Summit to boost solidarity among Global South

The upcoming Group of 77 and China Summit will present key opportunities in promoting solidarity among the Global South and enable joint responses to challenges facing the developing world, analysts have said.

As the special representative of President Xi Jinping, Li Xi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, will attend the summit, which will be held from Thursday to Saturday in Havana, Cuba, according to an official announcement on Tuesday.

Li, who is also secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the nation's top anti-graft watchdog, will lead a delegation to Havana at the invitation of Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, whose country holds the presidency of the Group of 77 this year.

He will also visit Brazil and Egypt from Sept 16 to 26, the announcement said.

Formed in 1964, the G77 is a group of developing countries from Asia, Africa and Central and South America, which has over 130 members today.

Zhou Taidong, vice-president of the Center for International Knowledge on Development, said the fact that China is sending a high-level delegation to the G77 and China Summit shows that China is a natural member of the Global South and will forever remain part of the developing world.

"It also showed the strong emphasis from Beijing on South-South cooperation and solidarity and development among developing nations," he said.

He noted that developing nations now face multiple risks and challenges, including climate change, infrastructure deficits and food and energy crises.

Zhou Zhiwei, a senior research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Latin American Studies, said the summit will help developing nations better coordinate their policies, jointly ensure the stability of the global political environment and oppose a Cold War mentality and bloc confrontation.

"The fact that the summit will be held in Cuba is of special significance because the nation has long been a victim of a Cold War mentality and economic sanctions," he said.