Kunming Consensus: Bridging New Connections between China and Asia (A view from China-South and Southeast Asia Think Tank Forum, Kunming) he China-South and Southeast Asia Think Tank Forum was held in Kunming on July 3-5 with an agenda of ‘Building a closer community with a shared future’. It was the 11th consecutiveTyear the forum was held in Kunming, bringing the city back into focus as a bridge between China and the Global South. Kunming has been designated as a political, economic, and cultural centre and the transportation hub of the provincial economy. It is also one of the important cities preserving historical sites and cultural relics, making it a major tourist destination. In August 1990, the 5th Congress of the CPC in Yunnan Province first proposed that strengthening friendly exchanges and economic cooperation with Southeast and South Asian countries would be a key point of Yunnan’s government work. Since then, opening to Southeast Asia and South Asia has become a focus for Yunnan, and it has established a comprehensive transportation network centred on Kunming, expanding to other cities via highways, railways and aviation.

Recently, the State Council officially approved “Kunming City Territorial Spatial Master Plan (2021-2035)”, which plans to transform Kunming into a regional central city facing South Asia and Southeast Asia. During Xi Jinping’s three visits to Yunnan in recent years, he emphasised that Yunnan has been endowed with the significant positioning of “a demonstration zone for national unity and progress, a pioneer in ecological civilisation construction, and a radiation centre facing South and Southeast Asia”. Thus, Yunnan has been projected from time to time as a pivot to neighbouring countries in Asia. This forum and many others, such as the China and Global South media forum and the China-South Asia Expo, further highlight the national consensus to make Yunnan an Asian hub for cultural and economic ties between China and Asia.

The organisers of the forum were the Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences, in collaboration with the Global South Think Tanks Alliance. It was during the BRICS Plus leaders’ dialogue in Kazan, Russia, that the Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that China would take the lead in establishing the Global South Think Tank Alliance to promote people-to-people and cultural exchanges and mutual learning on governance among countries. It was established to enhance policy communication among countries in the Global South and to facilitate diverse forms of people-to-people and cultural exchanges. The main theme of the forum was implementing the four Global Initiatives (Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative, Global Civilisation Initiative and Global Governance Initiative). Holding the China-South Asia Think Tank Forum for all these years has attracted a large number of scholars and government policymakers to Kunming. It has emerged as a hub of Asian connectivity through trade, commerce, and cultural exchanges, thus carrying forward the neighbourly relations to a new level. It was a very well-attended event in Kunming, with more than 100 political heavyweights, scholars, and business representatives from 18 countries attending. There were participants from South Asia and Southeast Asia, as well as scholars from other provinces and within Yunnan. The main focus was on fostering new cooperation by creating a new model of regional modernisation across countries in Asia.

Apart from the opening speech by the President of the Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences, there were initial remarks by the International Department

of the CPC Central Committee and the Yunnan Provincial Committee on the need to identify Asian wisdom for global governance. They emphasised Yunnan’s achievements in building new networks along the ASEAN and the Indian Ocean economies. Now, given the volatile geopolitical situation, there is a need for a self-reliant model of economic modernisation by linking the Mekong and the ASEAN free trade area to countries across the Indian Ocean region. There has also been an emphasis on promoting people-to-people exchanges through social media platforms, trade, and tourism, as well as establishing regular mechanisms to build connections between China and Asian countries. Since development is the central slogan of global governance, Fujian and Xiamen have been projected as models of development not only to promote sister city partnerships but also to foster new friendships through local networks. It was also emphasised that countries in the Global South should take the lead by becoming the narrators of their development concerns, and they should be in a position to set their own development agenda.

The Global Development Initiative, as proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping, is projected as a transformative force, aiming to promote connectivity and cooperation across continents and the global community. It presents an alternative view of the need for new multilateralism and development initiatives to promote economic growth and regional integration. The eight priorities that GDI focuses on are Poverty alleviation, food security, attention to COVID-19 and vaccines, financing for development, industrialisation, the digital economy, and connectivity. As the central concept of GDI is development, it seeks to contribute to the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It also sets out the priorities for co-operation and an inclusive approach towards development. Shared prosperity can be achieved by addressing regional interdependence and fostering partnerships across countries towards a shared goal.

