Beijing, March 23 (Xinhua) — The largest single bridge under construction in Malaysia, the Ruba Cross Sea Bridge, has completed its closure, and the first desert heavy-duty railway in Africa, the Western Algeria Railway Mining Line, has been fully opened to traffic; From the completion of the largest single wind power project in Azerbaijan, the Xizi Apsherun project, to the commissioning of the sixth phase of the world’s largest deepwater oil field, the Buzius oil field in Brazil, and to the successful completion of the second phase of the Senegal rural drilling project, which witnessed the “Happiness Well” moistening thousands of households… China’s cooperation with countries in the global South is steadily advancing.
As a member of the global South, China is more closely united with the global South, promoting common development and prosperity through practical cooperation projects and actions.
Infrastructure cooperation connects development pathways
On February 11, 2026, in Jalalabad Oblast, Kyrgyzstan, Chinese construction workers installed tunnel ventilation equipment for the Jalalabad Tunnel of the China Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan Railway. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Ren Weiyun)
As a landmark project of cooperation in jointly building the “the Belt and Road” personally promoted by the three heads of state of China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, the China Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan railway project has entered the solid construction phase. After the completion of the project, it will open up a new international logistics channel for Central Asia to open up to the south, injecting strong impetus into regional connectivity and coordinated economic development.
The Tanzania Zambia Railway, built in the 1970s, is a major transportation artery between Tanzania and Zambia. In November 2025, this “steel road” carrying the deep friendship between China and Zambia and China and Tanzania will usher in a new round of upgrading and revitalization – the Tanzania Zambia Railway Activation Project officially starts construction.
After the completion of the Tanzania Zambia Railway activation project, it will connect the railway, highway, and port systems in southern and eastern Africa. Zambian Minister of Transport and Logistics Frank Tayali pointed out that this railway will become an important engine for promoting regional trade, expanding employment, and achieving common prosperity.
Over the years, the achievements of infrastructure cooperation have spread throughout the global South, profoundly changing the development trajectory of many countries and regions. Since the opening and operation of the China Laos Railway for more than four years, the cumulative cross-border freight transport has exceeded 18 million tons, and the radiation effect has been growing; The safe operation of the Mombasa Nairobi Railway has exceeded 3000 days and is increasingly becoming the “golden channel” in Kenya’s transportation system
The road is open, and all industries thrive. In the field of infrastructure, China and countries in the global South work together on projects to help bridge the infrastructure gap, drive economic, trade, and production capacity cooperation, and achieve common development through mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.
Technological exchange broadens development space
Not long ago, the Excellent Skills College, jointly established by China Railway Seventh Group Co., Ltd., Zhengzhou Railway Technician College, and Freetown Institute of Technology, was officially unveiled in the capital city of Sierra Leone, Freetown.
Samba Moriba, President of Freetown Institute of Technology, stated that the project embodies the shared vision of Serbia and China for technological and human resource development. This measure will promote skills training for Sierra Leone students, enabling them to make positive contributions to society
The Excellent Skills College is another collaborative achievement between China and countries in the global South in the field of vocational education. In recent years, vocational education and training institutions closely related to project construction, such as Luban Workshop and Lao Railway Vocational and Technical College, have emerged in the global South, cultivating more technical talents for the local area.
Vocational education and training have become important areas of cooperation between China and countries in the global South, and similar cooperation is also being carried out in many fields such as agricultural technology, green development, and digital innovation.
In November 2025, China’s Qingdao Agricultural University and Uruguay’s National Academy of Agricultural Research signed a memorandum of understanding to expand bilateral cooperation in grassland agricultural scientific research and jointly build a grassland agriculture “the Belt and Road” joint laboratory. The laboratory will accelerate the transformation and industrial application of grassland agriculture technology in both countries based on the natural grazing characteristics of Uruguay, and create a Sino Ukrainian smart grassland agriculture cooperation platform.
Multiple countries have expressed that a series of cooperation practices have shown that China’s cooperation with countries in the global South emphasizes development autonomy, national capacity building, and long-term planning, effectively responding to the common demands of the global South in exploring development paths that are in line with its own national conditions.
Financial bridging promotes development and win-win outcomes
Roads and railways, terminals and ports, rows of photovoltaic panels and wind turbines, parks and factories, schools and hospitals are driving the development of the global South to deepen and solidify. The transformation of each project from a “planning map” to a “real-life picture” cannot be separated from the important support of funds.
Taking the key cooperation project of China and the United Arab Emirates jointly building the Green Silk Road – the 950 MW solar thermal photovoltaic integrated power generation project at the Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai, UAE as an example, this project can provide green electricity to 320000 local residents and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 1.6 million tons per year. As the joint lead bank of the project syndicated loan, Agricultural Bank of China and Global Capital jointly established a $2.5 billion syndicated loan, breaking through the bottleneck of project financing and providing a sample for global southern green finance to support international production capacity cooperation.
According to statistics, China has identified development financing as a key area of cooperation within the framework of global development initiatives, and has mobilized over 23 billion US dollars to support the development and revitalization of the global South.
In 2025, the first Global Southern Financial Forum will be held in Beijing, where guests will exchange and discuss global Southern financial cooperation. They believe that the global southern financial industry should prioritize development, promote the establishment of a South South financial cooperation mechanism, fully unleash market vitality through joint research, project co construction, risk sharing, and other means, seek multi-party cooperation focus points, create a favorable environment for cross-border trade and investment, promote unity and cooperation, and achieve mutual benefit and win-win results.
On March 25-26, 2026, the 2026 Global Southern Financial Forum with the theme of “Integrating Finance and Gathering Intelligence to Light up the South” will be held in Beijing. At that time, representatives from the global southern financial community will further build bridges for South South cooperation, focus on project construction, and jointly seek the development and revitalization of the global southern region.
Looking ahead to the future, from infrastructure to livelihood projects, from traditional fields to emerging fields, China will firmly join hands with the global South, continue to carry out more practical project cooperation, and promote the construction of a prosperous, strong, civilized and progressive modern global South.