‘Future Belongs To Global South’: Decoding Iranian Speaker’s Message On 'New World Order'

Last Updated:May 17, 2026, 18:08 IST

What did Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf say? Why did he invoke China's Xi Jinping? News18 explains

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf declared that “the future belongs to the Global South", asserting that the world is standing at the cusp of a new geopolitical order and the traditional dominance of Western powers is rapidly eroding.

News18 decodes the message.

What did Ghalibaf say?

Citing Chinese President Xi Jinping’s vision of historic global transformations, Ghalibaf stated that Iran’s ongoing resistance has accelerated this geopolitical shift.

In a post on X, he emphasised that Iran’s recent “70-day resistance" against US and Israeli military and economic pressures has acted as a primary catalyst. “The world stands at the cusp of a new order. As President Xi said, ‘The transformation unseen in a century is accelerating across the globe,’ and I emphasise that the Iranian nation’s 70-day resistance has accelerated this transformation. The future belongs to the Global South," Ghalibaf posted.

What had Xi Jinping said

During the meeting, Xi said, “The whole world is watching our meeting. Currently, a transformation not seen in a century is accelerating across the globe and the international situation is fluid and turbulent."

“The world has come to a new crossroads. Can China and the United States overcome the Thucydides trap and create a new paradigm of major country relations?" Xi added, while calling for greater stability and cooperation amid global uncertainty.

Xi, through his “Thucydides trap" remark, referred to the recent conflict in West Asia between the US and Iran.

The term, first popularised by Harvard scholar Graham T Allison, highlighted the intense structural tensions and increased risk of conflict that arise when an emerging power challenges the dominance of an existing global power.

Xi further highlighted the significance of ties between the two nations, noting that both countries stood to gain through cooperation and lose through confrontation.

“I always believe that our two countries have more common interests than differences. Success in one is an opportunity for the other. And a stable bilateral relationship is good for the world. China and the United States both stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation," he stated.

Why Ghalibaf invoked Xi

Ghalibaf directly quoted President Xi’s signature ideological phrase: “The transformation unseen in a century is accelerating across the globe."

He invoked Xi for several strategic reasons:

Leveraging a High-Stakes US-China Summit: Ghalibaf’s remarks followed a major Beijing summit where President Xi hosted US President Donald Trump. While Trump and Xi negotiated trade deals and discussed the “Thucydides trap" regarding West Asian conflicts, Iran used Xi’s own words to remind Washington that China and the Global South represent a unified front against unilateral US actions.

His New Strategic Role: Coinciding with these statements, Ghalibaf was officially appointed as Iran’s special representative for China affairs, tasked with coordinating bilateral and economic sectors. Aligning his rhetoric with Beijing serves to deepen the China-Iran strategic partnership.

Validating Anti-Western Resistance: By anchoring Iran’s regional military defiance to Xi’s broad economic and philosophical vision of a new world order, Ghalibaf elevates Iran’s localized conflict into a globally significant movement backed by the world’s most powerful emerging bloc.

With ANI inputs

News explainers ‘Future Belongs To Global South’: Decoding Iranian Speaker’s Message On 'New World Order'

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