November 2025 - Friends of Socialist China

European Communist leaders discuss prospects for socialism in Beijing

Friends of Socialist China co-editor Keith Bennett recently joined a panel of leaders of European communist parties for a special one hour discussion programme moderated by Pan Deng for CGTN, China’s English language TV station.

Together with leaders from the Communist Party of Finland, German Communist Party, Communist Party (Denmark), Hungarian Workers’ Party and Communist Party of Italy, Keith discussed a wide range of issues, beginning and concluding with perspectives on the biggest challenges facing the world socialist movement today, and its future, while ranging over:

The relationship between discipline and democracy in party building;
China’s whole process people’s democracy and the contrast with bourgeois democracy;
The recent 4th Plenum of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and China’s upcoming 15th Five Year Plan, with their emphasis on putting people first;
The relationship between an efficient market and a well-functioning government;
Rising protectionism and unilateralism in the global economy on the one hand and China’s continued commitment to opening up on the other;
The development of new high quality productive forces and the upgrading of traditional industries;
How to understand and relate to AI and its impact on the working class;
Differences between Chinese and Western modernisation;
Prospects for cooperation between China and the Western countries to tackle the climate crisis;
The trend towards multipolarity and the rise of the Global South, particularly BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation;
The relationship between the Global Governance Initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping and the Charter of the United Nations.

Also featured was a separately recorded contribution from the Communist Party (Switzerland).

The programme was recorded on November 2 and first broadcast on November 4. The participants were in Beijing to attend the 15th World Socialism Forum organised by the Chinese Academy of Social Science (CASS).

The full programme is embedded below.

Germany is sabotaging its relations with China on behalf of Washington

In the following article, Sevim Dağdelen, German member of parliament from 2005-25 and foreign policy spokesperson of the Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW), contrasts two moments in German–Chinese relations, arguing that today’s German foreign policy is abandoning the mutual respect that characterised earlier diplomacy. She begins with the 1975 visit of West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt to Beijing. Schmidt explicitly sought to break from European colonial attitudes, and called for the West to treat China as an equal partner.

Fifty years later, Dağdelen argues, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul represents the opposite approach. She describes Wadephul as adhering to Washington’s geopolitical dictates rather than pursuing an independent German foreign policy. His planned visit to China was cancelled at the last minute, following a trip to Asia in which he issued assorted slanders against Beijing. “His appearance gives the impression that he wants to continue the anti-Chinese turn in German foreign policy from 1937, and again pursue an alliance with Japan against China and Russia.”

Dağdelen writes that “neither German nor European foreign policy seems prepared to apply the principle of reciprocity in international relations.”

Wadephul appears in Asia only as the squire of knight Trump, who attempts to fight the Chinese wind-mills. Concretely, one laments China’s restrictions on the export of rare earths for Western arms companies without recognising that the export bans to China came from the USA. One laments Chinese tariffs on US products without mentioning that the first shot in the trade war with Beijing was clearly fired by the USA. One allows via the Netherlands a Chinese chip-manufacturer to be placed under Western control and then complains that China no longer delivers chips to Europe and Volkswagen’s production lines stand still. And one wants to teach Beijing morals on human rights, yet supports – as the German government does – Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, with arms and trade privileges.

Such behaviour is reprehensible; moreover, it will not succeed, as “China is a country that is ready to accept a challenge”.

The article concludes that Germany, by aligning with Washington’s confrontational stance, risks destroying 50 years of productive relations with China, undermining its own economic interests, and isolating itself from an emerging multipolar world order. Such a trajectory must be firmly resisted.

China is a centre of the multipolar world order. This insight is urgently needed. A German foreign policy that acts in the interest of the desperate maintenance of the USA’s doomed unipolar world order is destined to fail. In the interest of the German population however lies being in good relations with this centre.

This article first appeared in German in the Berliner Zeitung, and was published in English in Geopolitical Economy Report.

The visit of German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt to Beijing 50 years ago was a visit that lifted German-Chinese relations to a completely new level. On 31 October 1975, Schmidt met the Chinese head of state Mao Zedong. In preparation he had read Mao’s poems. It was the first visit of a German chancellor to China.