One of the important themes of the discussion was the idea of what constitutes the Global South. What criteria should be applied to demarcate countries in the Global South category? Is it Geographical, identity-based, or about the roles they are going to play in creating an alternative world order to the West? Do these countries essentially share a common identity of being non-

Western, post-colonial and anti-hegemonic in nature? Why is there a renewed interest in the Global South? Is it a revival, rebranding, or realignment? What is the nature of Asian solidarity among these Global South countries? Is it simply brotherhood, equality in facing similar struggles, or the building of South-South cooperation among these countries? What are the new ways of strategically mobilising these countries? Will there be power competition for leadership among these countries in the Global South, and how will these small states form new alliances and/or connections among themselves? But most important of all, the countries in the Global South share common concerns about geopolitical volatility and shared vulnerabilities in the future. What has been the role of regional institutions in creating a new way of bilateral and multilateral partnership between the Global South vis-à-vis Western countries,

Secondly, the idea that China and South Asia are becoming such interdependent economies that it is difficult to think of a global system without exploring these new partnerships. The need for regional cooperation was emphasised as there are factors which determine South Asia’s industrial dependency on China. While India and Bangladesh rely heavily on Chinese inputs, even for finished products, for other countries in the region, China has become the main exporter of EVs and construction and maritime vessels. Chinese investment in South Asia has been mainly in the primary sector, like infrastructure, energy, technology Apps, power generation projects, and logistics; besides, there is a human dimension to this trade dependence in terms of students, travellers, and people-to-people cultural contacts that have been built up significantly in the last few years,

There were simultaneous parallel panels on these four initiatives, mainly echoing the need to create a common platform where countries can discuss their concerns, highlighting the need for cooperation, and discussing Asian countries’ experience in obtaining relief, aid, and poverty alleviation assistance from China. Thus, it has clearly emphasised China’s contribution towards building a shared community and, most importantly, new ways of cooperation between China and the Global South and whether it can provide an alternative to the existing world order.

Different papers on the theme of the ‘Global Development Initiative’ largely examined how the BRI can present an opportunity for the neighbouring economies of South Asia and Southeast Asia. Among these South Asian countries, there are already established historical connections with China, and these can be further upgraded to technical cooperation and to providing relief in disasters and humanitarian crises. One of the important policy outcome papers focused on the new international high-speed Kunming-Laos train, which seeks to address livelihood opportunities for the poverty-stricken counties along the route. Mohan town, once a remote town in Yunnan bordering Laos, is taking on a new profile as a booming international land port. Since the China-Laos Railway was put into operation in December 2021, it has seen rapid development, supported by increasingly smooth logistics. The 1,035-kilometre line that runs between Kunming, the capital city of Yunnan, and Vientiane, the capital of Laos, leaves China via Mohan port. Located at the two ends of the China-Laos Railway in China, Mohan and Kunming are closely connected by the international railway. In May 2022, Mohan was placed under the trusteeship of the provincial capital Kunming, which has largely transformed the border town into an international port and created a stable condition for investment and international cooperation. Laos was first among ASEAN countries in having the largest number of poor counties and the highest rate of poverty. Khammanh Bounteyne, Minister of Laos’ President’s Office in 2021, announced that China’s poverty alleviation success benefits its people and offers actionable plans for developing nations like Laos. Laos will learn and apply China’s experience. The paper was based on a field study conducted in the region and reported a marked improvement in livelihood patterns among people across different occupations.

Another set of presentations discussed the implementation of China’s Global Development Initiative, citing Brunei as an example. Brunei joined the Global Development Initiative in 2022, becoming the 72nd country to do so and marking the official level of GDI involvement. The bilateral contracts, like the petroleum agreement between Hengyi and the BEDB, also focused on solar investment and green development. In addition, the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area 3.0 upgraded protocol was signed, a multilateral agreement separate from GDI and the BRI. Chinese corporate and BRI-era capital has been investing in

renewables, EVs, and digital infrastructure across ASEAN’s varied development landscape. In Indonesia: BYD EVs; Laos Railways; Hengyi Industries is the largest overseas investment by a private Chinese enterprise and the largest foreign direct investment in Brunei, with a main focus on the petrochemical industry. On July 4 this year, BYD inaugurated its Thailand plant and produced its 8 millionth new energy vehicle in Rayong, Thailand. Brunei is an interesting model of a diversified financing mix of sovereign, Islamic, and Chinese capital with a trend towards deeper regional cooperation. In the case of South Asia, Nepal and Pakistan were projected as examples of a successful model in which collaboration between China and South Asia can be explored. India and China, being the oldest civilisations, can build a partnership through mutual trust and economic means of trade and business. Thus, most papers presented at that panel emphasised the Yunnan Model as a means of regional modernisation and cross- cultural connection.

Dr Ritu Agarwal is an Associate Professor at the Centre for East Asian Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She holds a PhD in Chinese Studies from the University of Delhi. Her research interests include rural political economy, urbanisation, property rights, gender studies, and provincial politics. Dr Agarwal studied Mandarin Chinese at Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing. She has been a Visiting Scholar at the Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences, Kunming and a Visiting Fellow at Yunnan University and Yunnan Minzu University. Her latest book (edited) is titled ‘The Border Province Reimagined: Yunnan’s Economic and Cultural Ties to Asia’ (2026)