China’s example of leadership injects hope into a world of uncertainty

Co-editor of Friends of Socialist China Danny Haiphong remarks on the significance of China’s successful brokering of renewed ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia. China “walking the walk” on diplomacy and peace, he says, has injected stability into a period of crisis and paves the way to a more democratic and multipolar world order.

This article first appeared in CGTN.

On the one-year anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, China released a position paper on the path forward to peace. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken claimed that the peace proposal lacked credibility and questioned China’s commitment to the sovereignty and international law. Just weeks after China released its position on peace in Ukraine, Blinken was proven wrong. Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to reestablish relations on March 10 after a round of successful talks that took place in Beijing.

Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, called the agreement a victory for peace. He was right. That two nations with complex differences and disputes were willing to sit down with their Chinese counterparts to work toward peace in a region that’s been devastated by war and external interference is indeed a major victory.

The reestablishment of ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia opens several possible doors to resolve pressing issues such as the status of Palestine, the war in Yemen, and Saudi Arabia and Iran’s future participation in multilateral institutions such as the BRICS Plus and Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Both Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to respect the sovereignty and internal affairs of other nations, a key pillar of peaceful development.

Contrary to the U.S. narrative, China’s leadership has injected confidence into a world of uncertainty and strife. In the field of global politics, China has demonstrated through concerted action just how serious it is about the cause of peace. The landmark diplomatic achievement between Saudi Arabia and Iran does not exist in a vacuum. It is part of China’s overall leadership role in the larger global movement to democratize international relations and move away from destructive hegemonism.

In this regard, China has both talked the talk and walked the walk. China has remained neutral and handled the world-altering Ukraine crisis in a manner consistent with international law. Rather than following the U.S. and the West in throwing fuel onto a fire with weapons sales and sanctions, China maintained relations with all sides and made itself available as a possible mediator for peace. This is consistent with China’s longstanding policy of non-interference in the affairs of other countries. The world has been watching carefully as China has stood tall in opposing illegal and counterproductive Western-led sanctions, color revolutions, and aggressive militarism.

Perhaps even more impressive is the fact that China helped mediate the successful talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia during the nation’s annual Two Sessions. Thousands of deputies and representatives have been deliberating around the clock to review achievements and set the policy agenda for the coming year. Despite a global economic slowdown, China’s GDP grew by 3 percent in 2022 and an around 5 percent GDP growth rate target has been set for 2023. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Chinese goods and services fell to just 1 percent in February, a signal that China has successfully defeated inflationary pressures currently wracking the West.

China’s rise has accelerated by leaps and bounds, paving the way to a more prosperous and stable livelihood for the Chinese people and an example of global leadership that both Chinese people and the people of the world can be proud of.

The success of the Iran-Saudi talks in Beijing alone should put naysayers of China’s global “credibility” to rest. However, China’s leadership has long been embraced the majority of the world’s nations. This is most clearly reflected in the massive interest in China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) which currently is comprised of over 140 countries and several thousand infrastructure projects either completed or under development.

China’s staunch opposition to economic sanctions and zero-sum relations has given nations in all corners of the world confidence in its global leadership. The U.S. and West make up a minority of global public opinion despite their leaders’ insistence that they alone speak for the “international community.”

Lies can poison the psyche, but they can’t change reality. Facts are stubborn things. The fact is that China’s leadership has injected hope into a world in dire need of it. China’s facilitation of successful talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia is concrete proof.

US is maintaining tensions with North Korea to draw in allies against China

In this detailed and well-researched article, originally published by Truthout, Simone Chun argues that, “the US military encirclement of China threatens to escalate into an Asia-Pacific war, with the Korean Peninsula at the focal point of this dangerous path. Garrisoned with nearly 30,000 combat-ready US forces manning the astonishing 73 US military bases dotting its tiny landmass, South Korea is the most critical frontline component of US military escalation in northeast Asia.” She further notes that, “sixty percent of US naval capacity has been transferred to the Asia-Pacific region, and 400 out of 800 US worldwide military bases and 130,000 troops are now circling China.”

This, Simone observes, is a reflection of Washington’s Asia-Pacific grand strategy, which views China as the US’s top security challenge and prioritizes the maintenance of US regional hegemony through military force. From this, she highlights three important implications, namely:

  • The accelerated remilitarization of Japan;
  • The revitalization of extremist hardline North Korea policies in both Washington and Seoul;
  • The intensification and expansion of belligerent wargames targeted at China and North Korea.

Whilst hosting more than 50,000 American troops, Tokyo, she notes, has steadily laid the groundwork for its own remilitarization program by characterizing North Korea as an existential threat, and designating Beijing’s regional activities as a danger to its homeland. According to the retired Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) Admiral Tomohisa Takei, China has been the main target for Japanese rearmament, “using North Korea’s threat as cover.”

Secondly, Washington’s zero-sum stance against China obstructs its ability to craft a sensible North Korea policy. “The goal of Washington’s North Korea policy…is not to achieve rapprochement with Pyongyang or establish peace in the Korean Peninsula, but rather to nurture and even enhance the purported ‘North Korean threat’ as a pretext to rally South Korea and Japan behind its goal of containing China.” Furthermore, Washington’s policy also serves to empower the extreme right in South Korea.

Third, Washington’s anti-China stance fuels belligerent wargames targeted at China and North Korea on the Korean Peninsula. The world’s largest bilateral peacetime military drills explicitly include the rehearsed attack on and occupation of North Korea as well as the ‘decapitation’ of its leadership. She notes that, “Washington’s resolve to push its exorbitant imperial privilege by any means necessary is forcing South Korea down a risky and self-destructive path that promises little benefit for the Korean nation itself,” and continues: “The greatest threat to peace and stability in northeast Asia is the US Indo-Pacific military encirclement of China, which by design serves to escalate tensions and create a dangerous cycle of provocation and response.”

Yet, “hawkish US policies have consistently failed to garner public support in South Korea. According to a series of polls conducted in 2021, 61 percent of South Koreans support relaxing sanctions against the north and 79 percent support peace with Pyongyang, with an additional 71 percent supporting a formal end-of-war declaration between the two Koreas.” And seven in ten Americans are supportive of a summit between Biden and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Simone Chun is a researcher and activist focusing on inter-Korean relations and US foreign policy on the Korean Peninsula. She has served as an assistant professor at Suffolk University, a lecturer at Northeast University and an associate in research at Harvard University’s Korea Institute. She is on the Korea Policy Institute Board of Directors, and serves on the advisory board for CODEPINK.

The U.S. military encirclement of China threatens to escalate into an Asia-Pacific war, with the Korean Peninsula at the focal point of this dangerous path. Garrisoned with nearly 30,000 combat-ready U.S. forces manning the astonishing 73 U.S. military bases dotting its tiny landmass, South Korea is the most critical frontline component of U.S. military escalation in northeast Asia.

Since the Obama administration’s 2012 “pivot to Asia,” Washington has intensified tensions with Beijing, doubling down on a “full-scale multi-pronged new Cold War” through the Indo-Pacific Strategy pursued by both the Trump and Biden administrations. Sixty percent of U.S. naval capacity has been transferred to the Asia-Pacific region, and 400 out of 800 U.S. worldwide military bases and 130,000 troops are now circling China.

This is a reflection of Washington’s Asia-Pacific grand strategy, which views China as the U.S.’s top security challenge and prioritizes the maintenance of U.S. regional hegemony through military force by “defending the homeland, paced to the growing multi-domain threat posed by the PRC [People’s Republic of China].”

It promotes the vision of an empire with unipolar hegemonic ambitions, expanding the theater of war in northeast Asia and distributing the totality of threats facing China. Its goal is to force China’s hand by triggering and escalating a hybrid war on multiple fronts, including military, technology, economy, information and media.

This strategy is based on chaining together a regional “anti-hegemonic coalition” of U.S.-armed allies encircling China from South Korea and Japan in the north to Australia and Indonesia in the south. In spite of the significant state-level and public resistance in these nations toward U.S. pressure to choose between allegiance to Beijing and allegiance to Washington, this vision has been largely realized thanks to unrelenting U.S. coercion through successive administrations.

