The Atlantic Council published on 13 June 2024 an analysis titled "A Global South with Chinese Characteristics" by Niva Yau.
China has embarked on a steadily expanding mission to promote its political system alongside its economic engagement across the Global South. Even as China's economic growth has slowed significantly and its political system has grown more repressive under Xi Jinping, the number of countries welcoming Chinese governance lessons continues to grow, enhancing Beijing's global influence. This has significant implications for the future of democracy, the protection of individual rights, and the nature of the global order.
One way that Beijing promotes authoritarian governance is through training programs for foreign government officials on Chinese governance practices. This analysis investigates a new dataset of Chinese government files on such training, revealing how China uses these sessions to directly promote ideas and practices that marry economics and politics to make a case for its authoritarian capitalism model. The analysis outlines the content Beijing teaches foreign officials and the anticipated benefits to Beijing from these programs. It also explains how these initiatives fit into China's broader ambitions to undermine the liberal democratic norms that currently underpin the global order.
