British Prime Minister Keir Starmer held his first in person meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping on November 18, on the sidelines of the G20 summit, being held in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro. The two men had previously held a telephone conversation on August 23. In his opening remarks, borrowing from the … Continue reading Xi Jinping meets Keir Starmer in Brazil
On August 23, Chinese President Xi Jinping had a phone conversation with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. What is believed to be the first conversation between the two men took place at Starmer’s request. Having congratulated the British Prime Minister on his recent assumption of office, President Xi told Starmer that the two countries need … Continue reading Xi Jinping speaks with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer
In the following article, Grenville Cross dissects the likely foreign policy trajectory and options of Britain’s new Labour government which took office following the July 4 general election. Regarding the manifesto on which the Labour Party fought the election, he notes that its references to foreign policy are relatively sparse, but that it committed the … Continue reading Starmer should develop balanced strategy
In the following article, which first appeared in slightly shorter form in Labour Outlook, Carlos Martinez assesses the prospects for the US-led New Cold War against China under a second Trump presidency, and the possibility of military conflict between the world’s two largest economies. The article begins by noting that US policy towards China has … Continue reading Donald Trump and the drive to war against China
What follows is a blog post by Sophie Bolt, the new General Secretary of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), on the threat posed by the Trump presidency to global peace. Sophie notes that Trump has promised to “stop wars, not start them”, and yet he has already nominated several notorious warmongers to his cabinet, … Continue reading Trump presidency threatens us all
In this insightful article for Stop the War Coalition, Andrew Murray discusses the implications of Trump’s return to the presidency for the anti-war movement in Britain. Andrew notes that the collapse in the Democrat vote “is surely in part attributable to the Biden-Harris administration’s sustained and unqualified support for Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people”. … Continue reading Trump’s return – the critical issue for Britain remains disengaging from the US war chariot
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy is paying an official visit to China, October 18-19. It is the first visit by a cabinet member to China since the Labour Party won the July 4 general election. Lammy’s visit was inauspiciously prefaced by an exchange in the House of Commons on October 16 between Prime Minister Keir … Continue reading Time to step up against China-baiting
Friends of Socialist China expresses its sincere condolences following the shocking death of Alex Salmond, who died on October 12, 2024, from a massive heart attack while attending an international conference in North Macedonia. The enduring contribution he made to political life was reflected in the tributes paid from across the political spectrum, in Scotland, … Continue reading Alex Salmond – a great and sincere friend of China
The following article by Zheng Zeguang, China’s Ambassador to the UK, was originally carried in the special supplement marking the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, which was compiled and edited by Friends of Socialist China and published together with the Morning Star on Saturday, September 28, to coincide with … Continue reading China’s ambassador to the UK: History inspires us to better relations
The following article, written by Friends of Socialist China co-editor Carlos Martinez for the Morning Star, provides a whirlwind tour of the extraordinary progress made by the People’s Republic of China since its founding on 1 October 1949. In spite of this progress – on poverty alleviation, improvement of living standards, women’s rights, environmental conservation … Continue reading China’s remarkable transformation marks 75 years of socialist progress
We are pleased to republish below a series of three articles by Kenny Coyle analysing the new Labour government’s foreign policy, in particular the “progressive realism” espoused by Foreign Secretary David Lammy. This putatively “clear-eyed approach to international relations” shares a great deal with the pro-Washington, pro-NATO, hawkish foreign policy of recent Conservative governments. Kenny … Continue reading NATO, nukes and a New Cold War
On Saturday 29 June 2024, the International Manifesto Group and Friends of Socialist China co-organised a webinar on the topic Changes unseen in a century – Gaza, the shifting balance of forces and the rise of multipolarity, bringing together leading analysts of global politics to explore the unfolding geopolitical consequences of Zionism’s genocidal assault on … Continue reading The heroic Palestinian people are helping to bring about the defeat of imperialism
Ronnie O’Sullivan is the world’s most recognisable snooker player and one of the most accomplished in the history of the sport, having won the World Snooker Championship seven times among a galaxy of other accomplishments. However, with a UK general election being held on July 4, he has been in the news for other reasons. … Continue reading Ronnie O’Sullivan: Building a bridge of snooker between China and Britain
In the following brief article for the Morning Star, Carlos Martinez scrutinises the British government’s recent claim that China is engaged in “malicious” cyber activities directed against the UK. While these allegations are being led by fanatically anti-China Tory MPs such as Iain Duncan Smith, the article notes that Starmer’s Labour Party has also been … Continue reading Cyberattack allegations: smoke and mirrors instead of truth
The veteran British parliamentarian and anti-imperialist campaigner George Galloway has been returned to Westminster after a dramatic February 29th byelection victory in the northwestern English town of Rochdale, caused by the death of the sitting MP, Tony Lloyd. The leader of the Workers’ Party of Britain (WPB) polled 12,335 votes, giving him a majority of … Continue reading George Galloway: Chinese dragon soars despite West’s biased caricature
In this article for the Morning Star, Andrew Murray takes issue with the G7’s accusations against China over ‘economic coercion’. Andrew points out that this obscenely hypocritical accusation is just the latest excuse for China-bashing. “With Hong Kong now quiet, the Covid pandemic abating and the Dalai Lama asking young followers to suck his tongue, … Continue reading On economic coercion: Imperialist hypocrisy reigns supreme
In this article for the Morning Star, Friends of Socialist China co-editor Carlos Martinez takes a look at the results of UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s recent official visit to the US. Sunak’s summit with Joe Biden produced very little of substance, but the Atlantic Declaration for a Twenty-First Century US-UK Economic Partnership reiterates Britain’s … Continue reading Britain seems doomed to join the new Washington Consensus
In the following article, which we are pleased to reprint from the Morning Star, Ken Livingstone, former Mayor of London (2000-2008), denounces the new cold war that has been instigated against China, in which Britain has once again followed behind the United States. Outlining some of the hostile measures taken by the UK against China, … Continue reading The sudden arrival of a cold war with China
In this documentary, The Secret Betrayal, presented by Jamie Owen, CGTN exposes the racist deportation of thousands of Chinese seamen from Liverpool by the post-war British Labour government and movingly highlights the continuing and tenacious campaign for truth and justice being waged by their children and grandchildren. One in seven of Britain’s merchant seamen, who … Continue reading Britain’s secret betrayal and repatriation of Chinese sailors after WWII
In this article for the Global Times, FoSC co-editor Carlos Martinez discusses the change of occupancy in 10 Downing Street and assesses whether Liz Truss is likely to contribute to an improvement of Britain-China relations. Noting that Truss is widely regarded as a “China hawk”, and that she has promised to classify China as a … Continue reading Britain’s participation in US-led New Cold War is shortsighted
