China's relations with the Third World have developed through several phases: the Bandung Line of the mid-1950s (named for a 1955
Bandung Conference of Asian and African nations held in
Bandung,
Indonesia), support for liberation and world revolution in the 1960s, the pronouncement of the
Theory of the Three Worlds and support for a "new international economic order" in the 1970s, and a renewed emphasis on the
Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence in the 1980s. Chinese government provides consistent political support to the
Group of 77 and has made financial contributions to the Group since 1994. As a result, official statements of the G77 are delivered in the name of
The Group of 77 and China. In addition, the foundation for China's 21st century engagement with Africa as the largest bloc of the Third World is the October 2000 Beijing ministerial conference for China-Africa dialogue (FOCAC) that set the basis for China's aspirations for a new world order, with elevated voice of the Third World.
Early years of the People's Republic China began developing relations with the Third World countries in 1954. The
Bandung Conference in 1955, at which
Zhou Enlai led the Chinese delegation, was an important milestone for China's foreign relations. China developed its foreign relations with many newly independent and soon-to-be independent countries. This was the beginning of China's official discourse of
South-South cooperation. China's
Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence were incorporated into the Ten Principles of Bandung. China preferred a
United Nations Secretary-General from the Third World. China's major foreign policy statement during this time was Mao's
Theory of the Three Worlds, which was announced at the UN in 1974 by
Deng Xiaoping. China engaged in South-South climate and clean energy cooperation through: (1) bilateral clean energy agreements, (2) multilateral clean energy cooperation, (3) expanding exports of its clean energy technology to other developing countries, and (4) foreign energy infrastructure development via the
Belt and Road Initiative. The "Ten, Hundred, Thousand" program is China's overarching initiative for South-South cooperation in addressing climate change. China is a major contributor to digital development in the global south. China began to engage in digital initiatives with the global south, such as telecommunications projects, as part of its
Go Out policy since 1999. The
Forum on China-Africa Cooperation is the primary multi-lateral coordination mechanism between African countries and China.Along with the
China-Arab States Cooperation Forum (CASCF), FOCAC was one of the first regional organizations established by China outside its territorial periphery. Thirty-three of the countries benefiting from the agreement are in
Africa and the non-African countries receiving zero tariff treatment are
Yemen,
Kiribati, the
Solomon Islands,
Afghanistan,
Bangladesh,
Cambodia,
Laos,
Myanmar,
Nepal, and
East Timor. ==Third World conflicts involving China==