The Scholarly Debate Over Whether China Aims to ‘Weaponize’ the Global South Against the U.S.

Atlantic Council Non-Resident Fellow Michael Schuman (left) and Peking University Professor Zhao Dajiong (right) expressed sharply contrasting views on China's ambitions in the Global South.

There’s an increasingly widespread perception among some scholars and government officials in the U.S. that China is leveraging its considerable influence in developing countries to mobilize them against the U.S.-led international order.

Michael Shuman, a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, recently voiced that concern at a two-day conference organized by the Washington, D.C.-based think to discuss China’s evolving role in the Global South.

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by Barry van Wyk

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