Schmidt remained someone who, throughout his life, wanted to break with the colonial past of the West in China, and advocated relations on equal footing and with mutual respect. For example, in his discussion of the book The Governance of China by Chinese President Xi Jinping, he called on the West to replace arrogance with fair competition in its relationship with China. Good relations with China were among the priorities of German foreign policy.

Is China’s foreign policy ‘good enough’?

The following article is a chapter by Friends of Socialist China co-founder Danny Haiphong from the forthcoming compilation China Changes Everything, put together by the FoSC US Committee and featuring chapters by Ken Hammond, Gerald Horne, Paweł Wargan, Kyle Ferrana, Jacquie Luqman, KJ Noh, Margaret Kimberley, Radhika Desai, Dee Knight, Keith Bennett, Carlos Martinez and others.

Danny argues that widespread Western claims about China’s foreign policy – from “debt trap diplomacy” to imperial ambitions – are unfounded and rooted in projection.

The article debunks the “debt trap” narrative, using research by scholars such as Deborah Brautigam showing that most Global South debt is owed to Western lenders, the IMF, and the World Bank rather than China. Cases often cited as examples of Chinese asset seizures, such as Sri Lanka’s Hambantota port or Uganda’s airport, are shown to be fabrications. Meanwhile, the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) focuses on infrastructure development and mutual benefit – building railways, ports, metros, energy systems, communications pathways, schools and hospitals in countries long exploited by colonial powers. These projects create jobs, raise living standards, promote development, and expand global connectivity.

Taking up the complex issue of whether China is “doing enough” in relation to Israel’s genocide in Gaza, Danny rejects the accusation that China is passive. He cites China’s resolute stand at the UN demanding comprehensive ceasefire and withdrawal, its mediation efforts among Palestinian factions, and its support for the principal regional backers of Palestinian self-determination, most notably Iran. Demands that China “do more,” he says, misplace responsibility: the genocide is enabled by US military, financial, and diplomatic support. The real task for people in the West is not to pressure China, but to confront their own governments and the US-led imperial system that causes these crises.

There isn’t a single statement from the Palestinian resistance organizations or from the entire Axis of Resistance demanding that China do more. In fact, these forces are building closer ties to China with the aim of strengthening their stability and therefore their effectiveness in resisting imperialism and colonialism. China’s relations with Iran have grown tremendously, helping the biggest supporter of Palestine to survive and to even make military and industrial advances despite U.S. and EU sanctions.

Furthermore, Danny notes that China is operating under significant constraints while working systematically to oppose imperialism and enable a multipolar world order. He concludes:

It is clear that China is operating within the contradictions of a decaying US-led unipolar order, and by doing so can offer many tangible benefits to humanity. The real question we in the West should be asking is, how can we collectively strengthen our movements to put real pressure on the root cause of the genocide in Gaza: the U.S. empire. Once we do, new and ample opportunities will emerge, to end not only the horrors in Gaza, but also the entire system of empire from which they sprang.

The question in the title may seem hyperbolic, but it is one that comes up in one form or another across the U.S. political spectrum.

U.S. elites slam China’s foreign policy as riddled with “debt traps” for poorer countries in the Global South. The Western corporate media asserts that China is pursuing its own kind of empire and has a target on its own province of Taiwan as well as its neighbors in the South China Sea.

For the US ruling circle and its European vassals, China is an imperial competitor seeking to destroy the West’s “rules-based” international order (actually a euphemism for U.S. imperialism).

There are also plenty on the political “left”, even some communists, who view China in the exact same light. They consider China to be “state-capitalist” and therefore pursuing profits at the expense of humanity. And then there are those who, even if they rebuke this criticism and uphold China’s socialist foundation, are profoundly disappointed in China’s foreign policy. To these critics, China falls short of the global solidarity required in this historical moment and is not aggressive enough in the pursuit of justice.

Xi Jinping: Hegemonism causes only war and disaster; fairness and justice ensure global peace and development

Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the Republic of Korea (ROK) from October 30-November 1 to attend the 32nd APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Economic Leaders’ Meeting and to then pay a state visit to the ROK.

On October 31, he delivered a written address to the APEC CEO Summit, entitled, ‘Putting the Asia Pacific at the Forefront of the Joint Endeavor for World Development and Prosperity.’

