Friends of Socialist China, Author at Friends of Socialist China

Xi meets with heads of state from Eritrea, Mali, DRC, Comoros, Djibouti, Seychelles and Guinea

On September 2, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with a number of African heads of state who were in Beijing to attend the summit meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

Meeting with Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki, Xi Jinping pointed out that since the establishment of diplomatic relations more than 30 years ago, China and Eritrea have always trusted and supported each other firmly. President Isaias Afwerki paid a state visit to China in May last year, during which positive progress was made in the important common understandings between the two heads of state. China appreciates Eritrea’s adherence to an independent foreign policy, its efforts to firmly safeguard national sovereignty and dignity, and its strategic and long-term perspective for viewing China-Eritrea relations. He stressed that China and Eritrea should be good brothers having a heart-to-heart affinity, good partners for mutual benefit and win-win results, and good friends for safeguarding fairness and justice.

Noting that he first visited China 57 years ago [when he was one of a number of young Eritrean freedom fighters invited to receive military and political training in China], Isaias Afwerki said that over the past half century and more, he has witnessed firsthand China’s great development achievements and transformative changes. China plays an important role in the world and has increasingly become a key force leading global governance reform. The Eritrea-China relationship is characterised by a long history, solid friendship, sound cooperation, and common understanding on many issues. Its cooperation with China is helping and will continue to help African countries achieve greater development, resist colonialism and hegemonism, and gain equality and dignity in the international community. Eritrea stays committed to the one-China policy and hopes to deepen cooperation with China in such fields as energy, infrastructure and maritime affairs.

President Afwerki also met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang the next day.

Li Qiang pointed out that under the framework of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, China is ready to work with Eritrea to further expand trade exchanges, deepen cooperation in areas such as mining, agriculture, infrastructure and education, tap into the potential of cooperation in clean energy, blue economy and other areas, and create new growth drivers for bilateral cooperation.

Isaias Afwerki said that under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, China has achieved remarkable development achievements, playing an exemplary role in maintaining world peace and stability and supporting Africa’s development and revitalisation, which Eritrea highly appreciates. Eritrea is ready to take the opportunity of deepening the strategic partnership with China to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in areas such as infrastructure construction, mining and agriculture, with a view to elevate Eritrea-China and Africa-China relations to higher levels in the new era, work together to tackle global challenges, jointly oppose hegemonism, and make greater contributions to human development and progress as well as international fairness and justice.

Meeting with Malian President Colonel Assimi Goïta, the two heads of state announced the elevation of the China-Mali relationship to a strategic partnership. Xi Jinping pointed out that the China-Mali friendship was personally forged by the elder generation of leaders of the two countries. Sixty years ago, the two sides issued a joint communique, which for the first time included China’s eight principles in foreign aid, advocating respect for national sovereignty, development of an independent economy and non-interference in internal affairs. These principles not only serve as a guide for the long-term friendly cooperation between China and Mali, but also set the tone for China-Africa cooperation in promoting the establishment of a new international order. [Mali, under the leadership of socialist President Modibo Keïta, established diplomatic relations with China on October 25 1960, shortly after winning independence from French colonial rule on September 22 that year. The Eight Principles to govern China’s foreign economic and technical assistance were put forward by Premier Zhou Enlai in Mali in early 1964 during his December 1963-February 1964 visit to 10 African countries. They are:

China always bases itself on the principle of equality and mutual benefit in providing aid to other nations.

China never attaches any conditions or asks for any privileges.

China helps lighten the burden of recipient countries as much as possible.

China aims at helping recipient countries to gradually achieve self-reliance and independent development.

China strives to develop aid projects that require less investment but yield quicker results.

China provides the best-quality equipment and materials of its own manufacture.

In providing technical assistance, China shall see to it that the personnel of the recipient country fully master such techniques.

The Chinese experts are not allowed to make any special demands or enjoy any special amenities.]

Colonel Assimi Goïta said that the people of Mali and China enjoy a brotherly friendship and bilateral cooperation is sincere and pragmatic. He thanked China for providing various and valuable assistance to Mali’s economic and social development. Mali hopes to further consolidate the friendship with China, elevate the strategic partnership, and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in agriculture, energy, mining, security and other areas. Both Mali and China respect national sovereignty and independence and oppose interference in other countries’ internal affairs. Mali appreciates China’s efforts and contributions to promote regional and world peace and development and looks forward to closer multilateral cooperation with China.

China’s remarkable transformation marks 75 years of socialist progress

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 and so much more – China is facing an escalating propaganda war, part of a US-led New Cold War aimed at slowing, and ultimately reversing, China’s rise.

Carlos writes that this is the last thing the world’s peoples need:

Humanity faces serious existential threats in the form of climate breakdown, pandemics, antimicrobial resistance, and the possibility of nuclear war. To face up to these threats, we need to work collectively and within a framework of multipolarity, the UN charter, and international law. As such, we must build bonds of friendship and co-operation with China, and we should seek to understand China better.