Three important implications of this grand strategy, which places the Korean Peninsula at the pernicious center of intensified China-U.S. competition, merit attention: 1) the accelerated remilitarization of Japan; 2) the revitalization of extremist hardline North Korea policies in both Washington and Seoul; and 3) the intensification and expansion of belligerent wargames targeted at China and North Korea.

First, Washington’s military encirclement of China strategy bolsters Japan’s military build-up program. The U.S., despite having imposed a “pacifist” constitution on Japan in the wake of WWII, has for decades aggressively pushed for Japanese rearmament as a necessary adjunct of Washington’s efforts to dominate the Asia-Pacific. Labeling Japan a “failed peace state,” Gavan McCormack points out the ironic trajectory of its transformation into “one of the world’s great military powers” as a state actively girding for war under a so-called pacifist constitution. “With US encouragement, over time Japan built formidable land, sea, and air forces, evading the constitutional proscription by calling them ‘Self-Defence’ forces (rather than Army, Navy, and so on),” McCormack writes. “Other states with good reason to know and fear Japanese militarism (Australia included) also abandoned their commitment to the idea of its permanent demilitarisation…. [Its] constitution steadily sidelined, by early 21st century Japan was one of the world’s great military powers.”

Continue reading US is maintaining tensions with North Korea to draw in allies against China

Book review: China’s Economic Dialectic, by Cheng Enfu

We are pleased to republish Andrew Murray’s thoughtful and critical review of ‘China’s Economic Dialectic’, a recent book by Cheng Enfu, one of China’s foremost Marxist scholars, published by New York-based International Publishers. It was originally published in the Morning Star.

Andrew begins by noting that “there are few more important endeavours for the international left than understanding China’s extraordinary development and its meaning for world socialism,” and bemoans the general lack of reference to the work of Chinese scholars and the Communist Party of China in this regard.

Noting that Professor Cheng “locates the present mix of public ownership with substantial private enterprise and preponderant market relationships as appropriate for the primary stage of socialism, but looks forward to advancing to a fully public model to be attained under advanced socialism and finally communism,” Andrew points out that the author is “far from blind to the problems that have emerged as a result of the reforms” and “not afraid to criticise the Chinese government from within a position of overall support.”

In outlining his view of the shortcomings in Cheng’s work, Andrew cites a lack of “real reflection on the strengths and shortcomings of the ‘planned product economy’ as it actually existed in the USSR and in China itself until 1978.”

In conclusion he recommends it as “rewarding for those wanting to really grapple with the exceptional dynamics of China’s development and its socialist nature.”

The editors of this website do not necessarily agree with all of Andrew’s observations and assertions, but we unequivocally welcome the serious attention given to this subject by one of Britain’s most erudite Marxists and his contribution to a vital debate.

AS THE late Giovanni Arrighi stated: “If China is socialist or capitalist it is not like any previously encountered model of either,” and there are few more important endeavours for the international left than understanding China’s extraordinary development and its meaning for world socialism.

Such work is often bedevilled by an over-reliance on Western-generated analyses of China, as if the studies and understandings of Chinese scholars and the Communist Party of China themselves were of little use.

Cheng Enfu’s book is extremely helpful in this context. Cheng is a leading Chinese Marxist academic who has clearly thought deeply about China’s development as a socialist state.

His book examines economic policy in China from a variety of angles.

He locates the present mix of public ownership with substantial private enterprise and preponderant market relationships as appropriate for the primary stage of socialism, but looks forward to advancing to a fully public model to be attained under advanced socialism and finally communism.

Correctly, he claims that “the tremendous achievements China has realised during its 30 years of reform and opening up are not the result of following Western mainstream economics, or of implementing policies the derive from it”, and not least in respect of making the finance sector serve the productive economy.

Continue reading Book review: China’s Economic Dialectic, by Cheng Enfu

Following Chinese mediation, Iran and Saudi Arabia to resume diplomatic relations

The announcement from Beijing on Friday March 10 that, following Chinese mediation, Iran and Saudi Arabia are to resume their diplomatic relations is widely recognised as a stunning diplomatic and political development, with profound implications not only for the Middle East (or West Asia), but also for international relations generally. 

In a Joint Trilateral Statement by the People’s Republic of China, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran, the three countries announced that, “an agreement has been reached between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran, that includes an agreement to resume diplomatic relations between them and re-open their embassies and missions within a period not exceeding two months, and the agreement includes their affirmation of the respect for the sovereignty of states and the non-interference in internal affairs of states.”

The statement began by noting that this development came, “in response to the noble initiative of His Excellency President Xi Jinping” and “based on the agreement between His Excellency President Xi Jinping and the leaderships of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran, whereby the People’s Republic of China would host and sponsor talks between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran,” and continued:

“The delegations from the two countries held talks on 6-10 March 2023 in Beijing – the delegation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia headed by His Excellency Dr. Musaad bin Mohammed Al-Aiban, Minister of State, Member of the Council of Ministers, and National Security Advisor, and the delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran headed by His Excellency Admiral Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

The Saudi and Iranian sides also expressed their gratitude to Iraq and Oman for having hosted previous rounds of dialogue.

Xi Jinping visited Saudi Arabia last December, where he also attended China’s first summits with both the Gulf Cooperation Council and the League of Arab States, and last month hosted the first Beijing visit by an Iranian president in 20 years. It is worth recalling that many people had suggested that, by pursuing relations with Saudi Arabia, China was somehow abandoning or side-lining its friendship with Iran. The reality has proved the exact opposite.

Taken by surprise, the western media scurried to put out its news alerts. The New York Times reported that, “China hosted the talks that led to the breakthrough, highlighting Beijing’s growing role as a global economic and political power, and counterbalance to Washington – particularly in the Middle East, a region that was long shaped by the military and diplomatic involvement of the United States,” adding: “For the United States, the agreement signals that it cannot take for granted the pre-eminent influence it once wielded in Saudi Arabia, an ally that is charting a more independent diplomatic course, and elsewhere.”

It went on to quote Jonathan Fulton, a non-resident senior fellow for Middle East programs at the Atlantic Council, as saying:

“Beijing has adopted a smart approach using its strategic partnership diplomacy, building diplomatic capital on both sides of the Gulf. Unlike the United States, which balances one side against the other, and is therefore limited in its diplomatic capacity.”

Mark Dubowitz, the chief executive of the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies, was even more blunt, describing the news as, “a lose, lose, lose for American interests.”

Describing the development as “jolting the geopolitics of the Middle East”, in its first report, the Wall Street Journal wrote:

“China’s role in the talks marks a watershed moment for Beijing’s ambitions in the region, a part of the world where the US has waged war and spent hundreds of billions of dollars in providing security for allies. Along with Russia’s intervention in the Syrian civil war, China’s diplomacy is another sign of the US’s waning influence.”

It continued: “Beijing has provided a lifeline to sanctions-hit Iran, becoming its main remaining crude buyer since the US pulled out of a nuclear deal in 2018. But it has also sought closer ties with Saudi Arabia, Iran’s regional rival, for which it is the biggest trade partner and a top oil buyer.”

The paper quoted Aaron David Miller, who it described as, “a veteran US negotiator in the Middle East”, and who is now a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, as saying: “The Saudis see a multipolar future with China and Russia as important partners… It’s also a real slap in the face to Biden.”

The Wall Street Journal noted that, “there have long been hopes in Washington for a so-called Arab NATO that would counter Iran,” adding, “in Israel, the announcement of restored Saudi-Iran ties was met with dismay.”

In its subsequent report, headlined ‘China’s Model of a New Diplomacy Scores a Win With Iran-Saudi Deal’, the paper quoted Chas W. Freeman, a retired American senior diplomat who was President Nixon’s main interpreter during his 1972 icebreaking visit to Beijing, who later served as US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, and is today one of the few voices of reason in the US foreign policy establishment, as observing: “Among other things, this suggests that it’s a mistake to dismiss China as a potential peacemaker in Ukraine, as we reflexively did.”