Xi Jinping noted that: “The world has come to a new crossroads – solidarity, cooperation and mutual benefit or return of hegemonism and the law of the jungle; multilateralism, openness and inclusiveness or unilateralism and protectionism. What we choose will profoundly affect the future of the world. We must have vision, step up to our responsibility, and choose what meets the expectation of the people in the Asia Pacific and stands the test of history.

“As the saying goes, ‘He who knows the past understands the present.’ Since the great victory of the World Anti-Fascist War 80 years ago, the international system with the United Nations at its core has been put in place gradually, and multilateral systems in economic, trade, financial and other areas have been established. A new chapter was opened for humanity’s pursuit of peace and development.

“History attests that humanity shares a common destiny. While hegemonism causes only war and disaster, fairness and justice ensure global peace and development. While confrontation and antagonism breed only estrangement and turbulence, win-win cooperation proves to be the right way forward. While unilateralism precipitates division and regression, multilateralism is the viable option for tackling global challenges.”

In the current situation he noted: “We embrace peaceful development and reject the assertion that a strong country will inevitably seek hegemony. We champion win-win cooperation and denounce winner-takes-all practices. We advocate mutual learning among civilisations, and do not believe in clash of civilisations. We promote fairness and justice and oppose power politics. China has successively put forward the Belt and Road Initiative as well as the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilisation Initiative, and the Global Governance Initiative. They are China’s solutions to the salient issues across the world, based on Chinese wisdom. We look forward to working with all parties to promote common prosperity and a win-win future for all and building a community with a shared future for humanity.”

He then advanced four proposals as follows:

We should take the lead in safeguarding peace and stability. We must always ensure the equal right of all countries to participate in international affairs regardless of their size, strength, or wealth.

We should take the lead in enhancing openness and connectivity. We should firmly safeguard the WTO-centred, rules-based multilateral trading system, strengthen solidarity and collaboration, oppose protectionism, reject unilateralism and bullying, and prevent the world from reverting to the law of the jungle. We must have the courage to remove barriers, keep global industrial and supply chains stable and unimpeded, advance regional economic integration, push forward the Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific, and play the Asia Pacific part in global economic growth.

We should take the lead in promoting win-win cooperation. We should stay true to the vision of harmony without uniformity, fully leverage the diversity of Asia Pacific economies, draw on each other’s strengths, and jointly make the pie of Asia Pacific cooperation bigger.

We should take the lead in pursuing benefits for all and inclusiveness. We should put the people first and fully implement the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We should create greater synergy between our development strategies and step up support for developing economies. We should bridge development gaps, increase people’s well-being, and deliver prosperity to all the people in the Asia Pacific.

Next year, he added, China will host APEC for the third time. “This demonstrates our full commitment to Asia Pacific cooperation and our willingness to fulfill our responsibilities.”

Introducing China’s current domestic situation, he explained:

“China has been a major engine of world economic growth for many years. China’s 14th Five-Year Plan period ends this year. In the past five years, despite increasing external shocks, the Chinese economy has registered an annual growth rate of around 5.5 percent on average, contributing around 30 percent of global growth. A few days ago, the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China adopted the Recommendations for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan at its fourth plenary session.”

In this regard:

China can provide more growth opportunities for the global business community. It is now the world’s second largest market of consumption and import, and the only developing country that hosts a national-level international import expo and continually opens its market to the world. The China market is huge and promising.

China can provide a good business environment for the global business community. China is universally recognised as one of the safest countries in the world and grants either unilateral visa exemption or full mutual visa-free entry to 76 countries.

China can provide enabling conditions of green growth for the global business community. China is making coordinated advances in decarbonising, mitigating pollution, expanding green transition and promoting growth. It has the largest renewable energy system and the biggest, most complete new energy industrial chain in the world. The increased area of afforestation in China accounts for a quarter of the world total. We are committed to meeting our carbon peaking and carbon neutrality targets. We are actively advancing cooperation in launching green energy projects. We support the free flow of quality green technologies and products and do our best to provide assistance to developing countries.

In his address to the second session of the leaders’ meeting on November 1, President Xi said that:

“At present, the new wave of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation is deepening. In particular, the rapid advance of frontier technologies such as artificial intelligence is opening new horizons for humanity. On the other hand, the world faces lackluster economic growth and a widening gap in global development. Challenges such as climate change, food security and energy security are intensifying. Asia Pacific economies must enhance mutually beneficial cooperation, make good use of new opportunities, stand up to new challenges, and forge a sustainable and brighter future together.”

