The literature on the internationalization of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) under-appreciates the experience of those originating in the Global South. This article addresses this gap in the literature and discusses how Chinese NGOs conduct humanitarian activities abroad. Specifically, it provides an in-depth analysis of Chinese NGOs' involvement in the response to 2015 Nepal earthquake, which marked the first time when many Chinese NGOs engaged in 'going out' simultaneously. Based on the unique data collected in the aftermath of the earthquake, this article finds Chinese NGOs carried out their collective overseas operations through an emerging collaborative network amid resource and experience constraints, which demands more focused attention as a new way of Chinese NGOs' 'going out'. The study focuses on four critical areas of a collaborative network of disaster relief: information sharing, logistics, funding, and joint action. It finds that pre-existing networks and ad hoc partnerships facilitated Chinese NGOs to achieve networked governance through coordination and cooperation. The extent of coordination and collaboration vary across the areas above, with information sharing witnessing the most intensive interaction between organizations and funding having the least. This article provides a baseline for future research on Chinese NGOs' 'going out', an emerging trend in south-south humanitarianism.

Lu Qibin, Zhang Yuan, Gong Lina, Zhang Qiang, Xu Shiling, Dong Qiuyu. South-South humanitarianism: a collaborative network of Chinese non-governmental organizations responding to the 2015 Nepal earthquake [J]. Journal of Asian Public Policy, Jul 2025, DOI: 10.1080/17516234.2025.2531307.