Meanwhile, Iran’s Press TV summarised regional reactions, noting that United Arab Emirates (UAE) foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed had described the agreement as, “an important step towards stability and prosperity.” Oman, Iraq, Qatar, Jordan, Türkiye and Pakistan were also among the first countries to rapidly welcome the agreement.

It also won immediate support from key resistance movements in the region. Addressing a local event, the leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said the agreement will be to the benefit of the region, adding: “The rapprochement of Iran and Saudi Arabia proceeds in its normal path and can open new horizons for the region and Lebanon.” 

Mohammed Abdulsalam, the chief negotiator for Yemen’s Ansarullah resistance movement, more widely known internationally as the Houthis, said the region is in need of the resumption of “normal ties” between its countries, “for the Islamic nation to reclaim its lost security as a result of foreign, especially American-Zionist, interference.” Such interference, he tweeted, has taken advantage of differences in the region, and used ‘Iranophobia’ to commit aggression against Yemen.

Conversely, former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called the agreement a “political victory” for Iran and a “serious and dangerous development for Israel,” adding: “This delivers a fatal blow to efforts to build a regional coalition against Iran.” 

Another former Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, who is currently the leader of the opposition, also described the agreement as, “a dangerous development that strips Israel of its regional defensive wall,” adding that it, “reflects the complete and dangerous failure of the Israeli government’s foreign policy.” 

We reprint below the full text of the Joint Trilateral Statement. It was originally published on the website of the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

The following is the full text of a joint statement released by the People’s Republic of China, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Islamic Republic of Iran on Friday.

Joint Trilateral Statement by the People’s Republic of China, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Islamic Republic of Iran

In response to the noble initiative of His Excellency President Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China, of China’s support for developing good neighborly relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran;

And based on the agreement between His Excellency President Xi Jinping and the leaderships of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran, whereby the People’s Republic of China would host and sponsor talks between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran;

Proceeding from their shared desire to resolve the disagreements between them through dialogue and diplomacy, and in light of their brotherly ties;

Adhering to the principles and objectives of the Charters of the United Nations and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and international conventions and norms;

The delegations from the two countries held talks on 6-10 March 2023 in Beijing – the delegation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia headed by His Excellency Dr. Musaad bin Mohammed Al-Aiban, Minister of State, Member of the Council of Ministers, and National Security Advisor, and the delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran headed by His Excellency Admiral Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The Saudi and Iranian sides expressed their appreciation and gratitude to the Republic of Iraq and the Sultanate of Oman for hosting rounds of dialogue that took place between both sides during the years 2021-2022. The two sides also expressed their appreciation and gratitude to the leadership and government of the People’s Republic of China for hosting and sponsoring the talks, and the efforts they placed towards its success.

The three countries announce that an agreement has been reached between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran, that includes an agreement to resume diplomatic relations between them and re-open their embassies and missions within a period not exceeding two months, and the agreement includes their affirmation of the respect for the sovereignty of states and the non-interference in internal affairs of states. They also agreed that the ministers of foreign affairs of both countries shall meet to implement this, arrange for the return of their ambassadors, and discuss means of enhancing bilateral relations. They also agreed to implement the Security Cooperation Agreement between them, which was signed on 22/1/1422 (H), corresponding to 17/4/2001, and the General Agreement for Cooperation in the Fields of Economy, Trade, Investment, Technology, Science, Culture, Sports, and Youth, which was signed on 2/2/1419 (H), corresponding to 27/5/1998.

The three countries expressed their keenness to exert all efforts towards enhancing regional and international peace and security.

Issued in Beijing on 10 March 2023.

The statement was co-signed by Representative for the People’s Republic of China Wang Yi, Member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Director of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, Representative for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Musaad bin Mohammed Al-Aiban, Minister of State, Member of the Council of Ministers, and National Security Advisor, and Representative for the Islamic Republic of Iran Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council.

Video: Are the Arab countries moving into China’s orbit?

In this episode of Kalima Horra, the discussion program hosted by George Galloway on Al Mayadeen television, our Co-Editor Keith Bennett discusses recent developments in the relations between China and the Arab countries and their background. In response to George’s opening observation that the tectonic plates are shifting in the region, Keith draws attention not only to the success of President Xi Jinping’s visit to Saudi Arabia last December, which saw the first summit meetings between China and both the Gulf Cooperation Council and the League of Arab States, but also to the long history of relations between China and the Arab world, including China’s solidarity with the Palestinian revolution from its inception.

In response to a question as to how China can balance its relations with, for example, Saudi Arabia and Iran, Keith notes that China does not establish relations with any nation at the expense of a third country and that it always stresses the common interests of the developing countries, which it considers more important than their differences. Under such circumstances, it is becoming more difficult for the United States to pick off the Arab countries one by one. The US pursuit of a New Cold War, against China, Russia, Iran and some other countries. Keith notes, is serving to increase the coordination among the developing countries, with ever greater interest being expressed in such bodies as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the BRICS grouping.

Keith was joined in the studio by Shahid Dastgir Khan, a former student leader in Pakistan and now a human rights lawyer in Britain, and Joseph Robertson, the Strategic Director of the Orthodox Conservatives group; and by video link by Dr. Alessandro Arduino, Principal Research Fellow at the Middle East Institute of the National University of Singapore and an Associate at the Lau China Institute of King’s College London, and by Dr. Einar Tangen, a Senior Fellow at China’s Taihe Institute, based in Beijing.

Dr. Tangen said that, due to its rogue state behavior, the United States had worn out its welcome in the Middle East. Its colonial arrogance and lecturing of others does not work anymore. And Shahid Khan recalled that Pakistan-China friendship was something he clearly remembered right from his childhood. Pakistan, he noted, had played a part in helping draw Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) closer to China. 

The full discussion is embedded below.

Cheng Enfu: Marx’s Capital still shines with the light of truth

We are pleased to publish this speech by Professor Cheng Enfu on the contemporary relevance of Marx’s Capital, given at a recent webinar organised by the International Manifesto Group.

The core theme of Cheng’s presentation is that Capital has lost none of its relevance or applicability, and indeed is enjoying a resurgence of interest in response to the imperialist crisis. “Whenever the world faces a major dilemma or encounters a major setback, Marx always reappears in a new way, and people always look to Capital to find a way out of the global problems of the day.” Although Volume 1 of Capital appeared over 150 years ago, there is still “no theory in mainstream Western economics comparable to Capital in terms of understanding the reality and development of the contemporary world.”

In terms of the relevance of Marx’s economic teachings to contemporary Chinese socialism, Cheng points to the contradictory nature of capital: as a force for technological progress, and as a force for reproducing poverty and vast inequality. The unlimited expansion of financialized capital “has led to the intensification of the basic contradictions of capitalism in all countries and the whole world, with widening gap between rich and poor in wealth and income distribution within and between countries, leading to increasingly serious global problems.” The key lesson for China’s socialist market economy is the crucial importance of “overcoming the greedy nature and the disorderly expansion and monopoly of non-public capital” such that capital can better serve the interests of the people.

Professor Cheng joins the dots between Marx’s economic analysis and today’s global anti-imperialist struggle, stating that “we must resolutely oppose private monopoly capital, international financial monopoly capitalism and neo-imperialism, work together to actively safeguard the rights and welfare of the working class and the working people at large, resist the US-led West’s efforts to contain the peaceful development of China, Russia, North Korea, Iran and Syria, and bring into better play the economic role of progressive Third World countries such as China.”

Professor Cheng Enfu is Principal Professor of the University of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and Editor-in-Chief of World Review of Political Economy and International Critical Thought.

Hello everyone. Today, the title of my presentation is The Essence of Capital and Its Contemporary Value.                   

