From June 10 to 12, 2025, the "Global South and Southeast Asia" academic conference was successfully held at the University of Indonesia Depok Campus in Jakarta, Indonesia. The conference is co-organized by the School of Social and Political Science of the University of Indonesia, the Beijing Xiuyuan Economic and Social Research Foundation, the Institute of Community of Shared Future for Mankind at Communication University of China, and the Shanghai Institute of Spring and Autumn Development Strategy. It aims to promote in-depth dialogue between the intellectual community of southern countries around the world and explore innovations in regional cooperation paths and development models in the context of global reshaping.

The conference attracted 37 scholars and experts from 10 countries including China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Brunei and East Timor, covering multiple disciplines such as political science, sociology, economics, and cultural studies. As an international forum with southern countries as the main body and cross-regional knowledge cooperation as the orientation, the conference held full discussions on topics such as "Reconstruction of the Southern Knowledge System", "Transformation of Regional Development Model" and "Innovation of Multilateral Mechanisms", marking the initial formation of a new Southern Discourse Platform with independent knowledge production as the core.

In his opening speech, Yang Ping, chairman of the Xiuyuan Foundation, pointed out that the world today is undergoing profound changes, and the Western-dominated international order has revealed its institutional and values ​​limitations. As a rising collective force, the Global South urgently needs to build an independent theoretical system that fits its own historical culture and development reality on the basis of getting rid of single modernity and dependence on the Western knowledge structure. The Global South Network (GSN) was born in this context. Its goal is to promote the reconstruction of the discourse system through the continuous exchange of transnational intellectuals and the setting of topics, and then play a substantial impact in policy formulation and social development.

On June 11, the meeting focused on four topics: "The Awakening of Knowledge in the Global South", "What kind of Global South do we want", "Global South and New Developmentism", and "Development Model and Experience". Syed Farid, a professor at the National University of Singapore, proposed that decolonization of knowledge should include three dimensions: critical Eurocentrism, knowledge reconstruction and originality. Yin Zhiguang, a professor at Fudan University, emphasized that China's attention to the global south is not only a geostrategic adjustment, but also an active construction of an imagination of another global order. Vietnamese scholar Hoang Hue Anh pointed out that in the "universal value vacuum period", the opportunity for the reconstruction of the global South is to build an international normative system that truly reflects one's own interests. Qin Beichen, a doctoral student at Tsinghua University, demonstrated the importance of local theoretical innovation based on the experience of Southeast Asia's economic catching up. Max Lane, a former Australian diplomat in Indonesia, pointed out that the fundamental reason for Indonesia's poverty is that Dutch colonialism has stolen a lot of wealth and the new government has not effectively weakened colonial legacy.

In the second agenda "What kind of global south do we want?", Chairman of the Cambodian National Assembly Advisory Committee, Jung Wannari (), believes that ASEAN is gradually evolving into the strategic center of the global south. Awang Azman Awang Pawi, professor of the Department of Social Culture, School of Malay Studies and researcher at the University of Malaya, proposed a new developmentist paradigm with local autonomy and social investment as the core, emphasizing the driving force of the digital economy to regional diversified development. Lucio Pitlo III, president of the Philippine China Research Association and researcher at the Asia-Pacific Progress Foundation, pointed out that southern countries are committed to multilateral strategic layout to cope with the uncertainty of the global power pattern. Farid, Director of the General Administration of Culture of the Ministry of Education and Culture of Indonesia, emphasized the core role of culture in shaping regional communities and advocated promoting the construction of content quota systems and regional cultural infrastructure. Professor Cha Daojiong of Peking University pointed out that the concept of "Global South" has a profound historical continuity, and the "three-in-one" development model built by China in southern cooperation provides a practical paradigm for the future. Tran Thanh Hai, deputy director of the Institute of Foreign Policy and Strategy of Vietnam University of Foreign Affairs, proposed that global southern cooperation should focus on global governance reform, climate change response, South-South scientific and technological innovation and regional integration.

In the discussion on the issue of "Global South and New Developmentism", former member of the Stiglitz Committee for the Reform of the International Monetary and Financial System, Jomo Kwame, pointed out that the Bandung spirit still has important practical significance, and the ASEAN 3 (China-Japan-South Korea) mechanism may become an emerging non-aligned platform. Yang Ping, the initiator of the forum, believes that most southern countries under the guidance of Western development theory have failed to complete the task of industrialization, and must create new development theories and new development models to guide the development of southern countries around the world. Professor Li Xiaoyun of China Agricultural University pointed out that southern countries should promote the transformation from exogenous development to endogenous development. Professor Zhou Yongmei of Peking University proposed a three-dimensional model of "gradual institutional construction" to respond to the debate topic of "good governance and development". Professor AI Banna from Indonesia University criticized the misjudgment of the role of southern countries caused by excessive "big power-centrism". Professor Chandaris Neak from Royal University of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, demonstrated a feasible path to development autonomy through the "Belt and Road" cooperation case.

