Friends of Socialist China, Author at Friends of Socialist China

G7 drive to war must be stopped in its tracks

We are very pleased to republish the following article by Robert Griffiths, which originally appeared in the Morning Star, and is a summary of the report he delivered to a recent meeting of the Political Committee of the Communist Party of Britain (CPB).

Noting that the G7 summit of leading imperialist powers, recently held in the Japanese city of Hiroshima, represented a drive to war that must be urgently stopped in its tracks, the General Secretary of the CPB observed that whilst these seven powers – the US, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Canada – account for more than half the world’s wealth, they constitute no more than one tenth of the world’s population. The leaders of this global minority met in the city where the US – still the only power to have used nuclear weapons in conflict – murdered some 140,000 people, half the civilian population, on August 6 1945. As Comrade Griffiths states:

“Ever since, it [Hiroshima] has symbolised the struggle for peace and nuclear disarmament against the barbarism of weapons of mass destruction.” However: “All but one of the seven leading capitalist states represented in Hiroshima either possess nuclear weapons (the US, Britain and France) or play host to them (Germany, Italy and Japan).”

Calling out the hypocrisy of western charges against China and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK – North Korea), Griffiths observes that, “the US-funded military build-up continues in Taiwan, although the G7 countries still claim to respect the ‘One China’ policy which recognises that Taiwan is as Chinese as the Isle of Wight is English. The US Seventh Fleet and its nuclear-armed submarines with around 900 nuclear warheads patrol the Pacific and Indian oceans and adjoining seas off the coasts of China and North Korea.” The G7 countries all refuse to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which the United Nations voted to adopt in 2017, and which has been signed or ratified by countries, including Cuba, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Guyana, Bolivia, Palestine, South Africa, Brazil, Ireland, Austria and Malta.

All in all, the CPB General Secretary argues, the decision to hold the G7 meeting in Hiroshima was a “disgusting display of breathtaking hypocrisy, double-speak and dishonesty; a gross insult to the atrocity’s survivors and the bereaved.” Furthermore, the claim that these powers have no intention to “thwart China’s economic progress and development”, he explains, flies in the face of weekly announcements by the US, British and other Western governments blocking or expelling Chinese companies from whole sectors of their economies.

The G7 summit made clear that the main political, economic and military target of the world’s leading capitalist powers is China, Griffiths explains, going on to state that: “The left, working-class and peace movements ignore these dire danger signals at their – and the planet’s – peril…

“The Doomsday Clock operated by the admirable Bulletin of Atomic Scientists now stands at 90 seconds to midnight — the closest to global catastrophe it has ever been.

“Can the Green Party in England and Wales and the SNP [Scottish National Party] still tell the time? Have all the Labour left MPs lost their watches, leaving the time-telling to Jeremy Corbyn?

“How much longer will trade unions fail to make the connection between low wages, poor services, precarious employment and the massive expansion of Britain’s nuclear weapons arsenal?”

Calling for intensified efforts to build the peace movement, including the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and the Stop the War Coalition, the CPB General Secretary concludes by calling on his party to “support the invaluable work of the Friends of Socialist China.”

We also take this opportunity to thank the Communist Party of Britain and Comrade Robert Griffiths for their valuable and much appreciated cooperation and support for our work.

THIS year’s G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, was a far cry from its origins in the informal gathering of four finance ministers convened by the US 50 years ago.

Last weekend’s three-day high-profile event produced a detailed communique and four supplementary statements from the leaders of the US, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Canada.

Together, these states account for more than half (at least 53 per cent) of the world’s wealth, between one-third and a half of global production, but no more than one-tenth of the world’s population.

China is excluded from this club because it does not subscribe to the sovereignty of capitalist market forces. Following the destruction of its socialist system, Russia was a member of what became the G8 from 1997 until — in the wake of the overthrow of Ukraine’s elected president Viktor Yanukovich — it reincorporated Crimea in 2014.

The EU has played a full part in G7 proceedings since 1977, but is classed as a “non-enumerated member.” Whoever thought up that classification deserves a medal.

Why was Hiroshima chosen to host this year’s G7 summit?

Introducing ‘The East is Still Red – Chinese socialism in the 21st century’

Friends of Socialist China co-editor Carlos Martinez was interviewed by Sean Blackmon on the Sputnik Radio show By Any Means Necessary about his new book, The East is Still Red – Chinese socialism in the 21st century.

Carlos talks about his motivations for writing the book, the crucial importance of opposing the US-led New Cold War, the necessity for Marxists to understand and defend Chinese socialism, and the ever-contentious question of whether contemporary China is indeed socialist.

The full interview can be viewed on Rumble.

Find out more about the book | Buy the book | Join the book launch on 4 June 2023

Is Japan once again treading the path of aggressive militarism?

We are pleased to publish the below article about the dangers of revived Japanese militarism, and its historical antecedents, which has been submitted to us by James De Burghe, a British socialist long resident in the People’s Republic of China.

James outlines how Shinzo Abe, a former Japanese Prime Minister assassinated in 2022, imbibed far-right, racist and militarist views from his grandfather, Nobusuke Kishi, who had been in charge of economic policy when the Japanese occupied northeast China. Initially imprisoned as a class A war criminal by the American occupation authorities after Japan’s defeat in World War 2, he was soon released in order to play a key part in setting up the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has largely dominated Japanese politics ever since, eventually serving as Prime Minister, 1957-1960.

Abe, who served as Prime Minister from 2006-2007 and again from 2012-2020, followed in the same path as his notorious grandparent, controversially revising school textbooks, declining to apologize for – or even acknowledge – Japanese war crimes, and seeking to repeal or revise Article 9, the supposed ‘peace clause’ of the post-war Japanese constitution.

These revanchist policies are now being pursued with a vengeance under Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, leading to fraught relations with Japan’s neighbors, along with increasing resistance from people at home.

There are alarming signs that Japan is once again drifting towards becoming a fascist-led aggressive militaristic state. The legacy of Nobusuke Kishi has borne fruit through the efforts of his grandson, Shinzo Abe, who was Japanese Prime Minister from 2006–2007 and 2012–2020.

Nobusuke Kishi was the minister who ran Japan’s economic policy in Japanese-occupied Manchuria from 1937 to 1940. He was a convinced supporter of the Yamato race theory that proclaimed Japan as a racially superior nation. Kishi had nothing but contempt for the Chinese as a people, and he regarded them as “dogs – that need to be trained to obey us without question”. His brutal policies led directly to the deaths of thousands of Chinese civilians forced to work a 120-hour week at gunpoint for meagre food rations. There was no attempt to make working conditions safe, and many slave laborers perished through accidents with molten metals. Thousands more perished from starvation and disease or were executed. Kishi believed there was no point to establishing the rule of law in Manchukuo (as the Japanese called north east China when it was under their occupation) – instead brute force was what was needed to maintain Japanese control.

Book launch: The East is Still Red – Chinese socialism in the 21st century

Date	Tuesday 6 June
Time	7pm Britain / 2pm US Eastern / 11am US Pacific
Venue	Marx Memorial Library London EC1R 0DU And Zoom

The new book by Friends of Socialist China co-editor Carlos Martinez, The East is Still Red – Chinese socialism in the 21st century, has been published by Praxis Press. It is currently available to buy on the Praxis Press website in paperback and ePub forms, and will be available more widely from early June.

The book provides a concise, deeply researched and well argued account that China’s remarkable rise can only be understood by acknowledging its socialist past, present and future. Read details and testimonials for the book.

On Tuesday 6 June 2023, at 7pm (Britain), we will be holding a launch for the book, in-person at London’s Marx Memorial Library and online (Zoom and YouTube).

SPEAKERS

Carlos Martinez – author
Danny Haiphong – author, journalist and broadcaster
Rocio Maneiro González – Venezuelan ambassador to the UK
Roger McKenzie – International editor, Morning Star
Jenny Clegg – author and peace activist
Chair: Iris Yau

Chinese Foreign Ministry: the G7 is undermining peace and development

On Saturday May 20, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry responded promptly to the anti-China remarks emanating from the Hiroshima Summit of the G7 imperialist bloc.

The spokesperson noted that the communique and other documents adopted at the summit contain comments on the situation in the Taiwan Strait and accusations regarding the East China Sea, the South China Sea, Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Tibet and China’s nuclear power, professed G7 opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo and claims about “economic coercion” that allude to China.