The capitalist world has changed dramatically since the publication of Capital, but this work of Marx has not become obsolete. Whenever the world faces a major dilemma or encounters a major setback, Marx always reappears in a new way, and people always look to Capital to find a way out of the global problems of the day. As long as capitalism and the market economy exist, Capital as a work that reveals its mysteries and economic laws, is unlikely to leave the stage. As a “Marxist encyclopedia,” the methodology and principles contained in Capital still shine with the light of truth and are of great practical significance.

First, Capital provides a scientific approach to understanding societies. In Capital, Marx organically integrates philosophy with economics, applies dialectics to the study of political economy, and has historical materialism and dialectics highly unified in the analysis of the evolution of the life and death of the capitalist market economy. Capital is mainly a study of the economic mode of capitalist society. Marx regarded the development of society as the result of contradictory movements and believed that the law of contradictory movements of the productive forces and relations of production as well as that of the economic base and superstructure is the general law of development of human society and its fundamental driving force. It determines the change of social formation and the basic trend of historical development. Marx analyzed the operation and development of capitalist economy by applying the law of unity of opposites, the law of quantitative and qualitative changes, and the law of the negation of negation, as well as methodologies such as class analysis; he studied the process of capitalist social and economic development by applying the scientific findings of historical materialism, and came to the scientific conclusion that capitalist system is not eternal, but is bound to be replaced as the contradiction between the productive forces and the relations of production evolves. To date, there is no theory in mainstream Western economics comparable to Capital in terms of understanding the reality and development of the contemporary world. I recently edited a textbook titled New Political Economy. The English version will be published soon. It is a synthesis of Marx’s Capital and his planned six volumes on political economy, creating a new system of “five processes” in modern political economy. I wish that the textbook may be available to you in some way since your comments and suggestions would be very valuable.

Second, it establishes the subject status of workers. Labor theory is at the core of Capital, and is a line running through historical materialism, political economy and scientific socialism, which is of great significance to the world today in firmly establishing the subject position of workers in the creation of wealth and value. Marx once pointed out that as long as society does not yet revolve around labor as the earth around the sun, it can never reach a state of equilibrium. Marx’s comparison of labor to the sun is sufficient to see the position of labor in his thought. Labor is the core of the Marxist paradigm and system. Not only does labor determine and condition the structure, nature and appearance of society, but the labor conditions would determine the conditions of human development. Marx presents the labor theory of value in Capital, arguing that living labor is the only source of value creation, making it the cornerstone of the theory of surplus value, and on that basis proposed the idea of labor emancipation. Even under the increasingly mature digital economy, intelligent economy and other high-tech conditions, as long as it is in a capitalist society or a capitalist enterprise in a socialist country centering on private capital, labor would still be characteristic of the dependence on things, workers be enslaved by private capital, and various forms of alienation persist. In future society where the factors of production are publicly owned, labor will become the “sun,” that is, labor will be completely liberated, thus truly realizing the free and comprehensive development of human beings. We must always stand in the position of international working people, establish a view in our value system that respects labor and workers, insist on the subject position of workers in social development and wealth creation, and refute the fallacy of “exploitation creates wealth” that has been popular for thousands of years.

Third, it clarifies the contradictory movement of capital. The theory on capital, as a key term in Marx’s works, is one of the three main categories throughout the book, i.e., labor, capital and surplus value, and is of great importance to our understanding of the nature and role of capital in the context of globalization. Capital is a product of a certain stage of human history. It is a historical category. Capital is a factor of production, a value that can bring surplus value. Capital in essence is not a thing, but a certain social and economic relationship, which in turn must be manifested through things. This gives rise to a double logic: a logic of creating material and economic civilization by the power of things, and a logic of value-added with pursuit of profit maximization. From private capital to private monopoly capital, national monopoly capital, and then to international monopoly capital, the expansionist nature of capital keeps driving forward the process of economic globalization, which constantly intensifies the globalization of production, trade, finance and business operation, with an ever more greedy capital today that is based on private appropriation and characterized by virtual capital. The unlimited expansion of such capital has led to the intensification of the basic contradictions of capitalism in all countries and the whole world, with widening gap between rich and poor in wealth and income distribution within and between countries, leading to increasingly serious global problems. Under the conditions of China’s socialist market economy, while attaching importance to the role of public capital, we must pay close attention to overcoming the greedy nature and the disorderly expansion and monopoly of non-public capital. The relationship between capital and labor as social axis must be well handled, and making various forms of capital better serve the national economy and people’s livelihood.

Fourth, it reveals the laws of development of market economy. In Capital, Marx has scientifically explained many economic laws of human society, such as the general law of commodity production, the common law of socialized mass production, the law of economic globalization and the world market. The laws of capitalist economic operation are systematically analyzed, which covers wage, cost, profit, credit, interest, land rent, reproduction, virtual capital and virtual economy, economic cycle and crisis. All these provide guidance for a correct understanding of the laws of operation of socialist market economy.

Fifth, (Marx’s ideas in) Capital must be applied in a flexible manner in practice. At present, we must resolutely oppose private monopoly capital, international financial monopoly capitalism and neo-imperialism, work together to actively safeguard the rights and welfare of the working class and the working people at large, resist the US-led West’s efforts to contain the peaceful development of China, Russia, North Korea, Iran and Syria, and bring into better play the economic role of progressive Third World countries such as China. Today, China has become a major trading partner of more than 140 countries and regions, ranking first in the world in total trade in goods and leading the world in attracting foreign investment and outbound investment. Between 2012 and 2021, China’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew from 54 trillion yuan to 114.9 trillion yuan, accounting for 18.5 percent of the world economy and firmly ranking second in the world. In 2021, China’s total GDP at market exchange rates reaches $17.8 trillion, equivalent to 77 percent of the US GDP. Between 2013 and 2021, China’s average contribution to global economic growth reaches 38.6 percent, more than the combined contribution of the G-7 members. China has signed more than 200 cooperation documents with 151 countries and 32 international organizations to build the “Belt and Road.” The Belt and Road Initiative will lift 7.6 million people out of extreme poverty, increase global trade by 1.7–-6.2%, and increase global income by 0.7%–2.9%. Currently, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has grown from 57 founding members to 106 members from six continents, making it the second largest international multilateral development institution in the world. The above achievements have been made through the dominant role of China’s state-owned capital, collective capital and equity-based cooperative capital. In light of that, I would argue, as in an already published paper, that China has got rid of its “dependent” and “semi-dependent” position in the world economic system and is now in a “quasi-center” position and will reach the “center” by 2035. By 2050, it will achieve a status of one of the top “countries in the center,” completing the three major tasks, i.e., Chinese modernization, reunification of the mainland and Taiwan of China, and international anti-hegemonic struggle.

That is all I have to say here. Thank you.

Lukashenko: We do not want war, West blocking peace talks

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko paid a state visit to China from February 28 to March 2. Just prior to the visit, he gave an exclusive interview to Li Tongtong of CGTN in his capital Minsk as part of the Chinese channel’s impressive Leaders Talk series. 

Their extensive discussion began with the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and its impact on Belarus. President Lukashenko said that he fully agreed with President Putin that the root cause of the problem is not to be found in Russia. He recalls the 2014-15 diplomatic process in the Belarus capital, which had culminated in the signing of the Minsk Protocol. However, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former French President François Hollande had both now admitted that they had engaged in this process in order to give Ukraine more time to prepare for war. It is therefore clear who wanted conflict.

Belarus, Lukashenko insisted, is a peace-loving country. Its people know what war means. Belarus lost one third of its population in World War II. Belarusians do not want war with anyone, but especially not with Ukraine, whose people are their kin. President Lukashenko noted that his own forebears hailed from Ukraine. Despite all this, the western powers are trying to drag Belarus into the conflict. As Belarus has long frontiers with both Poland and Lithuania, this would mean that the country would be directly facing NATO, which would force it to disperse its forces and therefore become more vulnerable to attack. The President insisted that whilst his country did not want war, it was ready to defend its sovereignty and independence. 

In the ongoing conflict, it is the United States and the western powers that are obstructing peace talks. Russia proposed negotiations from the very beginning and they were held in Gomel, the second largest city of Belarus, right back in February 2022.

