Regarding the global south vis-à-vis US-China, Chinese "inroads" with much of the global south are less about picking sides in a new cold war, but countries being disappointed with the US led international system. This is clearest with the amount of countries which attended the BRICS summit in Russia this year and how many expressed interest to joining (BRICS kind of just represents a dissatisfaction with Bretton Woods institutions more than anything). I think the US could regain some credibility if we started operating with the knowledge that other countries have agency and interests of their own (that includes China). I still think there is an off-ramp to US-China great-power competition/cold war, but it is becoming more and more unlikely.
Regarding the global south vis-à-vis US-China, Chinese "inroads" with much of the global south are less about picking sides in a new cold war, but countries being disappointed with the US led international system. This is clearest with the amount of countries which attended the BRICS summit in Russia this year and how many expressed interest to joining (BRICS kind of just represents a dissatisfaction with Bretton Woods institutions more than anything). I think the US could regain some credibility if we started operating with the knowledge that other countries have agency and interests of their own (that includes China). I still think there is an off-ramp to US-China great-power competition/cold war, but it is becoming more and more unlikely.
Well said