In this regard, he advanced three proposals:

We should further unleash the potential of digital and smart development to give the Asia Pacific region a fresh edge in innovation-driven development. We should fully harness new technologies to empower and propel us forward, seize the opportunities of digital, smart and green development, and move faster to nurture and promote new quality productive forces. AI is very important for shaping the future and should contribute to the well-being of people of all countries and regions. We should bear in mind the well-being of the entire humanity and promote the sound and orderly development of AI while ensuring that it is beneficial, safe and fair.

We should stay committed to green and low-carbon development to build a new paradigm for sustainable development in the Asia Pacific region. Clear waters and green mountains are just as valuable as gold and silver. We should keep in mind our responsibility to our future generations, enhance synergy between green development strategies of all economies, promote free flows of quality green technologies and products, accelerate the green and low-carbon transition, and vigorously tackle climate change. We should ensure the true fulfillment of common but differentiated responsibilities, and urge developed economies to continuously provide necessary support for developing economies in financing, technology, capacity building and other areas.

We should build an inclusive and universally beneficial future to foster a new dynamism in the inclusive growth of the Asia Pacific. We should always put the people first, and strengthen policy communication, experience sharing and results-oriented cooperation to fully implement the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, eliminate poverty together, and promote shared prosperity for all the people in the Asia Pacific.

Also, on the morning of November 1, President Xi attended the handover ceremony of the 32nd APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting and announced that China would host the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province.

Trump makes fools of Britain’s China hawks

In this witty and perceptive article, originally published on his Substack, ‘The Rest is Bullshit’, Steve Howell excoriates Britain’s right wing anti-China hawks in politics and the media, arguing that Donald Trump’s positive meeting with President Xi Jinping in the Republic of Korea has exposed their foolishness.

Having noted that, “The US and China surprised almost everyone last week by calling off their trade war – for now at least. The summit between presidents Xi and Trump ended with both parties dropping plans for tougher trade restrictions and tariffs,” Howell adds:

“This was awkward for the British media. For weeks, they had been pumping out headlines on what they called the China spy scandal – the collapse of the prosecution [of] two men accused of passing information to China. There were virtually no dissenters to the view that the charges being dropped was bad news. The only issue for the media was who to blame for the failure to convict the two defendants, as if the small matter of their actual guilt was not in doubt.”

Giving the recent historical background, he writes that:

“In the build up to the US elections of 2016, both Bernie Sanders and Trump – from very different perspectives – made cheap imports from China an issue and blamed them for the de-industrialisation of the Midwest ‘rust belt’ states. On being elected, Trump introduced the first wave of tariffs on China, marking the start of a new Washington consensus that President Biden not only continued but escalated. True to form, Britain fell into line.”

However: “Amid the furore over the China ‘spy’ case, our commentariat appears not to have noticed the emerging change of policy in Washington.

“The Telegraph’s Sherelle Jacobs was certainly caught out badly, having written shortly before the summit that the government’s ‘refusal to break with China has explosive geopolitical implications.’ She thought that Britain’s ‘inaction over China’ could send Trump ‘over the edge’ and claimed that ‘if anything ends up destroying the Special Relationship it will be our gutless cosying up to Beijing.’ She must have been mortified when Trump described his meeting with Xi as ‘the G2 summit’, relegating the G7 – of which Britain is a member.”

He adds: “It remains to be seen what Trump’s China game plan is. The trade agreement arising from his summit with Xi has yet to be finalised. There is talk of Xi visiting Washington. Whatever happens, a couple of things are clear. Firstly, Britain’s long-standing policy – whoever occupies Downing Street – of hanging on to America’s coattails is a recipe for being badly bruised when there is a sudden change of direction. Secondly, if the US has had to treat China with respect, it is absurd for Britain to act as if it is ready to send gunboats up the Yangtze again.”