Lukashenko praised President Xi Jinping’s Global Security Initiative (GSI), noting that only peace can lead to prosperity for humanity whilst war leads to catastrophe. Extolling his personal and political friendship with the Chinese leader, he said that he and his family were very excited by Xi’s re-election at last October’s 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. He praised Xi’s ability to draw on the experience of his predecessors while injecting new meaning into it. 

The program also highlighted the development of the Great Stone Industrial Park, the key focus for Belarus-China cooperation, which President Xi had visited when he travelled to Belarus in 2015. The park has developed rapidly is now one third of the size of Minsk. Lukashenko stressed the importance of synergizing the work of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with that of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), whose full members currently comprise Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia. He further stressed that the friendship between Belarus and China would last not just for his tenure in office but for ever. He described this belief as having become deeply ingrained in the hearts of the people of Belarus. Especially during the period of sanctions imposed by the West, the people of Belarus had become very clear as to who were their enemies and who were their friends. 

Towards the end of the interview, he highlighted education, culture and sports as among the areas where he would like to see even more cooperation and exchange with China and noted that his youngest son is currently studying at university in Beijing.

President Lukashenko also touched on a number of other issues, including the US shooting down of an unmanned Chinese airship, its instigation of ‘color revolutions’ not only in Belarus but in the Arab countries, and the relations between the European countries, the United States and China.

The full interview is embedded below.

Qin Gang meets the press: summary and full text

China’s new Foreign Minister Qin Gang held a press conference for the Chinese and international media on March 7 in the margins of the ongoing annual meeting of the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s parliament, in which, over nearly two hours, he fielded 14 questions that together offer rich insights into the principles governing Chinese foreign policy as well as its practical implementation.

In opening, and responding to a question from China Central Television, Minister Qin noted that China will host two major diplomatic events this year, the first China-Central Asia Summit and the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, and continued:

“We will take it as our mission to defend China’s core interests. We firmly oppose any form of hegemonism and power politics. We firmly oppose the Cold War mentality, camp-based confrontation, and acts to contain and hold back other countries’ development. We will resolutely safeguard China’s sovereignty, security and development interests.”

Saying that, “we will [always] honor our commitment to serving the people,” the Minister observed that: “The new journey of China’s diplomacy will be an expedition with glories and dreams, and it will also be a long voyage through stormy seas. The harder the mission, the more glorious its accomplishment.”

Responding to a question from an Egyptian publication, Qin Gang made a number of important points regarding China’s modernization, noting that:

  • Achieving modernization for a country of more than 1.4 billion people will be an unprecedented feat in human history, one of profound global significance in itself.
  • It busts the myth that modernization is westernization; it creates a new form of human advancement; and it provides an important source of inspiration for the world, especially developing countries.
  • Modernization should not serve the interests of only a few countries or individuals. It should not make the rich richer and the poor poorer.
  • Chinese modernization is not pursued through war, colonization, or plundering. It is dedicated to peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit, and is committed to harmony between humanity and nature. It is a new path different from Western modernization.

Much attention has inevitably focused on Qin Gang’s comments regarding the relationship between China and Russia. Responding to a question from TASS, he noted: “China and Russia have found a path of major-country relations featuring strategic trust and good neighborliness, setting a good example for a new type of international relations…With China and Russia working together, the world will have a driving force toward multipolarity and greater democracy in international relations, and global strategic balance and stability will be better ensured. The more unstable the world becomes, the more imperative it is for China and Russia to steadily advance their relations.”

In introducing President Xi Jinping’s flagship policies of the Global Development Initiative (GDI) and the Global Security Initiative (GSI), in response to a question from People’s Daily, he observed:

“Developing countries account for more than 80 percent of the global population and more than 70 percent of global economic growth. People in developing countries are entitled to a better life, and developing countries are entitled to greater representation and a louder voice in international affairs.”

Probably the most sensitive relationship in contemporary global diplomacy is that between China and the United States. Responding to a question from the US television network NBC, Qin Gang said:

“The United States claims that it seeks to ‘out-compete’ China but does not seek conflict. Yet in reality, its so-called ‘competition’ means to contain and suppress China in all respects and get the two countries locked in a zero-sum game…Its so-called ‘establishing guardrails’ for China-US relations and ‘not seeking conflict’ actually means that China should not respond in words or action when slandered or attacked. That is just impossible! If the United States does not hit the brake but continues to speed down the wrong path, no amount of guardrails can prevent derailing, and there will surely be conflict and confrontation. Who will bear the catastrophic consequences? Such competition is a reckless gamble with the stakes being the fundamental interests of the two peoples and even the future of humanity. Naturally China is firmly opposed to all this.”

Making reference to many of the people he had met and interacted with during his recent posting as China’s Ambassador to the USA, Qin Gang pointed out:

“The American people, just like the Chinese people, are friendly, kind and sincere, and want a better life and a better world…Every time I think about them, I’m convinced that the China-US relationship should be determined by the common interests and shared responsibilities of the two countries and by the friendship between the Chinese and American peoples, rather than by US domestic politics or the hysterical neo-McCarthyism.”

Responding to a question from Phoenix Television on Taiwan, he stated: “The Chinese people have every right to ask: Why does the US talk at length about respecting sovereignty and territorial integrity on Ukraine, while disrespecting China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity on China’s Taiwan question? Why does the US ask China not to provide weapons to Russia, while it keeps selling arms to Taiwan in violation of the August 17 Communiqué?”

Qin Gang was asked by Associated Press of Pakistan about the progress of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), as this year is the 10th anniversary of its first being proposed by President Xi. Illustrating his point with concrete examples, the Foreign Minister explained that:

“Over the past decade, the BRI has galvanized nearly US$1 trillion of investment, established more than 3,000 cooperation projects, created 420,000 local jobs, and helped lift almost 40 million people out of poverty.”

He added that: “China should be the last one to be accused of the so-called debt trap. Data show that multilateral financial institutions and commercial creditors account for over 80 percent of the sovereign debt of developing countries. They are the biggest source of debt burden on developing countries. Particularly since last year, the unprecedented, rapid interest hikes by the United States have led to capital outflows in many countries and worsened the debt problems in the countries concerned. China has been making efforts to help the countries in distress, and is the biggest contributor to the G20’s Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI).”

The journalist from the Japanese public broadcaster NHK noted that this year marks the 45th anniversary of the Japan-China Peace and Friendship Treaty, but the two countries presently face a number of difficulties in their relationship, to which Qin Gang reminded his questioner:

“Some leaders in Japan recently have also been talking a lot about ‘international order’. We need to make clear what order they are talking about. Today’s international order is built on the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War, which cost the lives and blood of 35 million Chinese soldiers and civilians. The Chinese people will never accept any form of historical revisionism that challenges the post-war international order and international justice.”

We reprint below the full text of the press conference which was originally published on the website of the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

On 7 March 2023, a press conference was held on the margins of the First Session of the 14th National People’s Congress at the Media Center, during which Foreign Minister Qin Gang answered questions from Chinese and foreign media about China’s foreign policy and external relations.

Qin Gang: Friends from the media, good morning. I’m very pleased to meet you. As the world is undergoing major changes unseen in a century, China will continue to pursue the independent foreign policy of peace, and will continue to implement the mutually beneficial strategy of opening-up. China will always be a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development, and a defender of the international order. Now I’m ready to take your questions.

China Central Television: People at home and abroad have great expectations for China’s diplomacy in 2023. What will be the priorities and highlights in China’s diplomacy, particularly in head-of-state diplomacy? As the new foreign minister, how do you envision China’s diplomacy in the years to come?

Qin Gang: We’re in the first year of fully implementing the guiding principles set forth by the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. The Congress has outlined top-level plans for China’s diplomacy, identified our missions and tasks, and made strategic arrangements to that end. With the COVID situation turning for the better in China, we’re steadily resuming exchanges with the world. We’ve pressed the “acceleration button”, and sounded the clarion call for our diplomacy.