Towards that aim, on Saturday September 28, from 10am to 4.30pm, at Bolivar Hall, London W1T 5DL, Friends of Socialist China and the Communist Party of Britain, supported by a number of other organisations, are holding a conference to mark the 75th anniversary of the PRC’s founding.

There will be panel discussions on: China, multipolarity and the rise of the global South; China’s road to socialism; and Standing up against the New Cold War. Speakers include Felix Plasencia (Venezuelan ambassador to Britain), Minister Zhao Fei from the Chinese embassy, George Galloway, Robert Griffiths, Alex Gordon, Jenny Clegg, Zhang Weiwei, Victor Gao, Radhika Desai, Ben Chacko, Andrew Murray, Roger McKenzie and many more. Register at www.bit.ly/china-75.

October 1 2024 will mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, when Mao Zedong declared that “the Chinese people have stood up.”

In the intervening period, China has undergone an extraordinary transformation.

Life expectancy has increased from around 35 to over 78 years, surpassing that of the US. Universal literacy has been achieved. Extreme poverty and malnutrition have been eliminated. Famines are a thing of the past.

In the years immediately following the founding of People’s China, feudalism was dismantled and warlord rule was ended. New China won and defended its sovereignty.

Education and healthcare were rolled out to the countryside for the first time.

The social and economic position of women has improved beyond recognition — one example being that, before the revolution, the vast majority of women received no formal education whatsoever, whereas now a majority of students in higher education institutions are female.

China was one of the poorest countries in the world and languished in a situation of extreme technological backwardness.

Now it’s one of the world’s leading innovators in science and technology — particularly in renewable energy, space exploration, digital networking, quantum computing, nanotechnology and advanced manufacturing. It has displaced the US as the world leader in both scientific research publication and patent grants.

Crucially, China has emerged as the pre-eminent world leader in tackling climate change. Its investment in wind and solar power has brought costs down globally by as much as 90 per cent.

Indeed a recent Financial Times editorial admitted that “when it comes to climate change, Beijing’s green advances should be seen as positive for China, and for the world.”

Although it’s described in the Western media as a malevolent and aggressive power, China’s record is remarkably peaceful. It hasn’t been at war in over 40 years.

And unlike the US, China doesn’t have a global infrastructure of hegemony — foreign bases, troops and weapons stationed in other countries, and so on.

Nor does China engage in economic hegemonism. While much is made of China’s economic power, its loans and investment throughout Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and elsewhere are generally speaking welcome, because they come with a low rate of interest, there are no conditions of austerity, and they’re used to fund crucial infrastructure projects that are allowing countries to break out of underdevelopment after centuries of colonial and neocolonial exploitation.

For example, with Chinese finance and support, Ethiopia opened the first metro system in sub-Saharan Africa a few years ago. Again with Chinese finance and support, Bolivia has launched a telecoms satellite that provides connectivity to the whole country — the poorest country in South America.

Indeed just a couple of days ago, President Xi Jinping announced at the opening ceremony of the Forum on China–Africa co-operation in Beijing that China would unilaterally give all least developing countries (LDCs) zero-tariff market access for all products, making China the first major economy to take such a step. “This will help turn China’s big market into Africa’s big opportunity.”

China plays a helpful role on the diplomatic stage, its contributions oriented towards peace and co-operation. A case in point is the tragic situation in Gaza. While the US and Britain continue to provide the weaponry of genocide, along with financial and diplomatic cover, China has been a loud and consistent voice demanding an immediate and unconditional ceasefire.

China always reiterates the necessity of respecting the fundamental national rights of the Palestinian people, and — significantly — it recently mediated an agreement between 14 Palestinian resistance movements, with the rationale that Palestinians need the maximum level of unity if they’re going to win their rights.

While of course there are problems and contradictions, just as there are in all countries, Chinese people live better than they ever have done, and China plays a positive role in the world.

Research by the Harvard Kennedy School shows that the Chinese government enjoys the support of more than 90 per cent of the population — not something that can be said of Keir Starmer and his neoliberal friends.

And yet people in the West often have a negative impression of China. China is presented by politicians and journalists as being an aggressive, expansionist power; an authoritarian dystopia engaged in myriad human rights abuses; a climate criminal; and so on.

The anti-China propaganda has not moved on much from the days of Fu Manchu — these inscrutable Chinese hate our democracy and they want to take over the world.

Faced with imperial decline and the inevitable emergence of a multipolar world, the US ruling class is waging a fightback in order to keep the Project for a New US Century train on the rails. This includes a propaganda component which is essentially aimed at generating public support for a reckless new cold war.

Ordinary people in the West must not allow their consent to be manufactured for confrontation with China, which does not serve their interests.

Humanity faces serious existential threats in the form of climate breakdown, pandemics, antimicrobial resistance, and the possibility of nuclear war. To face up to these threats, we need to work collectively and within a framework of multipolarity, the UN charter, and international law.