Steve Howell served as the Labour Party’s deputy director of strategy and communication in 2017, during the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn. He is the author of ‘Game Changer: Eight Weeks That Transformed British Politics’, about Britain’s 2017 general election; ‘Collateral Damage’, a political and international relations thriller; and ‘Cold War Puerto Rico: Anti-Communism in Washington’s Caribbean Colony (Culture and Politics in the Cold War and Beyond)’ (forthcoming).

The US and China surprised almost everyone last week by calling off their trade war – for now at least. The summit between presidents Xi and Trump ended with both parties dropping plans for tougher trade restrictions and tariffs. Asked to evaluate it on a scale of one to ten, Trump said that he thought “it was a 12.”

This was awkward for the British media. For weeks, they had been pumping out headlines on what they called the China spy scandal – the collapse of the prosecution two men accused of passing information to China. There were virtually no dissenters to the view that the charges being dropped was bad news. The only issue for the media was who to blame for the failure to convict the two defendants, as if the small matter of their actual guilt was not in doubt.

War of position vs. war of manoeuvre: China’s Gramscian trade strategy

The article below, written by CJ Atkins for People’s World, analyses the recent Trump–Xi summit in Busan, South Korea, noting that while both leaders announced modest compromises – with the US easing tariffs and approving limited chip exports, and China resuming agricultural purchases and delaying rare earth export regulations – the meeting “represents a truce, not a treaty”.

The ambitions of the U.S. corporate oligarchy to derail China’s growth and hobble their competition have not been set aside. Nor have China’s desires to continue developing its economy and raising living standards for its 1.4 billion people… There is still a contest underway between the world’s biggest capitalist power and the world’s biggest socialist country, and the leaders of the two nations are following very different strategies as they seek to bring the rest of the globe onside.

To interpret this ongoing struggle, the article draws on Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci’s distinction between a “war of manoeuvre” and a “war of position.” A war of manoeuvre is a rapid, frontal assault to disrupt the status quo; a war of position is slower, focused on building long-term consensus and influence within institutions and public opinion. “Neither strategy was inherently right or wrong, Gramsci said; it was a matter of surveying the battlefield, so to speak, and determining which was appropriate given the political situation at the time.”

Trump’s trade war embodies the war of manoeuvre: abrupt tariffs, bans on technology exports, and pressure on allies to cut trade with China. His aim is to force quick concessions and signal dominance to domestic political supporters and corporate interests.

China by contrast is engaged in a war of position. The Chinese leadership emphasises cooperation, multilateralism, and shared prosperity. Rather than retaliating aggressively against the US’s unilateral measures, China strengthens regional institutions and trade networks – upgrading the China–ASEAN free-trade agreement, deepening APEC cooperation and upgrading trade partnerships. As a result, China is seen as a predictable and responsible global partner.

The article argues that Trump’s aggressive tactics have largely failed: US tariffs raised domestic inflation, damaged the agricultural sector, and highlighted China’s success over the course of recent years diversifying suppliers and trade partners. “By trying to enforce subservience to his demands, Trump’s strategy has actually generated further legitimacy for China’s model of multilateral cooperation in the eyes of much of the world.” CJ concludes:

Trump’s war of manoeuvre has depended on flashy claims and regular assurances of victories that are yet to materialise. But as China is showing in practice, and as Gramsci concluded in his Prison Notebooks, “In politics, the ‘war of position,’ once won, is decisive definitively.”

Fresh off his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, President Donald Trump hailed the summit as “amazing,” a “12” on a scale of 1 to 10. Xi’s assessment was also positive but more measured in tone. “In the face of winds, waves, and challenges,” he said, “we should stay the right course, navigate through the complex landscape, and ensure the steady sailing forward of the giant ship of China-U.S. relations.”

Headlines in the media, meanwhile, rattled off details of the agreements reached in Busan: A delay of Chinese rare earth export controls, the lowering of the U.S.’ supposedly fentanyl-linked tariff rates, the resumption of Chinese purchases of American soybeans, U.S. approval for the sale of some advanced microchips to Chinese firms, the mutual lowering of port fees, further talks about the future of TikTok, and more.

Li Qiang advances proposals for East Asian cooperation at regional meetings

From October 25-26, Chinese Premier Li Qiang paid an official visit to Singapore at the invitation of Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.

Then, from October 27-28, at the invitation of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia, the current rotating chair of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), he attended the 28th China-ASEAN Summit, the 28th ASEAN Plus Three Summit, the 20th East Asia Summit and the fifth Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Leaders’ Meeting in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur.