The spokesperson added that while the G7 claims to be “promoting a peaceful, stable and prosperous world,” it is actually, “hindering international peace, undermining regional stability and curbing other countries’ development.”

The statement stressed that resolving the Taiwan question is a matter for the Chinese, a matter that must be resolved by the Chinese. The one-China principle is the solid anchor for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

On “economic coercion”, the spokesperson said the massive unilateral sanctions and acts of “decoupling” and disrupting industrial and supply chains make the US the real coercer that politicizes and weaponizes economic and trade relations, urging the G7 not to become an accomplice in economic coercion.

Noting that China has always pledged itself to ‘no first use’ of nuclear weapons and always kept its nuclear capabilities at the minimum level required by national security, it noted that the people’s republic was the only one among the five recognized nuclear powers to have made such pledges.

Pointing out that the international community does not and will not accept the G7-dominated Western rules that seek to divide the world, the statement concludes:

“We urge G7 members to catch up with the trend of the times, focus on addressing the various issues they have at home, stop ganging up to form exclusive blocs, stop containing and bludgeoning other countries, stop creating and stoking bloc confrontation and get back to the right path of dialogue and cooperation.”

The following article was originally published by the Xinhua News Agency.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson on Saturday made remarks on G7 Hiroshima Summit’s hyping up of China-related issues, urging the countries to stop ganging up to form exclusive blocs.

According to reports, the G7 Hiroshima Leaders’ Communique and other documents adopted at the G7 Hiroshima Summit contain comments on the situation in the Taiwan Strait and accusations regarding the East China Sea, the South China Sea, Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Tibet and China’s nuclear power, professed G7 opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo and claims about “economic coercion” that allude to China.

The spokesperson said the G7 makes high-sounding claims about “promoting a peaceful, stable and prosperous world,” but what it does is hindering international peace, undermining regional stability and curbing other countries’ development. That simply shows how little international credibility means to the G7.

Despite China’s serious concerns, the G7 used issues concerning China to smear and attack China and brazenly interfere in China’s internal affairs. China strongly deplores and firmly opposes this and has made serious demarches to the summit’s host Japan and other parties concerned, the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson stressed that resolving the Taiwan question is a matter for the Chinese, a matter that must be resolved by the Chinese. The one-China principle is the solid anchor for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

Noting that the G7 keeps emphasizing cross-Strait peace, and yet says nothing about the need to oppose “Taiwan independence,” the spokesperson said this in effect constitutes connivance and support for “Taiwan independence” forces, and will only result in having a serious impact on cross-Strait peace and stability.

Affairs related to Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet are purely China’s internal affairs, the spokesperson said, stressing that China firmly opposes interference by any external force in those affairs under the pretext of human rights.

China is a firm defender and contributor to international maritime rule of law, the spokesperson said, adding that the East China Sea and the South China Sea have remained overall stable. Relevant countries need to respect regional countries’ efforts to uphold peace and stability and stop using maritime issues to drive a wedge between regional countries and incite bloc confrontation.

On “economic coercion”, the spokesperson said the massive unilateral sanctions and acts of “decoupling” and disrupting industrial and supply chains make the U.S. the real coercer that politicizes and weaponizes economic and trade relations, urging the G7 not to become an accomplice in economic coercion.

Noting that China is firmly committed to a defensive nuclear strategy, the spokesperson said China has honored its pledge to “no first use” of nuclear weapons and always kept its nuclear capabilities at the minimum level required by national security.

China is the only one among the five nuclear weapon states to have made those pledges. China’s position is above board and should not be distorted or denigrated, the spokesperson added.

The international community does not and will not accept the G7-dominated Western rules that seek to divide the world based on ideologies and values, still less will it succumb to the rules of exclusive small blocs designed to serve “America-first” and the vested interests of the few, the spokesperson said, urging G7 to reflect on its behavior and change course.

“We urge G7 members to catch up with the trend of the times, focus on addressing the various issues they have at home, stop ganging up to form exclusive blocs, stop containing and bludgeoning other countries, stop creating and stoking bloc confrontation and get back to the right path of dialogue and cooperation,” said the spokesperson.

Interview with Roland Boer on the nature of Chinese socialism

In this very interesting and detailed discussion, Roland Boer and Ben Norton delve into a number of the key issues from Roland’s book Socialism with Chinese Characteristics: A Guide for Foreigners. The core of the discussion is around answering the left critique of China’s post-1978 economic reforms: that these constitute a return to capitalism; that Deng Xiaoping and his colleagues were capitalist roaders who sought to overturn socialism via the introduction of market mechanisms.

Roland points out that markets go back thousands of years, long pre-dating capitalism. As such, there’s no equals sign between capitalism and markets; markets existed before capitalism and they can exist after capitalism. The question for socialists is how to use markets within a socialist context; how to use market mechanisms within a framework of an overall planned economy which is directed at meeting the immediate and long-term needs of the people, and preparing the ground for an eventual transition to a classless society.

Roland makes an important distinction between two key aspects of socialism: that of common ownership of the means of production, and liberation of the productive forces. The two do not necessarily always advance in neat and predictable correlation. This is something that is understood by all existing socialist societies – in China, Vietnam, Cuba, Laos and the DPRK. Deng Xiaoping and his colleagues understood very well that a high level of the productive forces was a material prerequisite for China’s development of an advanced socialism and ultimately for communism. The whole purpose of the reform process has been to develop China’s productive forces whilst simultaneously pursuing the fundamental socialist objective of improving people’s lives. On both counts, the process has been phenomenally successful.

Ben contrasts the level of development and living standards in India and China, noting that hundreds of millions in India continue to face devastating poverty, while China is responsible for at least 70 percent of all poverty alleviation in the last four decades. He points out that this disparity is primarily a manifestation of the two countries having different social systems.

The two take on a number of other key questions, including the nature of socialist democracy, the treatment of migrant workers, the household responsibility system, corruption, and the consolidation of Marxism in China under the leadership of President Xi Jinping.

The video was first posted on Ben’s Geopolitical Economy Report channel.

China marks 33rd national day of assisting disabled persons

On May 21, which marked China’s 33rd national day of assisting people with disabilities, President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to Rehabilitation International, an international organization that was celebrating its centenary in Beijing alongside the China Disabled Persons’ Federation.

Marking the occasion, President Xi extended his greetings to all people with disabilities, their relatives, and the dedicated personnel serving them across the nation. He also expressed gratitude to all international organizations and people from all walks of life who demonstrate care and support for the cause of empowering people with disabilities in China.

He praised Rehabilitation International for working tirelessly to safeguard the dignity of people with disabilities, protect their rights and improve their well-being.

China pays particular attention to the well-being of people with disabilities, Xi said, noting the country will continue to improve the social security and service systems for them.

The following article was originally published by the Xinhua News Agency.

Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the Rehabilitation International Centennial Celebration on Sunday.

On China’s 33rd national day of assisting disabled persons on Sunday, Xi extended his greetings to all individuals with disabilities, their relatives, and the dedicated personnel serving them across the nation. He also expressed gratitude to all international organizations and personages from all walks of life who demonstrate care and support for the cause of empowering people with disabilities in China.

Rehabilitation International is an international organization of great influence in regard to the cause of persons with disabilities, and has worked tirelessly in safeguarding the dignity of such individuals, protecting their rights and improving their well-being, said Xi. He added that China actively supports the organization’s work.

China pays particular attention to the well-being of people with disabilities in the country, Xi said, noting the country will continue to improve the social security and service systems for these people and promote the all-around development of relevant programs.

China is willing to join hands with all countries worldwide to promote international exchanges and cooperation on disability, and continue improving the health and well-being of humankind, Xi said.

Hosted by Rehabilitation International and organized by the China Disabled Persons’ Federation, the centennial celebrations of Rehabilitation International kicked off in Beijing on Sunday.

Xi Jinping’s keynote speech at China-Central Asia Summit

The Presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan joined Chinese President Xi Jinping in the northwestern Chinese city of Xi’an, starting point of the historic Silk Road, for the first in-person summit between China and Central Asia on May 18-19. Around the summit, the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan also paid state visits to China. The President of Turkmenistan already paid a state visit to China in the first week of January.