As such, we must build bonds of friendship and co-operation with China, and we should seek to understand China better.

Mnangagwa: Zimbabwe and China enjoy brotherly friendship

Chinese President Xi Jinping held numerous bilateral meetings with African leaders around the recent Beijing summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), with a number of African presidents simultaneously paying a state visit to China.

On the afternoon of September 3, the Chinese leader held an important meeting with Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was in China for the summit and to pay a state visit from August 29-September 6.

Noting the profound traditional friendship between China and Zimbabwe, Xi Jinping said that in recent years, under their joint guidance, the two countries have continued to deepen political mutual trust and achieved remarkable results in cooperation, setting a good example of solidarity and coordination among developing countries. Next year will mark the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. [China and Zimbabwe established diplomatic relations on April 18, 1980, the very day that Zimbabwe won its independence following an armed liberation struggle which was consistently and strongly supported by China. Emmerson Mnangagwa himself was one of many Zimbabwean freedom fighters who received military and political training in China.] Further consolidating and deepening the ironclad friendship between China and Zimbabwe meets the common expectations of the two peoples. The two sides should uphold the original aspiration of friendship, establish a “five-star ironclad” cooperation framework underpinned by politics, economy and trade, security, culture, and international cooperation, and work together to build a high-level China-Zimbabwe community with a shared future.

Xi Jinping stressed that the two countries and the two parties, the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) share similar views [CGTN reported this as similarity in philosophy] and solid mutual trust, which is the greatest strength of China-Zimbabwe relations. China supports Zimbabwe in safeguarding its sovereignty, security and development interests, and opposes external interference and illegal sanctions. [During the liberation war, or Chimurenga, ZANU, as the party was then known, declared its adherence to Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought. Today, it advocates Socialism with Zimbabwean Characteristics.]

Emmerson Mnangagwa said that during this visit to China, he visited Hunan, Shenzhen and Nanjing, and he was greatly encouraged and inspired. Under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, China has made great achievements in development, and many Chinese technologies and companies are taking the lead in the world. He thanked China for its valuable support for Zimbabwe’s economic and social development, including the fight against COVID-19. China’s help and cooperation have benefited the Zimbabwean people and created new bonds of Zimbabwe-China friendship in the new era. The Zimbabwean side is ready to strengthen experience exchange with China on state governance and party administration, deepen cooperation in infrastructure, agriculture, minerals, new energy and other fields, and so help Zimbabwe’s modernisation process. The Zimbabwean side thanks China for speaking out for Zimbabwe on international occasions, appreciates China’s constructive role in international and regional affairs such as in the Ukraine crisis and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, supports a series of global initiatives put forward by President Xi Jinping, and is willing to strengthen multilateral cooperation with China. Zimbabwe firmly abides by the one-China principle and is willing to continue to be a staunch and close friend of China in Southern Africa.

The two sides issued a Joint Statement Between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Zimbabwe on Deepening and Enhancing the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of Cooperation and Building a High-Level China-Zimbabwe Community with a Shared Future.

President Mnangagwa also held a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on the same day.

Xi extends congratulations on DPRK’s 76th founding anniversary

September 9 marked the 76th founding anniversary of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Marking the occasion, Chinese leader Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message to his DPRK counterpart Kim Jong Un, in which he expressed his belief that under the leadership of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) headed by Comrade General Secretary Kim, the people of the DPRK will surely win new and greater victories in advancing the cause of Korean-style socialism.

Xi stressed that China and the DPRK are linked by mountains and rivers, and friendship between the two countries grows stronger over time. He added that this year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations and the “China-DPRK Friendship Year.”

He also called on the two sides to jointly advance the socialist cause, so as to bring more benefits to the two peoples and make greater contributions to peace, stability, development and prosperity of the region and the world.

The following article was originally published by the Xinhua News Agency. The report of the message published by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) can be read here.

BEIJING, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday sent a congratulatory message to Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) and president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), on the DPRK’s 76th founding anniversary.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said in the message that over the past 76 years, under the leadership of the WPK, the people of the DPRK have united as one and promoted the vigorous development of various national causes.

In recent years, Comrade General Secretary Kim has led the party and people of the DPRK in thoroughly implementing the guiding principles of the WPK’s 8th Congress and all its plenary sessions, and made a series of achievements in national construction and development, he added.

Xi expressed his belief that under the leadership of the WPK headed by Comrade General Secretary, the people in the DPRK will surely win new and greater victories in advancing the cause of DPRK-style socialism.

Under the new circumstances in the new era, Xi said that China will continue to view bilateral relations from a strategic and long-term perspective, and is willing to deepen strategic communication, strengthen coordination and cooperation with the DPRK, and jointly maintain, consolidate and develop traditional friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries.

He also called on the two sides to jointly advance the socialism cause, so as to bring more benefits to the two peoples and make greater contribution to peace, stability, development and prosperity of the region and the world.

