China's economic cooperation with Global South countries serves as a "stabilizer" in today's uncertain world, with the country's commitment to openness making it a pillar of global development, an expert said.

"Since the US started a global tariff war, China's trade with the Global South has remained largely unaffected," said Li Xing, Yunshan Leading Scholar at the Guangdong Institute for International Strategies and adjunct professor of politics and society at Aalborg University in Denmark.

This is because many countries recognize that the US-led trade war does not serve their interests, especially since China is their largest trading partner, Li told China Daily during the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2026, which was held from March 24 to 27 in South China's Hainan province.

"In the past, the United States and the European Union were China's largest trading partners. But today, China's trade with Global South countries far exceeds its trade with these developed economies," said Li, noting that China has prepared effectively for the so-called decoupling and de-risking efforts of Western countries by strengthening cooperation with the Global South.

China's exports of goods to the Global South have doubled since 2015, compared with growth of 28 percent to the US and 58 percent to Western Europe, with the country selling $1.6 trillion, or 50 percent more, to the region than to the US and Western Europe combined, according to a report by S&P Global in 2025.

Today, this cooperation has become an important "stabilizer" not only to the economies of China and the Global South but also to the world economy, Li said.

China's strengthened cooperation with the Global South has also been driven by a natural trend in international division of labor amid globalization, he said, noting that during China's reforms and opening-up, many labor-intensive industries moved to China from the West and vast amounts of raw materials were imported from Global South countries to meet the production demand.

"As long as China's industrial chain remains strong, its demand for raw materials and cooperation with Global South countries will only grow further, creating a win-win situation," said Li, refuting the accusations by Western countries that China is pursuing "neocolonialism" in its economic relations with the Global South or setting "debt traps" for less-developed economies.

Li also highlighted the significance of China's regional cooperation within Asia, where the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) has demonstrated the region's wisdom.

RCEP is the world's largest free trade agreement between the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and some major trade partners including China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand.

"ASEAN has been China's largest trading partner since 2019, which is a highly significant shift that has helped create a strategic balance between China and the US in the region," said Li.

As the Hainan Free Trade Port on March 27 marked 100 days of island-wide special customs operations, Li said the FTP is another major breakthrough in China's high-standard opening-up.

The initiative is not about competing with Singapore or replacing the Malacca Strait, but to create new opportunities for regional cooperation, he said.

For example, imported products can enter the mainland market tariff-free if they undergo at least 30 percent value-added processing in Hainan, said Li, noting that there is already a new direct shipping route linking Indonesia with Hainan.

Amid rising unilateralism and protectionism, China's commitment to opening-up and the upholding of international values has proven to the world that the country has become a pillar of global peace and development, Li said.