Among the numerous agreements reached at both the summit and associated bilateral events, when the six heads of state jointly met the press, having concluded their deliberations, they officially inaugurated the China-Central Asia Summit Mechanism. They have agreed to meet biennially, with the venue to be rotated among the participating countries. The next summit will be hosted by Kazakhstan in 2025. And a Permanent Secretariat for the Mechanism is to be established in China.

President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech to the summit on May 19. The Chinese leader cited Xi’an as the starting point of the ancient Silk Road and recalled the ‘journey to the west’ by Han dynasty envoy Zhang Qian more than 2,100 years ago.

Outlining some practical achievements since he first proposed the joint building of a Silk Road Economic Belt in 2013, during his first visit to Central Asia as President, Xi went on to note four global necessities related to Central Asia at the present time:

The world needs a stable Central Asia. The sovereignty, security, independence and territorial integrity of Central Asian countries must be upheld.
The world needs a prosperous Central Asia. A dynamic and prospering Central Asia will help people in the region achieve their aspiration for a better life.
The world needs a harmonious Central Asia. Ethnic conflicts, religious strife, and cultural estrangement are not the defining feature of the region. No one has the right to sow discord or stoke confrontation in the region, let alone seek selfish political interests.
The world needs an interconnected Central Asia. With its unique geographical advantages, the region has the right foundation, condition and capability to become an important connectivity hub of Eurasia.

In building a China-Central Asia community with a shared future, Xi stressed the need to stay committed to four principles:

Mutual Assistance: Always give each other unequivocal and strong support on issues concerning our core interests such as sovereignty, independence, national dignity, and long-term development.
Common Development: To forge new drivers of growth in finance, agriculture, poverty reduction, green and low-carbon development, medical service, health, and digital innovation.
Universal Security: Stand firm against external attempts to interfere in domestic affairs of regional countries or instigate color revolutions.
Everlasting Friendship: Carry forward our traditional friendship, and enhance people-to-people exchanges.

Identifying eight key tasks, Xi stressed the need to:

Strengthen institutional building.
Expand economic and trade ties.
Deepen connectivity.
Expand energy cooperation.
Promote green innovation.
Enhance capabilities for development, including through poverty reduction, utilizing science and technology, vocational education and local job creation.
Strengthen dialogue between civilizations.
Safeguard peace in the region.

We reprint below the full text of President Xi Jinping’s speech. It was originally carried by the Xinhua News Agency.

Working Together for a China-Central Asia Community with a Shared Future Featuring Mutual Assistance, Common Development, Universal Security, and Everlasting Friendship

Keynote Speech by H.E. Xi Jinping
President of the People’s Republic of China
At the China-Central Asia Summit

19 May 2023

Distinguished Colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Friends,

I’d like to welcome you all to Xi’an for the China-Central Asia Summit to explore together ways for closer cooperation between China and the five Central Asian countries.

CGTN interview with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the President of Kazakhstan, arrived in the Chinese city of Xi’an on May 17, for a state visit to China and also to attend the first in person summit of the heads of state of China and the five countries of Central Asia. This will be held in the northwest city, that was the starting of the original silk road that linked China with Central Asia many centuries ago, on May 18-19.

Holding talks with President Xi Jinping shortly after his arrival, the Chinese leader wished Tokayev a happy birthday, noting that he turned 70 this very day. He pointed out that Tokayev’s state visit to China on this special occasion speaks volumes about the strength of the bilateral ties and once again attests to his unique bond with China. China and Kazakhstan are trustworthy good friends, good brothers and good partners, he added.

Shortly before he left for China, Tokayev gave an interview to Wang Guan from CGTN’s Leaders Talk series in the Kazakh capital, Astana.

President Tokayev explains that, as a country at the center of Eurasia, Kazakhstan should be a territory of peace and friendship. (Although not mentioned in this interview, Kazakhstan’s hosting of several rounds of Syrian peace talks would be a good example of this aspiration.) The country should have as many friends as possible, first of all with its immediate neighbous, and should pursue a balanced, multi-directional foreign policy.

Recalling meetings with his Chinese counterpart, Tokayev describes Xi Jinping as a great leader, for whom he has great respect and who is leading China to a bright future. He expresses support for the concept of a community of shared future and the global initiatives on security, development and civilizations, adding that they contribute positively to the necessary work of building a world free of discrimination, sanctions and pressure.

Noting that both Kazakhstan and China are Asian countries, Tokayev insists that it is therefore senseless to conflate modernization with westernization. “We have our own way,” which involves learning anything that is useful, but which does not allow any interference in internal affairs. He expressed strong support for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which Xi Jinping first proposed 10 years ago during a state visit to Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan is to assume the role of chair and host country of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) later this year, following the summit to be held in the Indian capital, New Delhi. Tokayev, who, as Kazakh Foreign Minister, attended the group’s founding meeting in Shanghai in 1996, describes the SCO as a unique body with a diversified agenda, which does not confine itself to security and military issues only, but also applies itself to economic, investment, cultural and other matters.

Tokayev rejects any move aimed at antagonizing, containing or decoupling from China, noting that the neighboring country has never caused any harm to Kazakhstan in history. He is crystal clear about Taiwan, noting that it is a part of China and that China will, of course, eventually be reunified. The principle of the territorial integrity of all states is fixed in the United Nations Charter and must be respected.

The Kazakh leader, as his interviewer notes, is today one of the very few world leaders who speaks fluent Chinese. He lived in China for nearly eight years, starting as a student in 1983. Kazakhstan was at that time a part of the Soviet Union and China and the Soviet Union were just then starting to repair and resume their relations after a period of bitter estrangement. Tokayev was therefore a pioneer and icebreaker. Shortly after completing his studies in 1984, he returned to Beijing and served as a diplomat in the Soviet Embassy until 1991.

Tokayev describes his period studying in Beijing as one of the best times in his life and fondly recalls his university teacher after Wang Guan presents him with his video message. Switching to Chinese, Tokayev says that China and Kazakhstan are reliable partners who support each other’s development and all weather friends. Asked to name his favorite Chinese writer, he cites Lu Xun, who Mao Zedong described as, “not only a great man of letters but a great thinker and revolutionary.”

The full interview is embedded below.

G7’s coercion claim against China slammed as ‘absurd’

In the following article, originally carried on China Daily, Chen Weihua deconstructs and ridicules the claim – expected to appear in the statement arising from this weekend’s G7 Summit – that China is engaged in ‘economic coercion’.

Chen Weihua includes observations from a number of commentators, including Friends of Socialist China co-editor Carlos Martinez, that it is in fact the US and its allies that are the world leaders in economic coercion. As Carlos states, “the G7 states are all involved in multiple forms of economic coercion, and to accuse China of doing so is hypocritical in the extreme.”

Columbia University economist Jeffrey Sachs comments: “The report that the G7 may call out China’s economic coercion is hypocritical given that the US is by far the world’s biggest deployer of unilateral coercive measures.”

The United States and its Western allies have been the major perpetrators of economic coercion that have inflicted suffering on millions of people around the world, according to international experts and scholars.

G7 leaders meeting in Hiroshima, Japan, from Friday to Sunday are set to issue a statement that includes their concerns about alleged economic coercion by China, Reuters reported, citing unnamed US officials.

“The report that the G7 may call out China’s economic coercion is hypocritical given that the US is by far the world’s biggest deployer of unilateral coercive measures,” said Jeffrey Sachs, a Columbia University economist who served as a special adviser to the UN secretary-general from 2001 to 2018.

Research by Francisco Rodriguez, a professor at the University of Denver’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies, has found that economic coercion by the US, the European Union and other Western allies has devastated vulnerable groups in targeted countries and degraded living standards.

He reports that 30 of 32 studies on the effects of economic sanctions by the US and others found that they had negative effects on outcomes including per capita income, poverty, inequality, mortality and human rights.

In the cases of Iran, Afghanistan and Venezuela, sanctions that restricted government access to foreign exchanges affected the ability of those states to provide essential public goods and services, and had substantial negative spillovers on private sector and nongovernmental actors, according to the research published online on May 4 by the Washington-based Center for Economic and Policy Research.

Better approach

“Rather than accusing China of what the G7 itself does, a much better approach by the G7 would be to call for discussions with China so that all countries ensure that economic and trade measures are compatible with the UN Charter and World Trade Organization rules,” Sachs said.