We will follow the guidance of head-of-state diplomacy. In particular, we will ensure the success of the two major diplomatic events that we will host — the first China-Central Asia Summit and the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, which will be the showcase of the distinctive character of China’s diplomacy.

We will take it as our mission to defend China’s core interests. We firmly oppose any form of hegemonism and power politics. We firmly oppose the Cold War mentality, camp-based confrontation, and acts to contain and hold back other countries’ development. We will resolutely safeguard China’s sovereignty, security and development interests.

We will build on our extensive partnerships. We will pursue coordination and sound interactions among major countries, seek friendship and cooperation with other countries, and promote a new type of international relations. China has had a growing network of friends, made more and more new friends, and strengthened ties with old ones.

Continue reading Qin Gang meets the press: summary and full text

Why did Biden snub China’s Ukraine peace plan?

This insightful article by Medea Benjamin, Marcy Winograd and Wei Yu, published in CODEPINK on 3 March 2023, analyzes the Biden administration’s kneejerk negative reaction to China’s recent position paper on the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis.

Biden, Blinken, Austin and Stoltenberg have all rubbished China’s credentials as a peacemaker, pointing to the fact that China has not condemned Russia, and accusing China of planning to provide Russia with military support. The authors make the important point that “it is the US, not China, that is fueling the conflict with at least $45 billion dollars in ammunition, drones, tanks and rockets in a proxy war that risks – with one miscalculation – turning the world to ash in a nuclear holocaust.” Furthermore “it is the US, not China, that has provoked this crisis by encouraging Ukraine to join NATO, a hostile military alliance that targets Russia in mock nuclear strikes, and by backing a 2014 coup of Ukraine’s democratically elected Russia-friendly president Viktor Yanukovych.”

China’s peace proposal calls for a negotiated peace; it calls for abandoning a Cold War mentality; it calls for an end to unilateral sanctions; and it states that “the legitimate security interests and concerns of all countries must be taken seriously and addressed properly.” Unfortunately the US cannot accept any of this. The US seeks precisely to keep the war going in order to further its Cold War agenda of weakening Russia and consolidating US hegemony over Europe. This is the real reason the Biden administration is so quick to dismiss China’s proposals.

It is a great shame for the people of Ukraine that peace is not on the US’s agenda. What’s more, as the authors point out, cooperation between the US and China on this question might also “pave the way for cooperation with China on all kinds of other issues – from medicine to education to climate – that would benefit the entire globe.”

There’s something irrational about President Biden’s knee-jerk dismissal of China’s 12-point peace proposal titled “China’s Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis.”

“Not rational” is how Biden described the plan that calls for de-escalation toward a ceasefire, respect for national sovereignty, establishment of humanitarian corridors and resumption of peace talks.

“Dialogue and negotiation are the only viable solution to the Ukraine crisis,” reads the plan. “All efforts conducive to the peaceful settlement of the crisis must be encouraged and supported.”

Biden turned thumbs down.

“I’ve seen nothing in the plan that would indicate that there is something that would be beneficial to anyone other than Russia if the Chinese plan were followed,” Biden told the press.

In a brutal conflict that has left thousands of dead Ukrainian civilians, hundreds of thousands of dead soldiers, eight million Ukrainians displaced from their homes, contamination of land, air and water, increased greenhouse gasses and disruption of the global food supply, China’s call for de-escalation would surely benefit someone in Ukraine.

Other points in China’s plan, which is really more a set of principles rather than a detailed proposal, call for protection for prisoners of war, cessation of attacks on civilians, safeguards for nuclear power plants and facilitation of grain exports.

“The idea that China is going to be negotiating the outcome of a war that’s a totally unjust war for Ukraine is just not rational,” said Biden.

Instead of engaging China–a country of 1.5 billion people, the world’s largest exporter, the owner of a trillion dollars in US debt and an industrial giant–in negotiating an end to the crisis in Ukraine, the Biden administration prefers to wag its finger and bark at China, warning it not to arm Russia in the conflict.

Psychologists might call this finger-wagging projection–the old pot calling the kettle black routine. It is the US, not China, that is fueling the conflict with at least $45 billion dollars in ammunition, drones, tanks and rockets in a proxy war that risks–with one miscalculation–turning the world to ash in a nuclear holocaust.

It is the US, not China, that has provoked this crisis by encouraging Ukraine to join NATO, a hostile military alliance that targets Russia in mock nuclear strikes, and by backing a 2014 coup of Ukraine’s democratically elected Russia-friendly president Viktor Yanukovych, thus triggering a civil war between Ukrainian nationalists and ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine, regions Russia has more recently annexed.

Biden’s sour attitude toward the Chinese peace framework hardly comes as a surprise. After all, even former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett candidly acknowledged in a five-hour interview on YouTube that it was the West that last March blocked a near-peace deal he had mediated between Ukraine and Russia.

Why did the US block a peace deal? Why won’t President Biden provide a serious response to the Chinese peace plan, let alone engage the Chinese at a negotiating table?

President Biden and his coterie of neo-conservatives, among them Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland, have no interest in peace if it means the US concedes hegemonic power to a multi-polar world untethered from the all-mighty dollar.

What may have gotten Biden unnerved—besides the possibility that China might emerge the hero in this bloody saga—is China’s call for the lifting of unilateral sanctions. The US imposes unilateral sanctions on officials and companies from Russia, China and Iran. It imposes sanctions on whole countries, too, like Cuba, where a cruel 60-year embargo, plus assignment to the State Sponsor of Terrorism list, made it difficult for Cuba to obtain syringes to administer its own vaccines during the COVID pandemic. Oh, and let’s not forget Syria, where after an earthquake killed tens of thousands and left hundreds of thousands homeless, the country struggles to receive medicine and blankets due to US sanctions that discourage humanitarian aid workers from operating inside Syria.

Despite China’s insistence it is not considering weapons shipments to Russia, Reuters reports the Biden administration is taking the pulse of G-7 countries to see if they would approve new sanctions against China if that country provides Russia with military support.

The idea that China could play a positive role was also dismissed by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who said, “China doesn’t have much credibility because they have not been able to condemn the illegal invasion of Ukraine.”

Ditto from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who told ABC’s Good Morning America, “China has been trying to have it both ways: It’s on the one hand trying to present itself publicly as neutral and seeking peace, while at the same time it is talking up Russia’s false narrative about the war.”

False narrative or different perspective?

In August of 2022, China’s ambassador to Moscow charged that the United States was the “main instigator”of the Ukraine war, provoking Russia with NATO expansion to Russia’s borders.

This is not an uncommon perspective and is one shared by economist Jeffrey Sachs who, in a February 25, 2023 video directed at thousands of anti-war protesters in Berlin, said the war in Ukraine did not start a year ago, but nine years ago when the US backed the coup that overthrew Yanukovych after he preferred Russia’s loan terms to the European Union’s offer.

Shortly after China released its peace framework, the Kremlin responded cautiously, lauding the Chinese effort to help but adding that the details “need to be painstakingly analyzed taking into account the interests of all the different sides.” As for Ukraine, President Zelinsky hopes to meet soon with Chinese President Xi Jinping to explore China’s peace proposal and dissuade China from supplying weapons to Russia.

The peace proposal garnered more positive response from countries neighboring the warring states. Putin’s ally in Belarus, leader Alexander Lukashenko, said his country “fully supports” the Beijing plan. Kazakhstan approved of China’s peace framework in a statement describing it as “worthy of support.” Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán–who wants his country to stay out of the war– also showed support for the proposal.

China’s call for a peaceful solution stands in stark contrast to US warmongering this past year, when Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, a former Raytheon board member, said the US aims to weaken Russia, presumably for regime change–a strategy that failed miserably in Afghanistan where a near 20-year US occupation left the country broke and starving.

