By Marcelo Jose
Counselor of ABI Associação Brasileira de Imprensa, Brazil
It’s no coincidence that my first visit to China, at the invitation of the 2025 Belt and Road Journalists Forum, occurs at a time when we Brazilians are facing a strong attack from the US government, including economic threats. This attack, which they futilely try to justify with petty political issues—pariah-based/local—but, in fact, hides a greater concern.
It’s no coincidence that these events occur shortly after our President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva received, in Rio de Janeiro, representatives from 22 countries, including Li Qiang, Prime Minister of China, for the 17th BRICS Summit. The meeting (July 6-7) discussed “Strengthening Global South Cooperation for More Inclusive and Sustainable Governance.”
Cooperation among countries of the so-called Global South, seeking mutual, sustainable, and inclusive development for its most needy citizens, is a banner championed by many BRICS leaders, notably Lula and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. It is precisely the rapprochement of these world leaders—especially the Brazilian and Chinese—that is of greatest concern to US President Donald Trump.
It is also a cause for concern that the defense of cooperation between countries of the Global South is endorsed by various countries, valuing and promoting trade, knowledge, technology, sustainable development, cultural activities, etc. This policy of pursuing development—justifiable in itself—is seen as a threat to the hegemony that the United States has exercised since the end of World War II.
In reality, China’s profound economic, technological, environmental, and social changes and achievements since the 1980s—which scholars refer to as “21st-Century Socialism”—have already transformed it into the new engine of development. This is frightening to the old leaders and their allies.
An example of this leadership is the Belt and Road Program launched by Xi Jinping. While aimed at achieving gains for his country and his people, these are substantial investments that will generate development in partner countries. All based on negotiation. A game of exchanges, which can be called a win-win, without exploitation or impositions as we have seen the American president try to do.
The first surprise of my visit was my inability to identify—in this short space of time—whether Trump’s pressure on countries approaching the BRICS and, consequently, China, also concerns the Chinese people. In Brazil, the pressures have mobilized more than two-thirds of the population—including conservative businesspeople and groups that even opposed President Lula—in defense of nationalism. But I couldn’t even fathom the extent of the Chinese people’s knowledge of this matter. My curiosity remains.
On this first visit, albeit for a very limited time and with specific itineraries, I was able to witness firsthand all the development and advancement achieved by the Chinese, as I have learned throughout my 50-year journalistic career, through reading, listening to conversations, and other forms of learning. This allows, with due limitations, to witness the benefits this development brings to the Chinese population, placing them in a prominent position in terms of intellectual, technological, and educational development. Something that will undoubtedly result in the desired social development we all strive for.
However, the big question remains for us as journalists and communicators, especially those in the Global South, where our Latin American/Caribbean countries play a prominent role:
How should we act to bring our compatriots the necessary information about the ongoing battle between the old hegemony and a new proposal for sustainable, mutual, and socially shared development?
Will we, through dialogue between nations—respecting diverse cultures—know how to convey to our compatriots—especially the younger generation, easily drawn to fads, and the less cultured—the facts as they are happening, in a real and clear way? Or will we allow them to remain influenced by communication—currently heavily controlled by digital multinationals, Big Tech—focused on defending the old and ancient hegemony?
This is a challenge that several Brazilian journalists have highlighted as necessary. We, as journalists/communicators from countries of the Global South—especially those belonging to the BRICS—need to be aware of this and seek ways to work together, especially those with geographical and even cultural ties, such as Latin Americans. As some of these are also from China and develop important projects with it – the Atlantic-Pacific corridor, for example – these countries are the most susceptible to pressure from the US president.
At the recent BRICS Media and Think Tank Forum, also held in Rio de Janeiro (July 16), this topic was also raised in the presence of representatives from international media outlets and research centers, including Fu Hua, president of the Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua.
At this event, organized by Xinhua and the state-owned Brazilian Communications Company (EBC), with the participation of the Brasil 247 portal and the newspaper Monitor Mercantil, journalist Leonardo Attuch, founder of the portal, spoke to more than 250 delegates, including journalists and intellectuals from the BRICS countries, advocating for the creation of a broad communication front between the BRICS countries and other nations of the Global South.
During his participation, Attuch highlighted the need for a geopolitical repositioning of this bloc of countries: “We will transform BRICS not only into a political and economic alliance, but also into a communications and ideological alliance,” he stated, emphasizing the importance of building a unique narrative for emerging nations.
This proposal has been under discussion for some time. It took place in Rio de Janeiro last June at the “Global South Dialogue – China-CELAC Roundtable Forum” meeting, organized by the Chinese newspaper Global Times, Brasil 247, and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). Representatives from governments, academia, businesses, media, and civil society from China and Latin America gathered in Rio de Janeiro to discuss how to expand integration between countries of the Global South.
During my visit to China, it became clear that, based on this 2025 Belt and Road Journalists’ Forum and the dialogues it provides, the media outlets from the Global South and the BRICS—especially those from Latin America and the Caribbean—need to seek ways to exchange information, experiences, potential partnerships, and even improvements so we can better fulfill our role: informing, explaining, and raising awareness among the citizens of these regions, engaging them in the struggle for greater social equality.
*The views and opinions expressed in the articles are solely those of the individual authors and do not reflect the position of the Secretariat of the Belt and Road Journalist Network.