He said the G7 represents a group of wealthy countries allied with the US that accounts for 10 percent of the global population and 31 percent of global GDP at international prices. By comparison, BRICS — a bloc comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — represent 40 percent and 32 percent respectively.

“The G20, which brings the two (G7 and BRICS) together and others, is a much more representative grouping,” he said, adding that the G20 should be expanded to include the African Union to increase representation.

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said on Jan 11 at the inauguration of the headquarters of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, that China was the first country to support the AU in joining the G20 and will encourage G20 members to take robust steps to support a greater role for the AU and African countries in the global governance system.

Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel laureate in economics, warned on Friday that “hostile” US policy risks splitting the world into two blocs. He urged the West to offer investment not “lectures” to developing countries.

“It would be a good idea … for the other G7 countries to try to put pressure on the United States and say, what you’re doing is forming the world into two blocs, and that will be hard,” he told the Agence France-Presse on the sidelines of the G7 ministerial talks in Japan.

Stiglitz warned that competition between US Democrats and Republicans to look tough on China could undermine international action on climate change and other global crises.

Carlos Martinez, co-editor of Friends of Socialist China, a London-based platform, echoed Sachs by saying that “any accusation of Chinese economic coercion is beyond absurd”.

“The US is by far the global leader in unilateral sanctions,” he said, citing the cases of Iran, Syria, Cuba, Venezuela, Eritrea, Zimbabwe, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and China.

Martinez added that the US has been using the role of the dollar in the global economy to apply long-arm jurisdiction, forcing third parties to go along with its sanctions regime.

“The G7 states are all involved in multiple forms of economic coercion, and to accuse China of doing so is hypocritical in the extreme,” he said.

Wang Wenbin responds to Janet Yellen accusing China of economic coercion:

"If any country should be criticized for economic coercion, it should be the US. The US has slapped unilateral economic sanctions on nearly 40 countries, affecting nearly half of the world’s population." pic.twitter.com/GfANlW7bz1
— Friends of Socialist China (@socialist_china) May 12, 2023

Report on Eritrean president’s state visit to China

The President of Eritrea, Isaias Afwerki, paid a state visit to China, beginning on May 14. The visit was, in part, timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of Eritrea’s independence, which falls this May 24. The very same day is also the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Eritrea.

Although the two countries formally established relations on the day of Eritrea’s independence, their ties go much farther back, not least as China actively supported the Eritrean people during the protracted armed struggle they waged to win their national independence and liberation. President Afwerki himself came to China in 1967 as one of a group of young Eritrean revolutionaries to receive military and political training at a military academy in Nanjing. This period was formative to his later leadership of the liberation struggle and the building of a new society. Over the years, the Nanjing academy provided training to freedom fighters from many African countries engaged in armed national liberation struggles against imperialism, colonialism and racism and later to promote the development of armed forces of the continent’s newly independent countries.

Meeting President Afwerki on May 15, President Xi Jinping praised him as “a senior African leader and an old friend of China. Just now, on your way here [referring to their moving from the welcoming ceremony in Tiananmen Square to talks in the Great Hall of the People], you talked about your experience in China and your deep feelings towards China.”

Noting that China and Eritrea share a deep traditional friendship, Xi continued to note that in the face of the current international situation, which is full of instability and uncertainty, developing a sound China-Eritrea relationship not only serves the common and long-term interests of the two countries, but is also of great significance to safeguarding regional peace and international fairness and justice. China is ready to work with Eritrea to deepen a close and friendly relationship between the two countries as friends and comrades.

Xi Jinping emphasized that China appreciates Eritrea’s long-standing adherence to an independent foreign policy, firmly supports Eritrea in exploring a development path suited to its national conditions, firmly supports Eritrea in safeguarding its sovereignty, security and development interests, and opposes external interference in Eritrea’s internal affairs and the imposition of unilateral sanctions. China is ready to share experience with Eritrea on national governance, continue to support each other, jointly oppose unilateralism and bullying, and safeguard the common interests of the two countries and the vast number of other developing countries. The Chinese leader also thanked Eritrea for providing support and assistance to China during its recent evacuation of Chinese citizens in Sudan, which again demonstrated the profound friendship between the two countries of sharing weal and woe and helping each other in difficulties.

For his part, Isaias Afwerki began by referring again to the support that China had extended to the struggle of the Eritrean people for independence and expressed his “profound gratitude” to the Communist Party of China. Whilst 30 years of diplomatic relations are being celebrated, practical strategic ties of friendship and cooperation began in earnest 60 years ago. He spoke of his special bond with China that has lasted for over half a century, and said that the Eritrean people will never forget the precious mental and material support the Chinese people provided for Eritrea’s independence and liberation. China is a great country. Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the country has grown from a poor and backward country into a major country in the world, making outstanding contributions to peace and development of humanity. China has always held the moral high ground, put forward its own solutions to global challenges, upheld international fairness and justice, and encouraged developing countries seeking independence and development. Any attempt to contain or suppress China’s development is bound to fail. The evolution of the international order is at a critical stage, and African countries still face hegemonism and various unfair and unjust treatment. The international community expects and believes that China will make greater contributions to human development and progress and international fairness and justice. Eritrea hopes to strengthen cooperation with China and believes that Eritrea-China strategic partnership will help Eritrea achieve national economic and social development.

Earlier that day, Afwerki had also met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang. Li pointed out that the two sides should further synergize their economic and social development strategies and strengthen exchanges on formulating industrial development plans, building industrial parks and supporting the development of key industries. Both sides should deepen cooperation in infrastructure, marine fisheries, water resources and energy and mineral resources development, and foster new highlights of cooperation in such areas as digital economy, green economy and blue economy. China will continue to provide assistance for Eritrea’s economic and social development to the best of its ability.

President Afwerki said that the Eritrean side appreciates China’s firm support for Eritrea’s independence and development and highly applauds China’s important contribution to maintaining world peace and opening up a new path for the modernization of humanity. Eritrea is ready to step up friendly cooperation with China, draw on China’s experience, promote further development of the Eritrea-China strategic partnership, write a new chapter in the Africa-China friendship, jointly oppose hegemonism, and join hands to build a more equitable and just international order.

The below reports on the two meetings were originally carried on the website of the Chinese Foreign Ministry. For background information, we also reproduce below an interview with China’s Ambassador to Eritrea Cai Ge, originally carried by ChinAfrica, which is published under the auspices of Beijing Review.

Ambassador Cai refers to Sino-Eritrean large-scale cooperation in gold, polymetallic and potash mining, as well as in telecommunications, heavy equipment and infrastructure. He notes that China has been Eritrea’s top trading partner, largest source of investment and top contractor for years. The two countries also cooperate closely in health, agriculture, education and culture. As of 2022, China has sent 275 doctors to Eritrea in 15 groups and also built the country’s largest hospital. In terms of cultural cooperation, he notes that the Chinese TV drama Minning Town has been broadcast on Eritrean national television. This series has been immensely popular in China for its inspiring but gritty and realistic depiction of a community rising out of poverty. It tells the story of villagers from the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, who migrated and built Minning Town from scratch on the edge of the Gobi desert, with help coming in time from counterparts in the more prosperous province of Fujian. All 23 episodes, with English subtitles, are available to watch on YouTube.

In summary, Ambassador Cai notes that: “The China-Eritrea partnership, which is based on similar historical experiences and shared values and has its roots in mutual support in revolutions and national construction, has been strengthened over time. Both countries uphold an independent foreign policy and multilateralism, oppose hegemony and hegemonic acts, advocate the right of all countries to choose their own path of development, insist that African issues should be solved by Africans through African means, and object [to] interference in internal affairs.”

New book: The East is Still Red – Chinese socialism in the 21st century

We are pleased to announce that the new book by Friends of Socialist China co-editor Carlos Martinez, The East is Still Red – Chinese socialism in the 21st century, has been published by Praxis Press. It is currently available to buy on the Praxis Press website in paperback and ePub forms, and will be available more widely from early June.

Description

China provides a powerful living example of what can be achieved under a socialist system; by a Marxist-led government firmly grounded among the people. The East is Still Red explains the escalating hostility by the imperialist powers towards China and clears up various popular misconceptions.