Stand in solidarity with CPK National Vice Chairperson, Booker Ngesa Omole

The Communist Party of Kenya (CPK) has strongly denounced what it describes as “the illegal and politically motivated arrest of our National Vice Chairperson, Booker Ngesa Omole”, on September 7, 2024.

Posting on X (formerly Twitter), the CPK explains that: “Booker was on an official assignment for the Communist Party of Kenya, en route to China, a country with which Kenya has ongoing diplomatic relations. In a shocking display of abuse of power, Booker was arrested aboard a Qatar Airways flight bound for Beijing via Doha. The immigration police at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) acted on a stop order with no basis in law.”

This action by the Kenyan authorities in forcibly preventing one of its citizens from travelling to China on an official invitation is particularly outrageous and provocative as it occurs in the immediate aftermath of President William Ruto’s own visit to China to attend the summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and serves to expose the venal and duplicitous nature of the Kenyan comprador bourgeoisie.

The CPK note that: “The arresting officer even mocked him of competing with the president by thinking he can travel to Beijing when the head of state has just concluded his visit to China. We must ask ourselves: Why is this government so afraid of Booker’s trip to China? What truths does he carry that they fear?”

The CPK has been in the forefront of the recent upsurge in the militant struggle of the Kenyan youth, workers, poor and other sections of the people against poverty, attacks on living standards, repression and subordination to imperialism and Booker himself is a courageous and inspirational leader who has clearly struck fear into the hearts of the regime.

Booker and his party are also good friends and close comrades of Friends of Socialist China. He was the main speaker at our meeting on ‘Africa, China and the rise of the Global South’, held at London’s Marx Memorial Library on March 16 this year.

We join with the CPK, the risen people of Kenya and communists, anti-imperialists and democrats around the world in demanding that the Kenyan authorities drop any charges against Comrade Booker, return his travel documents and other possessions, and cease their harassment and repression against the Kenyan progressive movement and people.

Statement from the Central Organizing Committee of the Communist Party of Kenya (CPK)

Comrade Booker’s Illegal Arrest: A Cowardly Attack by a Regime in Fear

Fellow Kenyans, comrades, and the international community, we come to you in a state of fury and defiance after the illegal and politically motivated arrest of our National Vice Chairperson, Booker Ngesa Omole, on the 7th of September, 2024.

This regime has once again shown its true colours—an administration of fear, repression, and state-sponsored harassment against those who dare challenge its authority. Booker was on an official assignment for the Communist Party of Kenya, en route to China, a country with which Kenya has ongoing diplomatic relations. In a shocking display of abuse of power, Booker was arrested aboard a Qatar Airways flight bound for Beijing via Doha. The immigration police at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) acted on a stop order with no basis in law, detaining him for six hours before handing him over to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI). The state is desperately trying to silence the leaders of the revolutionary movement. What was the basis of Booker’s arrest? Incitement to violence—an outrageous and baseless charge meant to humiliate and intimidate. The arresting officer even mocked him of competing with the president by thinking he can travel to Beijing when the head of state has just concluded his visit to China. The absurdity of this explanation exposes the fragile paranoia gripping this regime. The Kenyan government is willing to expend more resources chasing after revolutionaries than addressing the real criminals plundering our country. We must ask ourselves: why is this government so afraid of Booker’s trip to China?

What truths does he carry that they fear? Let it be known: there is nothing illegal about Booker’s travel! The same President who continues runs from the truth in Kenya only visits China to peddle lies and more lies. The hypocrisy is staggering.

Booker was taken from JKIA to Central Police Station under the cover of night, where he was locked up for two hours. It was only due to public pressure and multiple calls to the Inspector General that he was released at 11 p.m. But the damage had been done.

His travel documents—passport, yellow fever card, and boarding pass—were confiscated, and to this moment, the state has yet to return them. Let this be clear: the charges of incitement and the use of Section 56 of the Police Act are relics of colonial rule, unconstitutional and out of place in post-2010 Kenya. These laws must be quashed from our penal co de, and we demand their immediate abolition. This harassment will not deter us. The Kenya Kwanza regime, led by the dictator William Ruto, must return Booker’s travel documents immediately and cease this state-sponsored witch hunt. They can try to harass us, intimidate us, and fabricate charges, but the truth is on our side. The only criminals here are the ones sitting in power, auctioning off our country to imperialists and multinational corporations.

Ruto shall not change. He is beyond reform. Every act of repression only cements what we have long known: the only solution for this nation is to remove him from power once and for all. The Kenyan people deserve leadership that fights for them, not against them.

The Communist Party of Kenya, alongside all revolutionaries and patriots, will continue the struggle for justice, freedom, and dignity. To the Kenyan people, rise up! Let this illegal arrest serve as a reminder of the lengths this regime will go to maintain its grip on power.

We shall not be silenced. Ruto and his cronies have no future in a free and just Kenya. The people shall prevail. The revolution will triumph. Return Booker’s documents! Stop the witch hunt! Ruto must go!

