The Non-Aligned Movement Summit convened yesterday in Kampala, Uganda, for Jan. 19-20. The war in Gaza and the push to reform the global political and economic system dominated speeches at the NAM Summit, a forum of 120 developing countries. In addition, the leaders called for an overhaul of the multilateral global governance architecture to give greater say to the Global South, including permanent seats for developing countries on the United Nations Security Council.
China on Jan. 20 sent a high-level delegation to the summit in Kampala. The delegation is headed by Politbureau member and Vice-premier Liu Guozhong, who will address the event. China feels that the relationship with this important representative of the Global South is crucial in building a global consensus for changing the present system of global governance which is controlled by the Western nations under the virtual dictate of an Anglo-American oligarchy. China has maintained a close relationship with the NAM ever since its presence at the 1956 Bandung conference where the movement was formed. Bandung also remains a key starting point for China’s decades-long relationship with the other developing countries.
