On September 14, 2025, during the 2025 Legislators Forum for Friendly Exchanges, the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) held the Global South Legislators Dialogue in Urumqi, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. President Yang Wanming of the CPAFFC attended the event and delivered a keynote speech. Didiano Pinilla, Secretary of the Alternate Committee of the Latin American Parliament and Former Vice President of the National Assembly of Panama; Suwaibou Touray, Member of the Pan-African Parliament; Mustapha Temmar, Member of Algerian People's National Assembly; Jucelia Oliveira Freitas, President of Brazillian National Union of State Legislators; Ashok Tanwar, Former Member of Indian Parliment; Vandy Bouthasavong, Vice- Chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Assembly of Lao PD; Busayo Oluwole Oke, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs of Nigeria; Nqabayomzi Kwankwa, Member of the National Assembly of South Africa; Nicolás Viera, Senator of Uruguay; Chen Jing, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal People's Congress; and Sun Licheng, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Shandong Provincial People's Congress. They engaged in in-depth exchanges under the theme of "Advancing Development and Revitalization of the Global South through Modernization." Nearly 100 representatives from national legislatures participating in the 2025 Legislators Forum for Friendly Exchanges attended the event, including Joseph T Isaac, Speaker of the House of Assembly of Dominica; and Sommad Pholsena, Vice President of the National Assembly of the Lao PDR and Head of the Lao-China Friendship Group. Quan Heng, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, presided over the meeting.
President Yang Wanming emphasized that countries of the Global South, linked by deep-rooted ties and broad common interests, have become a vital force in promoting global development, improving governance and safeguarding peace. He noted that convening this dialogue during the forum aims to build consensus and strengthen cooperation on modernization for the development of the Global South. Amid a world marked by turbulence and transformation, we should adhere to political independence and self-reliance to achieve modernization for shared security; embrace the historic mission of development and revitalization to advance modernization for common prosperity; and uphold mutual learning among civilizations to realize modernization characterized by diversity and inclusiveness. China stands ready to work with all Global South partners to implement the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative, and the Global Governance Initiative, ensuring that the benefits of modernization reach every country and every citizen.
Chinese and foreign guests shared their experience and practices in advancing modernization, discussed solutions to global challenges, and agreed that modernization is an essential pathway for Global South countries to achieve leapfrog development. They underscored that legislative bodies, as key players driving national progress and enhancing global governance, should play a greater role in this process and contribute more substantially to building a closer community with a shared future for mankind.