All available evidence indicates that not only is the Communist Party of China committed to Marxism, but it is a leading force for the development and enhancement of Marxism in the 21st century.

If the first century of human experience of building socialism teaches us anything, it is that the road from capitalism to socialism is a long and complicated one, and that ‘actually existing socialism’ varies enormously according to time, place and circumstances. China is building a form of socialism that suits its conditions, using the means it has at its disposal, in the extraordinarily challenging circumstances of global imperialist hegemony.

Carlos Martinez provides a concise, deeply researched and well argued account that China’s remarkable rise can only be understood by acknowledging its socialist past, present and future.

Aukus might create jobs – but at what cost?

This article by Jenny Clegg, originally published in the Morning Star, discusses the recent announcement by Britain’s Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions (CSEU) that it welcomes the Aukus trilateral security deal on the grounds that it will ostensibly create thousands of well-paid jobs for British engineers.

Jenny points out that, even on the basis of purely economic calculations, directing Britain’s advanced engineering sector towards a project like Aukus is utterly self-defeating. It will adversely affect ties with China – trade with which is connected to orders of magnitude more jobs than Aukus is. Furthermore, it means divesting from far more promising and worthwhile projects, particularly in relation to preventing climate breakdown.

Aukus is part of an escalating US-led drive to war against China, and what’s more it violates the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). It is patently foolish for Britain to attach itself to such a project, and particularly so for the British working class. Jenny asks of CSEU members: “Do they want to be building a world of conflict, tension and destabilisation for decades to come? Is that the kind of future they envisage for their children and grandchildren?”

THE Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions (CSEU) has welcomed the benefits of Aukus, creating thousands of well-paid jobs, securing thousands more across the supply chains for years to come.

But what about the costs?

Within Britain’s constrained budgets, creating one job in the defence sector means cutting significantly more jobs — quite possibly those of trade union members — in sectors, for example, that provide for social welfare.

The £3 billion defence spending increase recently announced by PM Rishi Sunak to go on supporting the delivery of Aukus is enough to pay the junior doctors’ claims in full one-and-a-half times over. And it is just the start.

The benefits to the supply chain might not be that great either since over a third of MoD supplies are purchased from overseas.

The reactors to power the Aukus submarines are to be built by Rolls-Royce in Derby using weapons-grade highly enriched uranium.

Thousands of jobs will be created, yes, but these vessels are for war-fighting so this will breach the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) stipulation that the exchange of nuclear technology must be “for peaceful purposes.”

This also violates the spirit of the Nuclear Weapon Free Zones of the south Pacific and south-east Asia. There, the expanding authority of the Anglosphere is not something that is welcomed.

It goes against hopes to make the region a zone of peace, instead increasing the likelihood of regional nuclear proliferation and an escalating arms race.

A recent meeting of former Pacific leaders raised complaints about the “staggering” amount of money committed to Aukus which “flies in the face of Pacific Islands countries … crying out for climate change support,” the “threat … challenging our future existence,” they said, “is not China but climate change.”

The gross overexpansion of Britain’s military industrial base is to prepare for war with China. But China has not fought a war for 40 years; it maintains a defensive military posture with just one overseas base and only a small nuclear arsenal kept under “no first use.” By treating China as the enemy, Aukus will surely turn it into one.

China in fact is Britain’s fourth-largest trading partner; economic links have generated at least 150,000 jobs across the country and there is great potential for this to grow.

Not long ago Chinese companies stepped in to help in the rescue of Jaguar Land Rover and saved 3,000 jobs at British Steel.

Why put all this at risk? China should be seen as an opportunity not a threat.

By the time the submarines become operational in the 2040s, the world will be massively transformed.

The emerging markets of the Brics countries already exceed the G7 in economic size and will easily double this in 20 years.

A paradigm shift is under way as these rising powers reset world agendas — it is their priorities on climate change, health and tackling poverty that are now driving the world economy.

Yet Britain continues on the path of disproportionate military influence even as it drops out of the world’s top 10 economies in the coming years.

The CSEU is working with the Australian engineering unions, yet the Australian Council of Trade Unions (Actu), which brings together 36 trade unions, has not endorsed the pact and maintains its backing of Australia’s nuclear-free defence policy.

To support the huge Aukus military expansion, the Australian taxpayer will pay on average US$6bn per year for the next 30 years — a whacking total of US$245bn.

To secure Britain’s high-skilled base requires long-term contracts but the MoD’s seemingly easy solution stokes more problems for the future: the more that is invested in arms production, the harder it is to reverse — the end of a contract means thousands of jobs are at stake and the chase for investment becomes endless.

The British government has just spent over £6bn on the two aircraft carriers, now one is being mothballed. How many more white elephants are planned?

The CSEU needs to think again. Instead of delivering the labour movement into the pockets of BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce, instead of driving China onto a war-footing, it should inform its members of the implications of the scheme.

It should ask them: do they want to be building a world of conflict, tension and destabilisation for decades to come? Is that the kind of future they envisage for their children and grandchildren?

We are nowhere close to having sufficient green skills to deliver the green transition globally — the CSEU should be encouraging apprentices to hone their skills for a green future; and it should get creative and set up teams of members to come up with alternative ideas not least to serve the new agendas and growing markets of the global South.

People in Britain can only rely now on skilled engineers to ensure the economy remains relevant in the coming decades. Politicians are failing us — it is up to the unions to envisage a different future for the country and to see that Britain’s advanced engineering is put to good use in a vastly changing world.

Liu Liangmo: China’s anti-imperialist, anti-racist, Christian revolutionary

We are pleased to republish the following article on the revolutionary life of Liu Liangmo (1909-1988), a Chinese anti-imperialist, progressive Christian, and pioneer of solidarity between the African-American people and the Chinese revolution. Written by Eugene Puryear, it was originally published by Liberation School, an initiative of the US Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL). As Comrade Puryear explains:

“While excavating this history is important in its own right, it is even more so because the promise and the contradictions of these wartime attempts to build unity among the exploited and oppressed hold important lessons for our own time.”

Liu’s political activity began with the progressive cultural circles in Shanghai linked to the underground Chinese Communist Party, where he pioneered the use of mass singing of patriotic and anti-imperialist songs as a means of popular mobilization.

In 1940, he left China for the United States to work with United China Relief, which worked to build support for the Chinese people’s resistance to Japanese aggression, as an arm of the united front that had been re-established between the Communist Party and the Kuomintang. Once in the United States, his interest in cultural work inevitably and rapidly drew him into a close association and friendship with Paul Robeson, with whose work he had already become familiar before leaving China.

Liu began writing regularly for the progressive black press in the United States. In 1942, he reported on a New York rally, also attended by Claudia Jones, demanding the opening of a Second Front in western Europe, at a time when the Soviet people were heroically resisting the Nazis at Stalingrad. Clearly linking this demand to the struggle for the liberation of oppressed people everywhere, he wrote:

“Forty thousand New Yorkers … attended the Second Front rally at Union Square… I was very much interested in the placards which people carried … the most outstanding ones are: ‘Smash Race Discrimination,’ ‘Equal Rights to Negroes NOW!’ and ‘Free India NOW!… It is interesting to me because it clearly demonstrated the inter-relationship of these problems … the reactionaries and Tories don’t want to see Soviet Russia win; neither do they want India to be free, nor Negro people to have equal rights so they delay the opening of a Second Front, they delay in giving freedom to India, and they keep on Jim-Crowing the Negro people in this country. But the people of the world black and white and brown together demand that: a Second Front be opened in Europe NOW; Free India NOW; Equal rights to Negroes NOW.”

Liu returned to China after liberation and the founding of the People’s Republic, but his work and example undoubtedly helped to lay important foundations for ensuing decades of collaboration and solidarity between the black liberation movement and socialist China. Mentioning a number of key people who contributed to this, Puryear writes:

“Harry Belafonte would tell Paul Robeson’s confidante Helen Rosen of his fascination with New China: ‘When Alassane Diop, Guinea’s former Minister of Communications, came back from a visit to the new China in the early 50s, he told me that the city of Shanghai was clean and beautiful, that its citizens had a decency and spirit unequaled anywhere else in the world. I asked myself how a nation devastated by war and riddled with hunger, disease, and illiteracy was able to order the lives of 800 million citizens. I erupted into an insatiable curiosity about China.'”

