Global South has noted Washington's approach

The Global South, which at its inception was considered the Group of 77 by the United Nations, is recognized across the globe as the developing world. Today, that means it is generally considered to refer to the roughly 130 nations that comprise Latin America and the Caribbean, Central and Eastern Europe, South Asia, most of East Asia and Africa.

For the moment, let's put China, which is part of the Global South, to one side. Now let's imagine we are examining a map that shows us those developing countries. You would quickly realize the developing world is home to billions of people. If we then consider the demographics of these countries, we will also see why the young and eager-to-succeed populations in many of those countries might very well define our world later this century, and realize that the Global South will be the world's economic powerhouse in the decades to come.

You will also quickly figure out why the United States and its allies look with trepidation at the rise of the Global South. The West's often brutal treatment of the Global South no longer has to be tolerated by the grouping. The Global South has had enough of the West's hegemony.

Washington is seeking to make amends. It has to, and it knows it. One of the more important indicators came earlier this year when US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan addressed the Brookings Institution, a respected US think tank.

Sullivan carefully outlined how the White House is seeking to modernize the US' economic relationships across the globe. He mentioned how items as small as semiconductors and as complex as "clean-energy production" must be at the heart of current and future economic planning. He acknowledged that critical minerals — such as lithium, cobalt and nickel — cannot be harnessed by the US; as a result, Washington needs "resilience and security in our supply chains", which, Sullivan claimed, can only come from countries and regions aligned with Washington.

It is here that we introduce China into our thinking.

As much as Sullivan wants his listeners to think about the future, US President Joe Biden and too much of official Washington remain stuck in the past. They refuse to consider the powerful role China can and must play in creating a future economic framework in which global citizens will benefit. Biden, joined by the political and media elite in Washington, will not discuss how China and the US can cooperate in clean-energy production, climate change and much more.

There are examples in which the two countries have generated success in recent years. They committed to reduce global emissions. In recent months, multiple high-profile members of the Biden administration have visited Beijing, and each visit has offered hints that talks will continue.

And yet, US intransigence continues to undermine an important reality: China and the US working together can do far more than either can do alone. And together they can be especially beneficial for the Global South.

Make no mistake, the US is playing catch-up.

Scientific American, a US science magazine, has noted that China invested $546 billion in 2022 alone on clean energy, outpacing all other nations, including the US which invested $141 billion. Scientific American's report concluded that China is expected to remain the global leader in this area for at least another decade.

We are living in a multipolar world, but that idea does not engender positive responses in Washington, where hegemonic attitudes, often wrapped in the mantra of "exceptionalism", too often cause irrational thinking and poor decision-making.

It is incumbent on the current president of the United States and those who follow him in the coming years to set aside the urge to blast China in order to score domestic political points. Instead, recognition of what the two nations can do together by forging a win-win partnership ought to be one of Washington's consistent talking points.

The Global South and its millions of young adults eager to find their place in the world are watching and listening.

The author is an associate professor at the Department of Communication and Organizational Leadership at Robert Morris University in Pennsylvania. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.