By Asif Noor
As unprecedented global changes unfold, the Global South is
gaining increasing prominence in international politics and public
discourse, emerging as a significant new force shaping global
politics. However, the voices of the Global South countries are not
yet prominent enough in mainstream media coverage. Some Western
media outlets have been known to smear the countries of the Global
South, such as China, in guiding public opinion and setting
agendas. The countries of the Global South urgently need to break
free from the Western-centric perspective and tell their developing
stories with their own voices.
Against this backdrop, CGTN is collaborating with five
mainstream media outlets from Global South countries to launch its
first online show series specifically targeting the Global South:
Global South Voices. The show aims to address the concerns of the
Global South by offering insights into current hot topics from the
perspective of the Global South. The first show was hosted by
Pakistani Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed, chairman of the Pakistan
Senate Defense Committee and Pakistan-China Institute.
The premiere episode aired on March 5 during the Two Sessions,
focusing on hot topics concerning China internationally and
refuting the negative narratives from Western media, such as the
“China collapse theory,” which disparages China’s economy.
Guests from Pakistan, India and China joined the show. They are
Ishrat Hussain, ex-governor of the State Bank of Pakistan and
former chief economist for World Bank, Sudheendra Kulkarni, Indian
politician, columnist, and former aide to the prime minister of
India, and Chinese Professor Li Xiguang, director of the
International Center for Communication at Tsinghua University.
In the first episode, China’s economy, its foreign policy and
diplomacy, Chinese wisdom in addressing global disputes, and the
double standards of the West were discussed.
Ishrat Hussain pointed out that China’s economic achievements in
the past few years have been remarkable. He cited the
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and the Belt and Road
Initiative as examples to illustrate the difference between Chinese
and Western aid: “The Western countries were telling the other
countries that these were loans, these were not grants” while
“China, on the other hand, went to these countries and said, what
is your priority need for economic growth and development?” In
demonizing China, the popular myth in the West is that China is
creating a “debt trap” for these developing countries. However, the
facts are quite contrary to that.
Sudheendra Kulkarni provided firsthand testimony of China’s
remarkable achievements in poverty alleviation, countering Western
conspiracy theories about “China’s economic collapse.” He stated,
“800 million people lifted out of poverty in four decades is yet
another feat unparalleled by any other country in history.”
Kulkarni contended that “China is, in many ways, a model for the
rest of the Global South.”
In addition, Professor Li Xiguang used China’s Global
Civilization Initiative (GCI) as an example to explain the
differences between Chinese modernization and Western
modernization: China’s modernity does not mean that other countries
should follow China’s culture, language, or value system to measure
themselves. Instead, it means that each country has its own
cultural foundation, traditions, religious beliefs, political
systems, and ideologies, and should build its own country based on
these. Global South countries should establish a future world with
diverse value systems and ideologies. The people and media of
Global South countries should unite and collaborate to avoid
falling into the propaganda trap set by Western media.
The national television stations or mainstream private
television stations of Pakistan, South Africa, Kenya, Liberia, and
Brazil will collaborate to broadcast this episode.
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