The great singer, actor and lifelong progressive activist and freedom fighter, Harry Belafonte, passed away this April 25th at the age of 96.

A second article by Puryear sets out the author’s view of the communist movement’s popular front policy, with particular reference to Liu’s work in the United States.

Introduction

Liu Liangmo (1909-1988) was a prominent Chinese anti-imperialist, religious leader and, from 1942-1945, columnist for the Pittsburgh Courier—at that time the nation’s widest circulating Black newspaper. Liu’s columns (and actions as an organizer) were a significant part of efforts by progressive Chinese people, on the mainland and in the diaspora, to build alliances with the Black Liberation movement as part of a broader effort to shape the post-war world.

His words linked the causes of ending colonialism, imperialism, and race discrimination—from the Yangtze to the Ganges to the Mississippi—mirroring the words and actions of millions of others involved in similarly-minded struggles around the world, including Liu’s favorite U.S. singer: Paul Robeson.

Liu’s columns represent the efforts of Communist and aligned currents to turn the allied effort in the favor of the exploited and the oppressed. This was counteracted in the so-called “Cold War,” as imperialist forces worked to make the world “safe for capitalism” in the wake of the World War II.

His columns and activities offer interesting insight into the struggle within the “Second United Front” in China between the Nationalist Kuomintang and the Communists during the Second World War and their differing approaches to the post-war world: whether China should be an anti-colonial vanguard or seek inclusion in the imperialist “great power” club. The “Nationalist” Chinese government’s chose the latter, heavily impacting their approach to racism in the US.

On the other side, the nascent global left-wing coalition hoped to use the new leverage the war created: notably the curtailing of the anti-Bolshevik crusade and the embrace of the USSR as an ally, the attendant rise in the prestige of communism, and the need to mobilize colonial and all resources on the U.S. home-front. This leverage opened some space for the first legal labor and political organizations in colonial Africa and the Black Liberation movement in the U.S. Also critical was the importance of India and China to the overall allied effort against Germany, Italy, and Japan; to end colonialism, Jim Crow, and the old imperialism.

Interview: China is governed in the interests of working people, the US in the interests of capital

In this interview with Global Times, Sara Flounders – a contributing editor to Workers World and a member of our advisory group – shares her analysis of the escalating New Cold War and the US’s global hegemonic project. Comparing the West’s approach of war, sanctions, coercion and destabilisation with China’s vision of a human community with a shared future, Sara observes:

The very concept of shared future and cooperation has a profound impact. It’s not threatening to other countries, and it has the win-win idea, meaning if your economy is growing and our economy is growing, that’s better for both of us. That’s the basis of building further and deeper trust.

Sara points out that the differing approaches to international and domestic politics taken by the US and China can ultimately be explained by their differing social systems. In socialist China, the government operates in the interests of working people, whereas “the political parties in the US operate in the interests of the top corporations and banks.”

The interview concludes with a note of caution: with US hegemony in decline, the US ruling class is hitting out in all directions in a bid to prevent that decline. “It’s a very dangerous juncture, because this is very threatening to US imperialism and we have to be prepared what they will do to try to preserve their role.” The situation calls for maximum unity of the global working class and oppressed nations, to defend our collective interests and press ahead to a multipolar future free from imperialism.

GT: The Russia-Ukraine conflict has dragged on for more than a year. What lessons can the world draw from this conflict?

Flounders: Hopefully, they will draw the conclusion not to go along with US provocations, intentional disruptions, and efforts to create crisis.

Now, out of this war in the past year, Russia has not only survived economically, its currency and its trade with the Global South have been reinforced and are stronger today. However, for the EU, they’re in a much weaker position. We shouldn’t forget that even though they are US allies, they are also competitors. The euro is now weaker than the dollar, the war has benefited the US and yet has been very harmful for all of the EU countries that went along with the war.

I think countries around the world will draw their conclusions. Do they want to be roped into this? Especially in Asia, who can US imperialism rope in in terms of their own sovereignty? Who can resist the US pressure?

GT: Taiwan regional leader Tsai Ing-wen was in California and met US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. While the US contains Russia through the Ukraine war in Europe, does it also want to provoke a war in the Taiwan Strait to contain China?

Flounders: This meeting was a direct and intentional violation of signed agreements that the US has made with China. China is one. Taiwan is a province of China. This is agreed to by the world, by the United Nations, by the US and by Taiwan’s “constitution.” For Kevin McCarthy to line up other congressional members and meet with Tsai Ing-wen is a direct violation of past agreements.

In the same way that Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan last year was a direct and deliberate violation of the agreement. There’s no reason to do this, except to attempt to create provocations, to create further disruption of what had been an orderly process of reconciliation and of Taiwan becoming part of China, which is the wish for great majority of the people, even in Taiwan.

China’s approach is to continue to use diplomacy to not be baited into an intentional provocation. However, it is becoming a difficult situation because one offense after another, one arms shipment after another. And US aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines, destroyers, sail into the Taiwan Straits. These are all intended provocations, and any one of them could be a dangerous jumping-off point.

GT: The US pursues hegemony by provoking conflicts. China promotes a human community with a shared future. What do the two differing governance concepts bring to the world?

Flounders: The very concept of shared future and cooperation has a profound impact. It’s not threatening to other countries, and it has the win-win idea, meaning if your economy is growing and our economy is growing, that’s better for both of us. That’s the basis of building further and deeper trust.

Is London returning to a sane policy towards Beijing?

In this short op-ed for China Daily, Friends of Socialist China co-editor Carlos Martinez discusses the significance of Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng’s visit to London, in the context of recent indications from Westminster that it is shifting somewhat away from the viscerally anti-China strategy it has been pursuing in recent years. Although the UK government remains essentially tied to its heavily pro-US orientation, it is increasingly clear that ‘decoupling’ from China is a dead end.

Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng’s visit to London to attend the coronation ceremony of King Charles III is a reminder of China’s willingness to develop a productive and mutually-beneficial relationship with the United Kingdom.

The recent deterioration in relations between the two countries has not been instigated or fomented by Beijing. China has always sought to foster a bilateral relationship of friendship, exchange, mutual learning, trade and investment that brings material and cultural benefits to both sides.

The most emblematic moment of the “golden era” of UK-China relations was Chinese President Xi Jinping’s five-day visit to the UK in 2015. At the joint news conference addressed by both President Xi and then British prime minister David Cameron, it was announced that the two countries will build a global comprehensive strategic partnership for the 21st century.

There was even talk of the UK aligning its “Northern Powerhouse” project with the Belt and Road Initiative. Eight years later, Belt and Road projects have helped boost infrastructure development in many parts of the world, while almost no progress has been made on the Northern Powerhouse initiative, which is a real shame.

China’s strategic approach to its ties with Britain and its wish to establish long-term win-win relations have not changed. The major change in the relationship is that the British establishment seems to have become anti-China, in step with the United States’ geopolitical game to maintain its global hegemony.

This reflects two political shifts. First, the US, in recent years, has adopted an increasingly confrontational stance toward China: imposing sanctions and extra tariffs, forming the trilateral security alliance AUKUS, waging a trade war and initiating a tech war against China, undermining the one-China principle.

Second, in the aftermath of Brexit, the UK has been slowly but steadily losing its foreign policy independence, choosing to act on the instructions of the US in the hope it will prepare the ground for a comprehensive US-UK trade deal that makes up for what Britain has lost by leaving the European Common Market. The result is that the UK now follows the US’ lead when it comes to relations with China.

In 2015, Britain faced significant pressure from the US to not join the China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, but it was able to withstand that pressure in defense of its own economic interests. It’s unlikely that Britain would act in a similarly independent way today.

However, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly’s recent speech on UK-China relations seems to indicate some willingness on the part of the British government to return to a sane policy. Cleverly’s speech — and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s refusal to label China as a “strategic threat” — represent a growing understanding that Britain needs investment from, and trade with, China, and that “decoupling” of economies leads to a dead end. The British people will benefit greatly if this understanding can be turned into a policy of cooperation and mutually-beneficial relations.

And Han’s visit to the UK will hopefully provide an opportunity for Britain’s political leadership to take some concrete steps in this direction.