Signed, The Central Organizing Committee of the Communist Party of Kenya In solidarity with the oppressed masses of Kenya

Xi Jinping: the China-Africa relationship is now at its best in history

The Summit meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) was held in the Chinese capital, Beijing from September 4-6.

Hosted by President Xi Jinping, the summit was attended by 51 African heads of state or government and two presidential representatives, representing 53 of the 55 member states of the African Union (AU), along with the Chairperson of the AU Commission and the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Delivering a keynote address at the opening ceremony on the morning of September 5, Xi Jinping said that:

“The founding of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in 2000 was a milestone in the history of China-Africa relations. Over the past 24 years, especially in the new era, China has advanced forward hand in hand with our African brothers and sisters in the spirit of sincerity, real results, amity and good faith. We stand shoulder to shoulder with each other to firmly defend our legitimate rights and interests as once-in-a-century changes sweep across the world.”

“Thanks to nearly 70 years of tireless efforts from both sides,” he continued, “the China-Africa relationship is now at its best in history. With its future growth in mind, I propose that bilateral relations between China and all African countries having diplomatic ties with China be elevated to the level of strategic relations, and that the overall characterisation of China-Africa relations be elevated to an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era.”

Modernisation was a key theme of the Chinese leader’s address. He noted: “Modernisation is an inalienable right of all countries. But the Western approach to it has inflicted immense sufferings on developing countries. Since the end of World War II, Third World nations, represented by China and African countries, have achieved independence and development one after another, and have been endeavouring to redress the historical injustices of the modernisation process. As we are about to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, we are going all out to build a great modern socialist country in all respects and pursue national rejuvenation through a Chinese path to modernisation. Africa is also awakening again, and the continent is marching in solid strides toward the modernisation goals set forth in the AU’s Agenda 2063.”

He proposed that China and Africa work together to advance modernisation in six key aspects:

We should jointly advance modernisation that is just and equitable.
We should jointly advance modernisation that is open and win-win.
We should jointly advance modernisation that puts the people first. The ultimate goal of modernisation is the free and full development of human beings.
We should jointly advance modernisation featuring diversity and inclusiveness.
We should jointly advance modernisation that is eco-friendly. Green development is a hallmark of modernisation in the new era.

Xi stated that: “China and Africa account for one-third of the world population. Without our modernisation, there will be no global modernisation. In the next three years, China will work with Africa to take the following ten partnership actions for modernisation to deepen China-Africa cooperation and spearhead the Global South modernisation”, namely:

The Partnership Action for Mutual Learning among Civilizations.
The Partnership Action for Trade Prosperity. We have decided to give all LDCs [least developed countries] having diplomatic relations with China, including 33 countries in Africa, zero-tariff treatment for 100 percent of tariff lines. This has made China the first major developing country and the first major economy to take such a step.
The Partnership Action for Industrial Chain Cooperation.
The Partnership Action for Connectivity.
The Partnership Action for Development Cooperation.
The Partnership Action for Health. We will send 2,000 medical personnel to Africa and launch 20 programs of health facilities and malaria treatment.
The Partnership Action for Agriculture and Livelihoods.
The Partnership Action for People-to-People Exchanges.
The Partnership Action for Green Development. China is ready to launch 30 clean energy projects in Africa, put in place meteorological early warning systems, and carry out cooperation in disaster prevention, mitigation and relief, as well as biodiversity conservation.
The Partnership Action for Common Security.

Each of these proposals features specific, practical and appropriate measures and pledges that stand in stark contrast to the vacuity, conditionality and demagogy of the supposed pledges made at gatherings convened by the imperialist powers.

Besides President Xi Jinping, President Bassirou Diomaye Faye of Senegal, Co-chair of FOCAC; President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani of Mauritania, rotating Chair of the AU; President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, subregional representative for Africa; President of the Republic of the Congo Denis Sassou Nguesso, President of Nigeria Bola Ahmed Tinubu, President of Tanzania Samia Suluhu Hassan, special guest and Secretary General of the United Nations António Guterres, and Chairperson of the AU Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat also addressed the opening ceremony.

The African leaders:

China to give LDCs including 33 African countries zero-tariff treatment

President Xi Jinping announced at the opening ceremony of the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit in Beijing on Wednesday that China would unilaterally give all least developing countries (LDCs) zero-tariff market access for all products, making China the first major economy to take such a step. This move is part of a wide-ranging action plan agreed at the forum, which includes over 50 billion dollars of investment by China in African development initiatives over the next three years.

The FOCAC summit has been taking place amidst a backdrop of increasingly hysterical propaganda about the China-Africa relationship in the Western media, particularly in relation to China’s infrastructure investment. China is painted as engaging in exploitative, neocolonial practices, but this does not chime with reality. Indeed South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on the sidelines of the FOCAC summit that he did not believe Chinese investments in Africa were pushing the continent into a ‘debt trap’ but were, rather, part of a mutually beneficial relationship.