Prior to the China-ASEAN Summit, Li and Anwar witnessed the signing of the CAFTA [China ASEAN Free Trade Agreement] 3.0 Upgrade Protocol.

Beyond tariff cuts and smoother trade, the upgraded document expands cooperation into nine areas, namely digital economy, green economy, supply chain connectivity, standards and technical regulations with conformity assessment procedures, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, customs procedures and trade facilitation, competition and consumer protection, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and economic and technical cooperation.

Following the signing of the protocol, both sides will carry out their respective domestic ratification procedures to facilitate the protocol’s early entry into force and implementation.

The original agreement, signed in 2002, was fully implemented in 2010, and upgraded to CAFTA 2.0 in 2015. The newly upgraded CAFTA 3.0 shows China’s and ASEAN’s solemn commitment to multilateralism and free trade, as well as their firm resolve to jointly build an open, inclusive, and rules-based regional integrated market and a resilient regional industrial and supply chain system that delivers mutual benefits, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said.

The upgrade also gives SMEs wider and smoother access to the grand Chinese and ASEAN markets. “Local SMEs can now connect directly with regional markets through digital platforms – true ‘local creation, regional expansion,'” said Tan Kar Hing, deputy chairman of Malaysia’s Centre of Regional Strategic Studies.

Industries such as food, agricultural products, tourism, logistics, and digital e-commerce will be among the first to benefit from the upgrade, said Suwat Techawatanawana, executive vice president of the leading Thai bank Kasikornbank.

Speaking at the 20^th East Asia Summit, Premier Li said: “Twenty years ago, the EAS was inaugurated in Kuala Lumpur. Upon reading the declaration of the first summit, we can easily discern the EAS purpose: strengthening cooperation in the spirit of equality and partnership, observing the UN Charter and other norms of international law, ensuring the effective functioning of multilateral systems, and improving people’s well-being. The constructive role of the EAS on the whole in promoting the steady and rapid development of our region over the past two decades is mainly attributable to the implementation of this founding mission.”

He added: “We should continuously build extensive consensus. Absent common understanding on some very basics, countries would hardly make good progress in their communication, consultations or business exchanges. History tells us that some common values that humanity has fostered over millennia, such as mutual respect, equality, fairness and justice, underpin both people-to-people and state-to-state interactions. To address the global transformation unseen in a century, we need to have a clearheaded and sensible judgment about the trajectory of the future. Among many others, the trend toward economic globalisation and multipolarity is irreversible, and the world must not slip back to the law of the jungle where the strong prey on the weak. Only when we embrace these basic understandings that are consistent with the common values of humanity and the trend of history, can we make the right decision at this critical juncture and move ahead in the right direction.

“Our region is home to a large number of developing countries. Growing the economy and improving people’s lives is a priority for us, and overcoming the impact of protectionism and strengthening internal growth momentum is a pressing issue we face… The more volatile the world becomes, the more imperative it is for us to uphold the authority of international law. We should all observe rules. In particular, we should jointly safeguard the UN-centred international system, support ASEAN centrality in the regional architecture, and promote cooperation in our region. At the same time, we should also actively promote reform and build a more just and equitable global governance system so as to better safeguard the interests of all.

“As a saying goes, when you are clear about the direction to go, you can surely reach your destination, no matter how far away it is. China is ready to work in concert and pursue practical cooperation with all parties to promote peace, development and prosperity both in our region and across the world.”

Speaking at the 28th ASEAN Plus Three [China, Republic of Korea {ROK} and Japan] Summit, Li said:

“I want to thank Prime Minister Anwar and our host Malaysia for the thoughtful arrangements made for this Summit. I also congratulate Timor-Leste for officially joining the ASEAN family.

Interview: Is China capitalist, socialist or communist?

On 16 October 2025, Friends of Socialist China co-editor Carlos Martinez joined Shanghai-based journalist Andy Boreham for a wide-ranging discussion on the topics of anti-China propaganda, China’s record under Mao Zedong, China’s political and economic system since 1978, whether China is socialist, the differences between socialism and communism, and much more.

The video of the conversation is embedded below, and can also be found on the Reports on China YouTube channel.