Embassy spokesperson responds to Irish politician’s remarks on China

On Tuesday May 2, Micheál Martin, Tánaiste (Deputy Prime Minister), as well as Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence, of the Republic of Ireland, and leader of the Fianna Fáil party, delivered a major speech at the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin on the question of his country’s relations with China.

Whilst acknowledging that this relationship is valued, and highlighting the €34.5 billion in two-way trade as well as “enduring links in education, in culture and in tourism,” Martin echoed a number of European politicians, as well as US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, in calling for ‘de-risking’ Ireland’s ties with China. The financial news service Bloomberg noted that, in so doing, Martin had positioned Ireland in opposition to the recent call by French President Emmanuel Macron for a more constructive relationship with China. According to the Irish Times, Martin stated:

“We must be clear-eyed about China’s strategic objectives and about what these might mean for the European Union and Ireland.

“Ireland’s message on human rights will remain consistent, whether in relation to Xinjiang, Tibet, Hong Kong, or elsewhere – China has an obligation to act in a manner that ensures full respect for the rule of law.”

He further called on China to use its “considerable influence” to end Russia’s military operation in Ukraine.

Responding to the speech, the Chinese Embassy in Ireland said that it had “taken note of the positive elements… that Ireland values its bilateral relationship with China and wants to work constructively together with China; that Ireland reaffirms it adheres to the one-China policy,” but continued:

“Regrettably, the speech over-exaggerated the differences between China and Ireland and emphasized the concept of ‘de-risking’ with China. It also made misleading comments on China’s stance on current international hot issues and made groundless accusations against China on issues related to Taiwan, Xinjiang, and Hong Kong, interfering in China’s internal affairs.”

Stressing that it disagreed with the concept of ‘de-risking’ and the idea that differences in worldview would “inevitably shape” the way the two countries viewed one another, the Embassy noted that: “The tremendous development of bilateral cooperation between China and Ireland over the past more than 40 years has fully demonstrated the fact that China and Ireland share extensive common interests, the convergence of our views far outweighs our differences, and our cooperation far outweighs our competition.”

On the Ukraine crisis, it said that: “China always stands on the side of peace. Its core stance is to facilitate talks for peace. China did not create the Ukraine crisis, nor is it a party to the crisis.”

Regarding the Taiwan issue, the embassy stated that, “just as ‘no one group can have a veto on Ireland’s future’, no one can have a veto on Chinese people’s aspiration and determination to achieve national reunification.”

It added that “a lot of international friends who have been to Xinjiang said that what they saw with their own eyes in Xinjiang is completely different from what has been portrayed by Western media. We welcome Irish friends from all walks of life to visit Xinjiang and find out the true picture there, instead of being misled by Xinjiang-related lies.

Towards its conclusion, it invoked the words of the late John Hume, leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) in the north of Ireland, and an architect of the Good Friday Agreement, which recently marked its 25th anniversary:

“Difference is the essence of humanity. Difference is an accident of birth, and it should therefore never be the source of hatred or conflict. Therein lies a most fundamental principle of peace: respect for diversity.”

We reprint below the full text of the statement. It originally appeared on the website of the Chinese Embassy in the Republic of Ireland.

Question: On 2nd May, Micheál Martin, Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence, delivered a speech mainly on China and China-Ireland relations. What is the Chinese Embassy’s comment?

Answer: We have taken note of the positive elements of the speech that Ireland values its bilateral relationship with China and wants to work constructively together with China; that Ireland reaffirms it adheres to one-China policy.

Carry forward the spirit of Dr Kotnis to strengthen China-India friendship

As part of a tour of South Asian countries in the first week of May, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang visited India to attend the Foreign Ministers Meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which was held in Goa. Whilst there, on May 4, Qin Gang met with the family members of Dr. Dwarkanath Kotnis (known in China as Ke Dihua), along with representatives of friendship organizations with China and young people from both countries.

Dr. Kotnis was one of a team of five Indian doctors, one of whom had previously served with the International Brigades in Spain, who were sent to help the Chinese people in their war of resistance against Japan by India’s Congress party, then led by Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose, after China’s Red Army leader Zhu De had written a request to Nehru on the suggestion of Agnes Smedley, the American internationalist who maintained deep ties with the freedom movements in both countries.

In the spirit of the great Canadian communist, Dr. Norman Bethune, who the team had gone to replace following his death from sepsis incurred while operating behind enemy lines, Dr. Kotnis worked tirelessly, sometimes for 72 hours without sleep. He refused any special treatment, taught himself fluent Chinese, and passed on his knowledge by writing two textbooks on surgery (one uncompleted, he was actually struck by a fatal seizure as he was writing), and becoming a teacher and then the head of the Bethune Medical School.

It was while teaching at the school that he met, fell in love with and married Guo Qinglan, a nurse and nursing teacher. Their son, Yinhua, whose name means India-China, was born just four months before Dr. Kotnis’s death. In July 1942, Dr. Kotnis was admitted to membership of the Communist Party of China.

After Dr. Kotnis passed away on December 9, 1942, from epileptic seizures exacerbated by prolonged overwork, Mao Zedong wrote the following calligraphy in his memory:

“Dr. Kotnis, our Indian friend, came to China from afar to assist us in our war of resistance. He worked for five years in Yan’an and north China, giving medical treatment to our wounded soldiers and died of illness owing to constant overwork. The army has lost a helping hand, and the nation has lost a friend. Let’s always bear in mind his internationalist spirit.”

In meeting with Dr. Kotnis’s relatives, Qin Gang carried on a tradition of senior Chinese leaders visiting India, beginning with Premier Zhou Enlai in the 1950s through to President Xi Jinping in recent times.

Qin Gang said that Dr. Kotnis was a great friend of the Chinese people and an outstanding fighter in the anti-fascist war, who devoted his precious youth and life to the Chinese people’s war of resistance against Japanese aggression. His spirit, Qin continued, is a humanitarian one of saving lives, a heroic one of daring to struggle and not being afraid of sacrifice, and an internationalist one of advocating peace, friendship, and a shared future.

One distinct feature of Qin’s meeting, consistent with the change of generations, as well as the fact that May 4 is celebrated as Youth Day in China, in honour of the anti-imperialist May 4 Movement of youth and students in 1919 that contributed significantly to the founding of the Communist Party of China two years later, was the emphasis placed on the need for young people to inherit and carry forward the spirit of Dr. Kotnis so as to firmly safeguard peace and friendship between China and India.

Noting that the young people of both China and India are full of vitality and are the main force for development in their respective countries, Qin Gang called on them to promote people-to-people exchanges and to explore a path for the two major neighbors to coexist in peace, get along in amity and seek rejuvenation together.

He also urged the youths to promote bilateral cooperation for mutual benefit and to boost mutual trust, so as to jointly safeguard the common interests of developing countries and uphold international fairness and justice.

The following articles were originally published by the Chinese Foreign Ministry and the Xinhua News Agency.

Qin Gang Meets with Relatives of Dr. Dwarkanath Kotnis and Representatives of Chinese and Indian Young People

On May 4, 2023 local time, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang met with relatives of Dr. Dwarkanath Kotnis and representatives of China-India friendship organizations and Chinese and Indian young people in Goa, India.

Qin Gang and relatives of Dr. Kotnis visited the photo exhibition of Dr. Kotnis’ life. Qin Gang said that Dr. Kotnis, a great friend of the Chinese people and an outstanding fighter in the anti-fascist war, devoted his precious youth and life to the Chinese people’s war of resistance against Japanese aggression. The spirit of Dr. Kotnis is a humanitarian one of saving lives, a heroic one of daring to struggle and not being afraid of sacrifice, and an internationalist one of advocating peace, friendship and a shared future.

Qin Gang trip consolidates China’s ties with South Asian countries

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang spent the first week of May on an important visit to South Asian countries.

On May 1, he met in Beijing with Noeleen Heyzer, the Special Envoy of the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General on Myanmar. Qin Gang said that China and Myanmar are close neighbors linked by mountains and rivers, and China hopes more than any other country that Myanmar will realize stability and development. With internal and external factors intertwined, the Myanmar issue is complex and has no “quick fix”. The international community should respect Myanmar’s sovereignty, and support all parties and factions in Myanmar in bridging differences and resuming the political transition process through political dialogue within the constitutional and legal frameworks. He further noted that the international community should respect the mediation efforts of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and promote the implementation of ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus on Myanmar.