A few facts that Washington’s stenographers routinely ignore:

China has been Africa’s largest trading partner for 15 years in a row
China provides finance for desperately-needed infrastructure projects, with interest rates typically half those of Western lenders, and with longer repayment periods
China’s investment is focused on meeting Africa’s needs, particularly around energy, transport, telecommunications and green development
With Chinese support, Ethiopia in 2015 celebrated the opening of the first metro train system in sub-Saharan Africa
The African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa was funded by the Chinese government as a gift to the AU
The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) was built with Chinese support
While there are endless scare stories about Chinese companies only employing Chinese workers, research shows that over 75 percent of employees in Chinese companies in Africa are local
A key reason for the popularity of Chinese financing is that it comes without strings attached, unlike organisations like the IMF, with its demands for austerity, privatisation and deregulation
52 of the 54 African countries have signed up to the Belt and Road Initiative
China does not interfere in the internal affairs of African countries, and regards respect for other countries’ sovereignty as an inviolable principle
China-Africa energy cooperation offers the opportunity for Africa to leapfrog the fossil fuel age and move straight to renewable energy
Tens of thousands of African students attend universities in China, which offers more university scholarships to African students than the leading western governments combined
China’s approach is markedly different to that of the West. At the 2018 FOCAC summit, Xi Jinping outlined China’s “Five No” approach to its relations with Africa: 1) No interference into African countries’ pursuit of development paths that fit their national conditions. 2) No interference in African countries’ internal affairs. 3) No imposition of China’s will on African countries. 4) No attachment of political strings to assistance to Africa. 5) No seeking of selfish political gains in investment and financing cooperation with Africa.
China is helping Africa to break out of an underdevelopment that was forced on it by Western colonialism and imperialism. As Liberia’s former Minister of Public Works W Gyude Moore said, “China has built more infrastructure in Africa in two decades than the West has in centuries”.

So when the West accuses of China of neo-colonialism in Africa, it is really just engaging in projection and slander.

The following article is republished from Global Times.

China has decided to give all least developed countries having diplomatic relations with China, including 33 countries in Africa, zero-tariff treatment for 100 percent tariff lines, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced on Thursday in a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

This has made China the first major developing country and the first major economy to take such a step. It will help turn China’s big market into Africa’s big opportunity, Xi said, Xinhua reported.

China will expand market access for African agricultural products, deepen cooperation with Africa in e-commerce and other areas, and launch a “China-Africa quality enhancement program,” Xi said.

Chinese experts said that this new trade measure will not only greatly facilitate trade between Africa and the world’s second-largest economy but also inject new impetus into Africa’s development through enhanced trade and investment.

“Our offering of zero-tariff treatment to the least developed countries in Africa … is actually a crucial component of support for trade… The core development concept is to unlock Africa’s autonomous development capabilities through enhanced trade, rather than merely increasing the volume and quality of China-Africa trade,” Song Wei, a professor at the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times on Thursday.

In recent years, under the strategic guidance of heads of state from China and Africa, economic and trade cooperation has shown promising results.

In 2023, China-Africa trade reached $282.1 billion, marking a historic high for the second consecutive year, said Lin Honghong, director of the Department of International Relations of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, at a press briefing for the FOCAC, on Tuesday.

Additionally, over the past three years, Chinese companies have provided more than 1.1 million jobs in Africa. “These figures fully demonstrate that China-Africa economic and trade cooperation continues to maintain strong momentum,” said Lin.

The zero-tariff policy will lead to more African agricultural products and mineral resources, which are strengths of Africa, entering China, Song said.

At the same time, leveraging e-commerce, the new trade policy will promote the entry of more advantageous Chinese products into Africa, meeting the development needs of Africa, and improving the quality of life of the African people, the Chinese expert said.

Major announcement from Xi Jinping at the FOCAC Opening Ceremony: "China will voluntarily and unilaterally open its market wider. We have decided to give all LDCs (least developed countries) having diplomatic relations with China, including 33 countries in Africa, zero-tariff… pic.twitter.com/2pzc9vEMJw
— Carlos (@agent_of_change) September 5, 2024

🇿🇲Zambia expert:
In Africa, the U.S. leaders landed at the airport built by China, drove on the road built by China, and spoke in a building built by China, to tell African people not to work with China …😅 pic.twitter.com/8Ob1KffI8n
— Li Jingjing 李菁菁 (@Jingjing_Li) September 5, 2024

China at the forefront of the green energy revolution

The following article by Carlos Martinez, written for the journal Communist Review, describes China’s progress in the field of environmental protection and sustainable development.

The article gives a brief overview of the science around climate change, and introduces China’s long-term strategy of building an ecological civilisation. It goes on to give a detailed description of China’s remarkable trajectory in renewable energy and green transport, as well as afforestation and biodiversity protection.

