lifted more than 800 million people out of poverty since the beginning of reform and opening up, contributing more than 70 percent to the global poverty reduction cause. In recent years, China has contributed around 30 percent on average to global economic growth each year.
While achieving leapfrog development of its own, China has never forgotten to share opportunities with the vast number of developing countries. China is well aware that underdeveloped infrastructure is one of the most prominent bottlenecks hindering the industrialization of many developing countries. To address this bottleneck, Chinese companies have undertaken thousands of road, bridge, port and power projects, helping partner countries strengthen the “capillaries” of their economic development. These projects span vast areas of Asia, Africa and Latin America, ranging from cross-border railways in Southeast Asia and modern ports in Africa to plateau highways in Latin America and energy corridors in Central Asia. They have tangibly improved trade facilitation, injected lasting vitality into local economies, and benefited local people.
Second, “soft support” through capacity building. China’s development does not deprive other countries of opportunities. Rather, China has long been building up ladders so that countries could reach higher together. Through technology transfer, talent cultivation and industrial cooperation, China has helped many developing countries build up their own manufacturing capacity and talent pool. Large numbers of students and technical personnel from the Global South have returned home after receiving education and training in China, becoming a key driving force for industrialization in their countries. This form of capacity-building cooperation offers far greater long-term value than simple financial assistance and truly embodies the idea that “it is better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish.”
II. China’s Open and Vast Market Enables More Countries to Share in the Trade Dividends
On the one hand, China is a major buyer in international trade with ever-growing demand. Trade is never a zero-sum game in which one gains at the expense of another. Rather, it is a common endeavor for mutual benefit. China has remained the world’s largest trading nation in goods for many consecutive years, but this does not mean “squeezing” other countries out. Quite the contrary, China is the world’s second-largest import market, and its average annual contribution to global trade growth has remained at a high level for years. In 2025, China’s total imports and exports of goods reached 45.47 trillion yuan, an increase of 3.8 percent year on year. Imports reached 18.48 trillion yuan, a record high, making China the world’s second-largest import market for the 17th consecutive year. China is also a major trading partner of more than 160 countries and regions worldwide.
At the policy level, dividends are even more direct. China has granted zero-tariff treatment to the least developed countries, actively expanded imports from Asia, Africa and Latin America, and created substantial foreign exchange earnings and employment opportunities for these countries. In 2025, China’s imports from the least developed countries increased by 9 percent. Imports from Asia, Latin America and Africa rose by 3.9 percent, 4.9 percent and 6 percent, respectively. Starting from May 1, 2026, China fully implemented zero-tariff treatment for all 53 African countries that have established diplomatic relations with China. In May and June, China’s imports from Africa reached 193.8 billion yuan, up 23.5 percent year on year. China has hosted the China International Import Expo for eight consecutive years, set up the largest exhibition area for developing countries, and facilitated cumulative intended transaction volume of over 580 billion U.S. dollars. As China’s market continues to expand, it will open up vast new space for exports from developing countries and generate a steady stream of growth opportunities.
On the other hand, China is also a stable and reliable supplier. The large quantities of machinery and equipment, intermediate products and technological solutions supplied by China are essential inputs urgently needed by many countries around the world to launch their industrialization process. In 2025, China’s exports of high-tech products reached 5.25 trillion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 13.2 percent. Exports of the “new three” — electric vehicles, photovoltaic products and lithium batteries — grew by 27.1 percent, providing partner countries with much-needed technologies and equipment for industrialization.
China’s industrial and supply chains are highly complementary with the economies of Global South countries. China is both an important end market and a major buyer. It is also a key supplier and provider of technologies. Through such multi-layered economic and trade exchanges, all sides work together to make the pie of global trade bigger, enabling more developing countries to better integrate into the international division of labor and cooperation and share the dividends of globalization.
III． China Builds a Strong Engine for the Development of the Global South Through Belt and Road Cooperation
Do these cooperation efforts amount to “net extraction” or a “fresh injection” of development momentum? The facts provide a clear answer. For more than a decade, Belt and Road cooperation has evolved from ideas into actions and from a vision into reality, becoming an international public good embodying Chinese wisdom. The initiative follows the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, comes with no political strings attached, and respects the right of all countries to independently choose their development paths.
From a practical perspective, industrial parks and vocational training centers developed under the Belt and Road framework in Africa have created large numbers of jobs for young people and helped them acquire modern industrial skills. In Southeast Asia, the China-Laos Railway has turned Laos from a “land-locked country” into a “land-linked country,” opening up new prospects for regional connectivity. By the end of 2025, the China-Laos Railway had handled more than 64 million passenger trips and transported over 74 million tonnes of cargo. The variety of goods transported had expanded to more than 3,800 categories, with its services extending to 19 countries and regions. In Indonesia, the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway, the first high-speed railway in Southeast Asia, marked 1,000 days of safe operation in July 2026 since entering commercial service in October 2023. It has registered more than 16.58 million passenger trips, averaging about 16,000 passenger trips per day. The area around Tegalluar Station has grown from a relatively undeveloped area into a thriving commercial district, attracting more than 1.1 million new visitors per month in 2026.
Belt and Road cooperation is turning the vision of global connectivity into a tangible reality. Through direct investment, project contracting and development financing, China has helped improve local infrastructure, advance industrial upgrading and enhance people’s well-being. In 2025, Chinese enterprises made US$39.67 billion in non-financial direct investment in Belt and Road partner countries, up 17.6 percent year on year. Investment in Africa increased by 41 percent. China has built overseas economic and trade cooperation zones in 46 countries, with cumulative investment of nearly US$80 billion, helping establish production chains locally in host countries. CATL has launched a full-chain power battery project in Indonesia, covering nickel mining and processing, battery materials, battery manufacturing and battery recycling, helping Indonesia build an upstream and downstream nickel-based power battery industry and become the only country in Southeast Asia with such integrated production capacity.
Studies by the World Bank and other international institutions show that infrastructure connectivity has positive effects on trade growth and poverty reduction in participating countries. Among them, the World Bank’s report Belt and Road Economics: Opportunities and Risks of Transport Corridors provides one of the most representative assessments. It estimates that, if fully implemented, Belt and Road transport infrastructure could reduce travel times for economies along the transport corridors by up to 12 percent, increase trade by 2.8 to 9.7 percent for corridor economies and by 1.7 to 6.2 percent for the world, raise global real income by 0.7 to 2.9 percent, and help lift 7.6 million people out of extreme poverty and 32 million out of moderate poverty.
It is thus clear that Belt and Road cooperation is not a geopolitical tool, but a road of opportunity for the common development of all countries.
IV. Looking to the Future: Writing a New Chapter on the Path to Modernization Together
“If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together”. China understands well that only when Global South countries achieve common prosperity can the world truly enjoy lasting peace and universal security. In the face of global challenges such as poverty reduction, food security, public health and climate change, China has proposed and put into practice the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative and the Global Governance Initiative, demonstrating its sense of responsibility through concrete actions. In 2025, China’s non-financial outbound direct investment reached US$145.66 billion, while its investment in Africa increased by 41 percent.
Looking back, the so-called narratives of “kicking away the ladder,” “squeezing developing countries out”, or “extracting” benefits have long proven untenable in the face of the reality of common development. Practice has proved, and will continue to prove, that China is a sincere and reliable partner of the Global South on the path toward modernization. China stands ready to work with Global South countries, on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, to jointly forge a path of development that is more equitable, more sustainable and more prosperous.
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