The topic of "Development Models and Experiences" covers empirical research in multiple countries. Professor Aji from the University of Indonesia explored the impact of cultural policies on indigenous people based on an anthropological perspective and called for community-oriented development. Philippine scholar Fernando (T.) analyzed the path choice between ASEAN countries between state intervention and market mechanisms. Researcher Xu Liping of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences discussed the impact of localization of Islam on regional identity in Southeast Asia. Singapore scholar Lye Liang Fook pointed out that small countries should seize new development opportunities by leveraging digitalization and green economy. Professor Narong Peprasset from Thailand starts with the domestic power structure and analyzes the issue of development fairness. Researcher Kong Tao from Peking University proposed a sustainable development strategy with the "resilent middle-income group" as the core. Philippine scholar Romer Ban Leyi () emphasized the inspiring value of China's development model to the Philippines and advocated advancing pragmatic cooperation beyond geopolitical differences.

On the morning of June 12, the meeting focused on "Southeast Asia Sub-regional Cooperation" and "Southeast Asia Cooperation and Reflection". Wang Min, an associate professor at Peking University, took China's new energy policy as an example to demonstrate the transformation path that combines policy guidance with market mechanisms. Kin Phea, director of the Cambodian Institute of International Relations, took his own practice as an example to introduce the remarkable achievements of infrastructure cooperation in poverty reduction. Professor Xu Jintao of Peking University put forward policy innovation suggestions in the field of forest governance. Helio, vice president of the National University of Timor-Leste, emphasized the strategic significance of green energy cooperation. Fahru Nofrien, Indonesia's National Development University () focuses on the impact of China-Indian energy cooperation on the labor market. Maria, a researcher at the Southeast Asian Institute of Singapore, reviews the long-term cooperation history of China-Indian from the perspective of knowledge transfer.

The last topic is "Southeast Asia Cooperation and Reflection". Professor Liu Hong of Nanyang Technological University in Singapore proposed a four-dimensional knowledge transfer framework to systematically explain the knowledge transfer model in China-Indonesia cooperation. Brunei scholar Chang-Yau Hoon warned of the risk of the tooling of the concept of "Global South" and called for listening to grassroots voices. Indonesian government consultant Vivi focused on digital technology cooperation and proposed specific plans to build an intelligent manufacturing ecosystem. Malaysian expert Tanga Vilo () emphasizes the institutional basis of regional economic resilience based on ASEAN's 56-year development history. Scholar Pan Yue from China innovatively proposed the triple realization path of "common modernization" between China and Indonesia, providing new ideas for South-South cooperation. Indonesian economist Elan emphasized the important role of the social security system in enhancing economic inclusion. Former Vietnamese diplomat Hoang Thi Ha pointed out that in the face of American economic nationalism, the traditional model of "economy depends on China and security depends on the United States" is facing structural challenges.

On the evening of June 11, the meeting specially set up a "Night Talk in the Fire" exchange session, inviting about 80 mainstream Indonesian media people, scholars and college students to conduct open dialogue with Chinese scholars participating in the conference on topics such as "What does the Global South mean?" This session was chaired by Professor Zhang Yanqiu of Communication University of China. It breaks the boundaries of the traditional conference venue and promotes diversified interactions between the youth group, the media community and the knowledge community in a relaxed and in-depth atmosphere. The participants had a speculative confrontation around the historical positioning, real situation and future possibilities of the global south, showing the growing sense of public rationality and practical responsibility of the southern intellectual community.

On the afternoon of the 12th, the meeting ended successfully with two high-level roundtable forums. Roundtable A was co-chaired by Channery, Chairman of the Global Southern Network Preparatory Committee, and Professor Li Xiaoyun of China Agricultural University, and conducted in-depth discussions on "the continuous impact of Western theories and the local transformation of Chinese experience." While responding to the existing development paradigm, the scholars attending the conference also proposed to build a theoretical framework that takes into account the differences between historical continuity and reality, and promote southern countries to achieve knowledge rebalancing in modern narratives. Roundtable B is co-chaired by Zormo Sandalam, an academician of the Malaysian Academy of Sciences, and Yang Ping, president of "Cultural Zongheng", focusing on "Southeast Asia's strategic positioning under structural competition between China and the United States." In a highly complex geographic environment, scholars generally believe that the long-term reliance on "the economy depends on China and security depends on the United States" has faced structural bottlenecks, and it is urgent to build a more autonomous and strategically flexible regional policy system.

The successful convening of the "Global South and Southeast Asia" conference not only promoted substantive dialogue and mutual learning between regions, but also marked the formation of a new cooperation mechanism with the southern subject as the core, transnational collaboration as the method, and ideological production as the driving force. The theoretical depth and practical dimension presented by the conference highlight the urgent willingness and realistic path of southern countries to strive for discursive autonomy and development in the process of reconstructing the international order. This meeting not only strengthened in-depth exchanges between China and Southeast Asian countries' intellectual circles, but also provided ideological momentum and network support for the redefinition and diversification of the concept of "Global South". As an important starting point for the construction of the Global Southern Network (GSN), the convening of this conference will help promote southern countries to achieve knowledge autonomy, theoretical innovation and development linkage in the new round of global governance changes, and lay the foundation for the normalized and institutionalized southern dialogue platform in the future.