Carlos notes that the fruits of China’s innovation and research are being shared at a global level, citing a Financial Times editorial saying that “when it comes to climate change, Beijing’s green advances should be seen as positive for China, and for the world”. Indeed China’s investment in wind and solar power has already brought costs down by as much as 90 percent. With the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) increasingly becoming a ‘Green Belt and Road’, China is supplying renewable energy infrastructure to countries around the world, particularly the Global South, providing an opportunity for many poorer countries to leapfrog the fossil fuel stage of development.

The article concludes by noting that China’s achievements in green energy are built on the basis of political economy:

China’s enormous investments have largely been made by state banks, and many of its key projects carried out by state-owned enterprises, according to strategic guidelines laid out by the government. This is possible because of the basic structure and planned nature of the Chinese economy. Which is to say, the fundamental reason China has emerged as the undisputed leader in the fight against climate breakdown is its socialist system.

Yet even in the capitalist West, “China’s example can be used to help create mass pressure to stop our governments and ruling classes from destroying the planet, and to encourage sensible cooperation with China on environmental issues.”

It is by now almost universally understood that humans need to transition away from fossil fuels and adopt renewable energy if we are to avoid catastrophic levels of climate change. As Hannah Ritchie, Deputy Editor and Lead Researcher at Our World in Data, says:

“Global temperatures are rising. Sea levels are rising; ice sheets are melting; and other species are struggling to adapt to a changing climate. Humans face an avalanche of problems from flooding and drought to wildfires and fatal heatwaves. Farmers are at risk of crop failures. Cities are at risk of being submerged. There’s one main cause: human emissions of greenhouse gases.^{^[1]}

The science is clear and widely accepted: human activity, most importantly the burning of fossil fuels, has increased the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to an unprecedented level. This has led to more heat being trapped within the Earth’s atmosphere (that is, less heat is being radiated back into space), resulting in a global heating effect, which leads to more frequent and severe weather events, rising sea levels, and shifts in ecosystems.

Data from the ice core record, going back around 800,000 years, shows that carbon dioxide concentration has fluctuated quite widely, between around 170 and 280 parts per million (ppm), with a previous peak at 300 ppm around 320,000 years ago. CO₂ levels have been stable at around 270 ppm for the last ten thousand years, until a significant upward curve starting in the early 1800s and accelerating sharply from the 1950s onwards.^[2] At the time of writing (June 2024), carbon dioxide concentration is 424 ppm.

Greenhouse gas concentration will continue to increase, and the corresponding ecological problems will get significantly worse, unless we either reduce our consumption of energy to an extraordinary degree or we switch to non-emitting forms of energy. The idea of reducing humanity’s overall energy consumption is not plausible. For the majority of the world’s population, low energy consumption correlates to poverty; to low standards of living. Clearly, socialists hope that most people in the developing world, over the course of the coming decades, will increase rather than decrease their consumption of energy, and will experience a corresponding improvement in quality of life. As such, the only realistic option for preventing climate breakdown whilst continuing to pursue development is to undertake a massive global transition to green energy: to meet humanity’s energy needs without releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and without causing permanent damage to the environment.

Deng Xiaoping’s foresight and courageous decision-making at a critical moment

China recently marked the 120th anniversary of the birth of former leader Deng Xiaoping, with the centrepiece being a keynote speech by Xi Jinping.

The anniversary also saw the publication of an important article by Qu Qingshan, the President of the Central Party History and Literature Research Institute of the Communist Party of China (CPC), which reviewed in detail the political background, methodology and historical significance of Deng Xiaoping’s leadership in drafting the “Resolution on Certain Questions in the History of our Party Since the Founding of the People’s Republic of China”, which was adopted by the CPC in 1981 and evaluated in particular the role of Comrade Mao Zedong, the scientific system of Mao Zedong Thought and the experience of the Cultural Revolution.

Qu notes that: “More than 40 years have passed, and with the complex and profound changes in the domestic and international situation, Deng Xiaoping’s extraordinary courage, superb wisdom and political foresight in making this major strategic decision have become increasingly evident… Whether from the perspective of the time or today, the series of major issues that the Resolution was to solve, especially the evaluation of Mao Zedong and Mao Zedong Thought, are major issues concerning the development direction of the Party and the country and the future and destiny of socialism and are ‘major international and domestic political issues.'”

Having noted the existence of various incorrect views, emanating from both the right and the ‘left’ in the period leading up to the drafting of the resolution, along with Deng’s insistence on dealing with issues at the right time and in an orderly fashion, the author sums up his viewpoint as follows:

“How to thoroughly negate the erroneous practices and theories of the Cultural Revolution and resolutely resist the erroneous trend of negating Mao Zedong and Mao Zedong Thought is a major test of our Party’s leadership ability, political determination, ruling status and international image. From a domestic perspective, if this issue is handled well, it will unify the thinking of the entire Party, the entire army and the people of all ethnic groups in the country, consolidate the political situation of stability and unity, and enable the Party and the country to move forward in the correct political direction; if it is not handled well, it will cause great chaos, ruin the political situation of stability and unity, and the Party may even mess itself up and collapse. From an international perspective, if this issue is handled well, it will be conducive to the unity of political parties and organisations that support the Communist Party of China and China’s socialist cause, to the unity of the people of the Third World, and to the cause of human progress; if it is not handled well, it may bring about a series of serious problems.”