The following day, Qin Gang arrived in China’s Yunnan province for an inspection tour, in which he stressed the need to maintain stability at the China-Myanmar border, advance the friendship and cooperation between China and Myanmar, and open up new prospects of border-related and Myanmar-related work. Visiting various places and projects, including ‘One Village, Two Countries’ border communities, he took opinions and suggestions from those working at primary-level units and on the front line. He stressed the importance of pushing forward the building of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor with a focus on industrial capacity cooperation and industrial park construction, to help boost the economic and social development of the two countries, as well as maintaining peace and tranquility in the border area and safeguarding the overall situation of China-Myanmar friendship.

This somewhat unusual public engagement by a Chinese foreign minister reflects the special position of the southwestern province regarding Myanmar, with, for example, the same and closely related ethnic groups and nationalities living on both sides of the border. It might also be considered as an extension of whole process people’s democracy on the diplomatic front.

The same day, Qin Gang began his visit to Myanmar, meeting with Than Shwe, the former Chairman of the Myanmar State Peace and Development Council, in the country’s new capital, Nay Pyi Taw.

Qin Gang said that China respects Myanmar’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, supports Myanmar in advancing its domestic peace process, and stands ready to continue actively providing assistance for Myanmar in safeguarding independence, maintaining political stability and realizing sustainable development. Than Shwe said that the “pauk-phaw” [brotherly] friendship between Myanmar and China was forged by the leaders of the elder generations of the two countries, has been promoted by every generation of their leaders, and is deeply rooted in the hearts of the two peoples.

Also on May 2, Qin Gang met with Myanmar leader Min Aung Hlaing. The Chinese Foreign Minister pointed out that China sincerely hopes for a stable situation and national development in Myanmar, supports Myanmar in exploring a development path suited to its national conditions and with Myanmar’s characteristics, supports Myanmar in continuously advancing its political transition process, and supports all parties in Myanmar to properly handle differences and achieve reconciliation under the constitutional and legal framework. China will continue to provide assistance within its capability for Myanmar’s development, accelerate key cooperation projects of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, and carry out projects on agriculture, education and health care, among others, for the benefit of Myanmar people.

China reiterates support for Syria’s unity, sovereignty and independence

Some 12 years after it was unjustly excluded, Syria was readmitted to the Arab League on May 7. An emergency meeting of the League’s Foreign Ministers, held in the Egyptian capital Cairo, resolved to restore Syria’s membership with immediate effect. This clears the way for Syria to attend the League’s Summit, which is due to convene in the Saudi Arabian city of Riyadh on May 19. The Wall Street Journal described the move as, “complicating American efforts to isolate President Bashar al-Assad and signalling a waning of US influence in the Middle East.” The paper added: “The decision to readmit Syria to the Arab League represents a rejection of US interests in the region and shows that Middle Eastern countries are forging policies independent of Western concerns.”

Syria’s diplomatic victory is part of a broad and dramatic redrawing of the geopolitical map of West Asia particularly following the agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia, mediated by China, to restore bilateral relations.

Reporting on the summit meeting between China and the Arab League, held during President Xi Jinping’s visit to Saudi Arabia last December, and noting that the Chinese leader’s proposals to his Arab counterparts included a pledge to provide humanitarian support and reconstruction efforts for a number of countries, including Syria, this website commented, on December 12 2022, that: “This is particularly significant in that Syria is still unjustly excluded from the League of Arab States, although considerable progress is being made to rectify this.”

Consistent with these trends, on April 29, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad received the visiting Special Envoy of the Chinese Government on the Middle East, Zhai Jun in his capital, Damascus.

At their meeting, President Assad noted that the most significant positive change in the world has been the Chinese role, which is increasing in a calm and balanced manner, and that this role has become a new model in politics, economy, and culture. He went on to observe that the entire world today needs the Chinese presence politically and economically to rebalance the global situation and praised the Chinese mediation that culminated in the rapprochement and improvement of relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which, he said, will have a positive impact on the stability of the entire Middle East region.

Underlining the importance of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the Syrian leader said that the confrontation with imperialism has become economic in the first place, which makes it increasingly necessary to reduce the use of the US dollar in transactions, and that BRICS countries can play a leading role in this area, along with the option of adopting the Chinese yuan for trade payments between countries.

Assad said that Syria does not forget that Beijing has been by its side during the war years to defend its sovereignty, adding that all the assistance provided by Beijing during the earthquake catastrophe was appreciated.

For his part, Zhai Jun expressed China’s satisfaction with the victory achieved by the Syrian people in their battle against terrorism, considering it a victory for all countries that defend their sovereignty and dignity. He added that Beijing will support Syria with words and deeds in international forums in defense of truth and justice, and support its battle against hegemony, terrorism and external interference. He also expressed his country’s support for the positive developments taking place in the rapprochement between Syria and the Arab countries.

Shortly before his meeting with the head of state, Zhai Jun met with Fayssal Mikdad, Syria’s Foreign and Expatriates Minister, who renewed his country’s support for the territorial integrity of China and the one-China principle, while, for his part, Zhai expressed his appreciation for the achievements made by Syria, a country friendly to China, and China’s rejection of all attempts to interfere in Syria’s internal affairs, reiterating his country’s support for Syria’s unity, sovereignty and independence.

The following reports were originally carried by the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).

President al-Assad receives Special Envoy of the Chinese Government on the Middle East

President Bashar al-Assad received Saturday Special Envoy of the Chinese Government on the Middle East Zhai Jun.

The central topic between the President al-Assad and Zhai Jun was the common perceptions of the bilateral relationship between Syria and China within the larger landscape of China’s relationship with the countries of the Middle East and its vital role throughout this region.

President al-Assad pointed out that the most significant positive change in the world has been the Chinese role, which is increasing in a calm and balanced manner, and that this role has become a new model in politics, economy and culture, especially as it is based on the principle of achieving stability, peace and profit for all.

President al-Assad noted that the entire world today needs the Chinese presence politically and economically to rebalance the global situation, taking into account the Russian-Chinese relations and the BRICS alliance in terms of constituting a strong international space capable of creating a multipolar international order.

President al-Assad praised the Chinese mediation that culminated in the rapprochement and improvement of relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which will have a positive impact on the stability of the entire Middle East region.

His excellency underlined the importance of the Belt and Road Initiative aimed at achieving development and economic cooperation.

President al-Assad stressed that the confrontation has been economic in the first place, which makes it increasingly necessary to release the US dollar in transactions, and that BRICS countries can play a leading role in this area, as well as the option of adopting the Chinese yuan for trade transactions between countries.

President al-Assad said that Syria does not forget that Beijing has been by its side during the war years to defend its sovereignty in accordance with international law and the United Nations Charter, and we appreciate all the assistance provided by Beijing during the earthquake catastrophe.

President al-Assad conveyed his greetings to the Chinese President Xi Jinping and the Chinese people.

For his part, the special envoy Zhai Jun conveyed to President al-Assad the greetings of the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, and his keenness to achieve greater results at the level of bilateral relations.

He stressed that China views relations with Syria from a strategic perspective and within the framework of a comprehensive vision for the region.

Zhai Jun expressed his country’s satisfaction with the victory achieved by the Syrian people in their battle against terrorism and considered that it is a victory for all countries that defend their sovereignty and dignity.

He said that Beijing will support Syria with words and deeds in international forums in defense of truth and justice, and support its battle against hegemony, terrorism and external interference

He expressed his country’s support for the positive developments taking place in the rapprochement between Syria and the Arab countries.

Mikdad: Syria supports the One-China principle

Foreign and Expatriates Minister, Fayssal Mikdad, met on Saturday the Special representative of the Chinese Government for the Middle East affairs Zhai Jun and the accompanying delegation.

During the meeting, Minister Mikdad renewed Syria’s support for the territorial integrity of China and the one-China principle , rejecting in this regard the attempts of some countries to interfere in China’s domestic affairs.

In turn, the Chinese envoy expressed his appreciation for the achievements made by Syria, a country friendly to China, and China’s rejection of all attempts to interfere in its internal affairs, reiterating his country’s support for Syria’s unity, sovereignty and independence.

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