Kishida Rejects China as Part of "Global South"

Tokyo, Jan. 28 (Jiji Press)--China is not part of the "Global South," a term grouping developing and emerging economies in regions including Southeast Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has said.

While China is sometimes regarded as part of the Global South, Kishida told a parliamentary meeting on Friday, "I'm not considering that China is included."

In a parliamentary policy speech earlier this week, Kishida vowed to strengthen the Group of Seven major countries' engagement with the Global South.

On Friday, Kishida was responding to a question from Kohei Otsuka, policy chief of the Democratic Party for the People, who asked whether the prime minister's speech suggested that Japan would resume development aid to China.

While noting that the Global South has no fixed definition, Kishida said that Japan has completed all of its official development assistance projects for China.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]