China’s support for de-escalation is consistent with its long-standing opposition to US/NATO expansion, now extending into the Pacific with hundreds of US bases encircling China, including a new base in Guam to house 5,000 marines. From China’s perspective, US militarism jeopardizes the peaceful reunification of the People’s Republic of China with its break-away province of Taiwan. For China, Taiwan is unfinished business, left over from the civil war 70 years ago.

In provocations reminiscent of US meddling in Ukraine, a hawkish Congress last year approved $10 billion in weapons and military training for Taiwan, while House leader Nancy Pelosi flew to Taipei – over protests from her constituents–to whip up tension in a move that brought US-China climate cooperation to a halt.

A US willingness to work with China on a peace plan for Ukraine might not only help stop the daily loss of lives in Ukraine and prevent a nuclear confrontation, but also pave the way for cooperation with China on all kinds of other issues–from medicine to education to climate–that would benefit the entire globe.

Chinese documentary: Navigating to the Future

Embedded below are the five parts of a new documentary called Navigating to the Future, produced by the Information Office of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, and introducing China’s path to modernization. The documentary tracks the cities and scenic sites along National Highway 318 – China’s longest national highway, running from the far east (Shanghai) to the far west (Zhangmu, on the China-Nepal border). The film includes a range of images and scenes from contemporary China, and provides a valuable insight as to the Chinese people’s journey of building a modern socialist country.

Episode 1: Stopovers at thriving markets

Episode 2: Stopovers at prosperous villages

Episode 3: Stopovers at a smart city

Episode 4: Stopovers at pristine mountains and waters

Episode 5: Stopovers at the fashionable plateau

China and Brazil push forward bilateral ties

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who returned as Brazil’s head of state on January 1, is expected to visit China shortly.

Prior to that, there have been two important preparatory diplomatic exchanges between the two countries.

On March 2, Foreign Minister Qin Gang met with his Brazilian counterpart Mauro Viera on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers meeting in the Indian capital, New Delhi, with the Xinhua News Agency reporting that the meeting had, “a focus on preparations for high level exchanges in the next stage.”  Qin said the Chinese side expects to deepen political mutual trust with Brazil, consolidate collaboration in areas of strength, and expand cooperation in technical innovation, green development, and digital economy, among other emerging fields.

On the previous day in Beijing, Liu Jianchao, Minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, met with a delegation of Lula’s Workers’ Party (PT), headed by its Secretary for International Relations, Romenio Pereira. Liu said that at present, both countries constantly deepen political mutual trust, achieve fruitful results in practical cooperation, and coordinate closely in important international multilateral mechanisms such as the BRICS and the G20. He described the PT as a political force with important international and regional influence, adding that President Lula is committed to leading Brazil on the path of sustainable and comprehensive development. According to Liu, the CPC and the PT share similar governance concepts and the CPC is ready to strengthen high-level and institutionalized exchanges on both party building and state governance. 

For his part, Pereira said that the PT attaches great importance to developing friendly relations with the CPC. As an important left-wing force in Latin America, the PT hopes to strengthen cooperation with the CPC on platforms such as China-CELAC Political Parties Forum and the São Paulo Forum, to promote the development of Latin America-China relations and contribute to world peace and development. Significantly, Pereira’s delegation included the Executive Secretary of the São Paulo Forum, Monica Valente. With a membership of over 100 parties, the São Paulo Forum is a broad-based body grouping nearly all the significant forces of the Latin American left. Its member parties are presently in government in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Saint Lucia, and Venezuela.

The PT delegation also met with China’s most senior diplomat, Wang Yi, member of the CPC Political Bureau and Director of the Office of the CPC Central Committee’s Foreign Affairs Commission. 

The following reports were originally published on the websites of the Xinhua News Agency and the IDCPC.

Chinese, Brazilian FMs meet to push forward bilateral ties

Xinhua, 2 March 2023

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang and his Brazilian counterpart Mauro Vieira met here on Thursday and exchanged views on the development of bilateral ties, with a focus on preparations for high level exchanges in the next stage.

Their meeting took place on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G20) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held on March 1-2 in the capital of India, which holds the G20 presidency this year.

During the bilateral meeting, Qin said the Chinese side expects to deepen political mutual trust with Brazil, consolidate collaboration in areas of strength, and expand cooperation in technical innovation, green development, and digital economy, among other emerging fields.

Continue reading China and Brazil push forward bilateral ties

The life and legacy of Zhou Enlai: an interview with Professor Ken Hammond

To mark the 125th anniversary of the birth of Zhou Enlai – one of the top leaders of the Chinese Revolution, and Premier of People’s China from 1949 until his death in 1976 – we conducted an extensive interview with Professor Ken Hammond about Zhou’s life and legacy.

The interview covers Zhou Enlai’s formation as a revolutionary; his role in the early years of the Chinese Revolution in the 1920s; his working relationship with Mao Zedong; his contribution to Marxist understanding of socialist foreign policy; his role in establishing links of solidarity between China and Africa; his role in the negotiations with Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon that brought about the start of a rapprochement between the US and China; his experiences in the Cultural Revolution; and his lasting legacy, both in China and globally.

Ken Hammond is a professor of East Asian and Global History at New Mexico State University, founding director of the Confucius Institute at New Mexico State University, and an activist with Pivot to Peace. He’s also a member of the Friends of Socialist China advisory group, and is working on a biography of Zhou Enlai. He is interviewed by our co-editor Carlos Martinez.

The enduring significance of the Communist Manifesto to young people in China

We are very pleased to publish below the text of a presentation given by Xin Yuzhou, a young candidate member of the Communist Party of China, on the enduring significance of the Communist Manifesto, particularly to young people in China. The presentation was made at a webinar organised by the International Manifesto Group marking the 175th anniversary of the publication of the Communist Manifesto.

Xin Yuzhou notes that the Manifesto continues to have tremendous resonance and influence in China; it is conceived of as “a monumental work that has a scientific perspective on the development of human society and was written to benefit the people and seek liberation for humanity.” Indeed, the CPC considers itself to be “a loyal inheritor of the spirit of the Communist Manifesto”. He further emphasizes that, in spite of having been published for the first time 175 years ago, the fundamental principles outlined in the Manifesto remain entirely valid; and yet he reminds us that Marxism should never be considered a dogma, citing Engels: “Marx’s whole way of thinking is not so much a doctrine as a method. It provides not so much ready-made dogmas as aids to further investigation and the method for such investigation.” In the case of China, Marxist principles have to be integrated with “China’s realities, historical and cultural traditions, and contemporary needs.”

Comrade Xin states that communists “must take reading Marxist classics and understanding Marxist principles as a way of life”, and notes that in the Bureau for North American, Oceanian and Nordic Affairs of the International Department of the CPC in which he works, young people collectively read and discuss key political texts including the Communist Manifesto. He concludes that “Chinese young communists today can still learn a lot from and be inspired by the Communist Manifesto.”

Dear Comrades,

Ladies and gentlemen,

I am XIN Yuzhou from the Bureau for North American, Oceanian and Nordic Affairs of the IDCPC. It is such an honor for me to join you and exchange ideas with friends from around the world. As a young, probationary Party member of our Bureau’s Party branch, I would like to share with you why Communist Manifesto still matters today and what our Chinese young people should learn from it.

I. The Importance of the Communist Manifesto

When presiding over a group study session of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed the importance of the Communist Manifesto, saying that reviewing the Communist Manifesto is to understand and grasp the power of the truth of Marxism, write a new chapter of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, firm up Marxist belief, and trace back to the source of theory for a Marxist party to maintain the advanced nature and purity.

The CPC is a loyal inheritor of the spirit of the Communist Manifesto. It is necessary to “apply the scientific principles and the spirit of the Communist Manifesto to the overall planning of activities related to the great struggle, great project, great cause, and great dream,” General Secretary Xi Jinping said, calling the Communist Manifesto a monumental work that has a scientific perspective on the development of human society and was written to benefit the people and seek liberation for humanity. Xi called for efforts to further study and interpret the works of Marxism, popularize them and have them embraced by hundreds of millions of people. More efforts should be made to develop Marxism in the 21st century and in contemporary China, and write a new chapter of adapting Marxism to the Chinese context.

