By CGTN
Accra, April 15, GNA- Seventy years ago, in April 1955, representatives from 29 Asian and African countries gathered in Bantung, Indonesia.
Many were newly independent; others were still under colonial rule, but united by a common vision: a world free from imperial domination, Cold War binaries, and economic exploitation.
The Bandung Conference laid the foundation for what we now call the Global South. It was more than a meeting; it was a declaration of sovereignty, solidarity, and self-determination.
Today, as the world faces new forms of geopolitical tension, economic inequality, and shifting alliances, Bandung’s legacy remains strikingly relevant.
As Professor Wang Jinjie of Peking University noted, the conference created a rare platform for countries to assert their vision of a just world order free from Cold War binaries and colonial dependencies.
China, still emerging at the time, found its voice through the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, namely mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence.
These values offered an ethical alternative to power-based diplomacy and have since anchored China’s approach to global partnerships, especially in Africa.
For Africa, the conference gave postcolonial struggles a powerful moral and political boost. As Paul Frimpong from the Africa-China Center for Policy and Advisory reminded us, Ghana’s independence in 1957, just two years after Bandung, became a model for other African nations. Ghana not only gained political freedom but also became a hub for pan-African solidarity and a base for liberation movements across the continent.
The spirit of Bandung, once rooted in political liberation, now finds expression in economic cooperation.
Today, Africa and Asia engage through platforms like the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), the Belt and Road Initiative, and growing south–south exchanges in infrastructure, digital economy, and education.
This shift from resistance to constructive engagement shows the evolution of Bandung’s legacy from protest to partnership.
Still, today’s world presents new challenges: unilateralism, economic protectionism, and persistent global inequality. As Wang Jinjie and Paul Frimpong both emphasized, the Global South must find new ways to assert strategic autonomy — not necessarily through non-alignment, but through flexible and principled cooperation.
There is also a need to modernize Bandung’s ideals: to build inclusive digital economies, green infrastructure, and people-to-people connectivity across regions. As Wang said, the Five Principles remain “an ethical baseline” — a compass to guide the building of a more equitable international system.
Bandung’s legacy isn’t static — it is a living call to action. The message is clear: the Global South must lead its own future, grounded in dignity, mutual respect, and shared prosperity.
70 years after the Bantung Conference, the message still echoes: we are strongest when we speak and act together.
The opinion is based on an interview from CGTN’s podcast China Africa Talk with Paul Frimpong, Executive Director Africa-China Center for Policy and Advisory and Wang Jinjie, Research Assistant Professor at Peking University.
A monument above features a globe sculpture in Bandung, Indonesia, where the 1955 Bandung Conference was held.
The inscription quotes Indonesia’s first president, Sukarno: “Let a new Asia and new Africa be born,” symbolizing solidarity and cooperation among newly independent nations.
GNA
CA/
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