Continue reading The enduring significance of the Communist Manifesto to young people in China

Alexander Lukashenko’s state visit to China

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko paid a state visit to China from February 28 to March 2 at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. The two leaders last met in September at the summit meeting of the Shanghai Cooperaration Organization (SCO), held in the Uzbek city of Samarkand. At that meeting, they jointly announced the upgrading of their bilateral relationship to an all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership. 

Meeting again on March 1, Xi Jinping emphasized that the China-Belarus friendship is unbreakable, and the two sides should constantly enhance political mutual trust and remain each other’s true friends and good partners.

Congratulating China once again on the success of the 20th CPC National Congress, Lukashenko expressed great admiration for President Xi, noting that he is a leader much loved by the Chinese people and enjoying high prestige in the world. He said that he firmly believes that under the strong leadership of President Xi, China will continue to make new and glorious achievements, and that the hearts of the Belarusian people are always with the Chinese people, and Belarus will stand firmly with China at all times. He said that China is a mainstay in safeguarding world peace, and that Belarus is ready to strengthen coordination with China on major international and regional issues, and jointly strive for the maintenance of international and regional security and stability. 

The two presidents also exchanged views on the Ukraine crisis and other issues. Xi Jinping pointed out that China’s position on the Ukraine crisis is consistent and clear, and China has released a position paper on the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis. Xi noted that the core of China’s position on this issue is promoting talks for peace. All parties should stay committed to its political settlement, abandon the Cold War mentality, respect the legitimate security concerns of all countries, and work to forge a balanced, effective, and sustainable European security architecture. Relevant countries should stop politicizing and instrumentalizing the world economy and take effective actions to bring about a ceasefire and an end to the conflict and peacefully resolve the crisis. Lukashenko said that Belarus fully agrees with and supports China’s position on the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis, and this is of great significance to its resolution.

Lukashenko’s programme also included meetings with Premier Li Keqiang and Chairman of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee Li Zhanshu.

The two heads of state signed a detailed joint statement covering a broad range of political, economic and other issues and featuring not least a strong commitment to further develop the China-Belarus Industrial Park, situated outside the Belarussian capital Minsk, which is both a mainstay of bilateral cooperation as well as a flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).  According to the statement, China supports Belarus in becoming a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as soon as possible. It presently has observer status. 

The below article on the meeting between the two presidents was originally published on the website of the Chinese Foreign Ministry. We also publish the full text of the Joint Statement, which is a machine translation from the Chinese language text carried in People’s Daily, and which has been lightly edited by us.

Xi Jinping Holds Talks with President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, 1 March 2023

On March 1, 2023, at the Great Hall of the People, President Xi Jinping held talks with President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko  who is on a state visit to China.

Xi Jinping pointed out that in Samarkand last September, he and President Lukashenko jointly announced the upgrading of China-Belarus relations to an all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership, thus injecting strong impetus into cooperation between the two countries in various fields. Xi noted that this year is the first year to fully implement the important decisions made at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and China’s high-quality development and modernization drive will bring new opportunities to Belarus and other countries in the world. Faced with an international situation fraught with instability and uncertainty, China is ready to work with Belarus to promote the sound and steady development of bilateral relations at a high level.

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Foreign diplomats in China refute Western media’s debt trap hype

Whilst the imperialist countries have ensnared countries of the Global South in ‘debt traps’ for decades, something that the late Cuban communist leader, Fidel Castro drew forceful attention to as far back as the 1980s, they have also in recent years determinedly tried to smear the People’s Republic of China by leveling the very charge of which they have themselves long been guilty. Needless to say, this is strongly refuted by the countries of the Global South themselves as it is without foundation.

The following article, which we reprint from Global Times, reports the views of some senior Beijing-based diplomats, part of a more than hundred person group who recently visited the China Communications Construction Group, a leading Chinese company engaged in Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects.

According to the diplomats, these projects have improved local livelihoods, created jobs and promoted local economic development.

South African Ambassador Siyabonga C. Cwele noted that infrastructure projects in his country have to go through public tendering and a transparent procurement process with stringent requirements. In his view, Chinese companies tend to be better because they come with financing, skills and innovation and tend to complete projects on time. “What causes debt problems is that projects are not completed on time,” he notes.

Sri Lanka’s Deputy Chief of Mission, K.K. Yoganaadan, remarks: “If you take Sri Lanka’s total debts, only 10 percent is owed to China and 90 percent of our debts are owed to other bilateral partners and multilateral agencies.” Noting that China is already helping and supporting Sri Lanka to resolve its debt problem, he added: “We are very confident and hopeful that these BRI projects will help us improve Sri Lanka’s foreign exchange income and attract more foreign investors.”

Foreign diplomats refuted the “debt trap” hyped by some Western media on Chinese overseas projects, asserting those infrastructure projects have improved local livelihoods, created jobs and promoted local economic development.

Western media hyping the “debt trap” of Chinese projects is “fake news,” Moin ul Haque, Ambassador of Pakistan to China, told the Global Times on Monday. “We don’t subscribe to such a characterization of China-Pakistan cooperation, which is based on our mutual support and respect and win-win,” said Haque.

The interview was conducted during a group visit to China Communications Construction Group (CCCC), one of the major Chinese companies that participates in the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The group visit gathered 111 diplomats from embassies and international organizations in China.

Haque noted that BRI and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor projects have greatly contributed to changing the economic landscape in Pakistan in infrastructure development and industrialization.

Asked about his opinion on Western reports saying China’s projects brought “debt traps” to host countries, Siyabonga C. Cwele, South African Ambassador to China, told the Global Times that “we don’t see it that way. We see it as a win-win situation with China, and with mutual respect.”

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Blinken attacks China for seeking peace in Ukraine

In this insightful article for Fighting Words, Chris Fry summarizes the latest efforts by the Biden administration to slander – and escalate tensions with – China.

The article starts by describing Antony Blinken’s recent accusations that China is sending – or “contemplating sending” – military assistance to Russia. Chris notes the twisted irony of this accusation, given that “the US has supplied more than $100 billion in military aid to Ukraine so far, with more on the way,” and given that the US government is quite clearly implementing a strategy directed not at bringing about peace or saving Ukrainian lives, but at defeating and weakening the Russian Federation and expanding NATO’s hegemony in Europe.

It is presumably not a coincidence that this accusation is being amplified at a time when China has put forward an important position paper on the Ukraine conflict, calling for the abandoning of Cold War mentality, a resumption of peace talks, and an end to illegal sanctions. China’s peace proposals – grounded firmly in international law and consistent with the principles of the UN Charter – are resonating with governments throughout the world, particularly in the Global South. Therefore the US is doing what it can to tarnish China’s reputation as a responsible power.

Chris also highlights the US’s increasingly desperate attempts to stoke tensions in relation to Taiwan Province. With the anti-independence Kuomintang having scored an important victory in Taiwan’s local elections last year – and having good prospects in next year’s presidential elections – the US is fast-tracking its provocations, which “seek to provoke a justified but costly Chinese military attack on Taiwan and thus ‘justify’ a US war against China.”

China’s response to such provocations has been measured and proportional; as such the US strategy is failing. Nonetheless, notes the author, “progressives and anti-war activists must prepare now to muster their forces.”

Unable to intimidate the leadership of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) over its balloon being shot down by U.S. Air Force jets along with three other balloons in a missile-firing frenzy, President Biden, through his war hawk Secretary of State Antony Blinken, is now accusing China of “contemplating sending lethal aid” to the Russian Federation.

Speaking to “Meet the Press” on February 9 after meeting with Chinese top diplomat Wang Yi in Munich, Blinken arrogantly attacked China for its relations with the Russian Federation while it maintains strict neutrality in the conflict:

“Publicly, they present themselves as a country striving for peace in Ukraine,” he said … “But privately, as I said, we’ve seen already over these past months the provision of nonlethal assistance that does go directly to aiding and abetting Russia’s war effort.”

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