Qu notes that three general guiding ideologies were proposed, among which the most core, important, fundamental and crucial one was to establish Mao Zedong’s historical status and to uphold and develop Mao Zedong Thought. He quotes Deng as saying: “The evaluation of Comrade Mao Zedong and the exposition of Mao Zedong Thought are not just issues related to Comrade Mao Zedong personally but are inseparable from the entire history of our party and our country.” “This is not just a theoretical issue, but especially a political issue, a major international and domestic political issue.”

A very important section towards the end of the article makes a comparative analysis with previous historical experience of the international communist movement and relates this to the contemporary prospects for socialism in China and the world:

“Today, more than 40 years later, we can gain a lot of inspiration, wisdom and strength from looking back at the history of Deng Xiaoping’s leadership in formulating the Resolution at a critical turning point. In particular, by looking back at the road we have travelled, comparing the roads of others, and looking ahead to the road ahead, we can more deeply understand the great significance and far-reaching impact of Deng Xiaoping’s leadership in formulating the Resolution, and we can more deeply appreciate Deng Xiaoping’s broad mind and foresight as a great Marxist, a great proletarian revolutionary, politician, military strategist, and diplomat.

“In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Soviet Union disintegrated, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union collapsed, and Eastern Europe underwent drastic changes, causing serious setbacks to world socialism. The source of this tragedy can be traced back to the secret report of Khrushchev at the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, which completely denied Stalin. Mao Zedong said: ‘I think there are two ‘swords’: one is Lenin and the other is Stalin. Now, the Russians have lost the sword of Stalin. … Have some Soviet leaders also lost some of the sword of Lenin? I think they have lost quite a lot.” Khrushchev’s secret report caused serious ideological confusion in the world socialist camp at that time. The subsequent development of events was just as Mao Zedong had predicted. The Communist Party of the Soviet Union went from completely denying Stalin to denying and attacking Lenin, denying and attacking Marx and Engels, and denying the entire Communist Party of the Soviet Union. It completely distorted and vilified the entire history of the Soviet Union’s socialist revolution and construction, and fundamentally disintegrated all the supports of the socialist edifice. As a result, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, as big a party as it was, was scattered, and the Soviet Union, as big a socialist country as it was, fell apart.

“Fortunately, the Communist Party of China has always been extremely serious and solemn in its attitude towards its own history and its leaders, showing the style of a truly mature Marxist party. Imagine if Deng Xiaoping had not resisted the erroneous trend of negating Mao Zedong and Mao Zedong Thought, would our party still be able to stand? Would our country’s socialist system still be able to stand? It would not be able to stand, and if it did not stand, there would be chaos in the world. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: ‘If the leadership of the Communist Party of China and our socialist system also collapsed in the domino-like changes of the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the collapse of the Soviet Communist Party, and the upheaval in Eastern Europe, or failed for other reasons, then the practice of socialism might have to wander in the darkness for a long time, and would have to wander around the world as a spectre as Marx said.’ China had Deng Xiaoping’s foresight and courageous decision-making at a critical moment, and correctly solved the major political issue of evaluating the historical status of Mao Zedong and Mao Zedong Thought, which was related to the future and destiny of the party and the country, and avoided making a ‘historical mistake’, thus laying a solid foundation for the unity of the party, the stability of the country, and the long-term development of the cause of the party and the people. Following the correct direction guided by Deng Xiaoping, our Party not only withstood the impact and stood the test when world socialism fell into a low tide, and held up and stabilised the banner of socialism in the world, but also promoted socialism with Chinese characteristics into a new era, making the historical evolution and competition of the two ideologies and two social systems in the world undergo a profound transformation that is beneficial to Marxism and socialism, and becoming the mainstay of the revitalisation of world socialism. Looking back on the past and comparing the present, it is touching and thought-provoking!”

We reprint below the full text of Qu Qingshan’s article, which deserves to be read carefully and in full. It was originally published in Study Times on August 21. The below version was machine translated from the reprint of the article in The Paper and has been sub-edited by us.

Courage, wisdom and vision: Deng Xiaoping’s major contribution to the formulation of the Party’s second historical resolution

Qu Qingshan, President of the Central Party History and Literature Research Institute

This year marks the 120th anniversary of the birth of Comrade Deng Xiaoping. Learning and carrying forward Comrade Deng Xiaoping’s revolutionary spirit and noble demeanour have great practical significance in inspiring us to comprehensively promote the construction of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation through Chinese-style modernisation. Deng Xiaoping made immortal contributions to the cause of the Party and the people throughout his life. One of his great historical contributions was to guide our Party in formulating the “Resolution on Certain Questions in the History of our Party Since the Founding of the People’s Republic of China” (hereinafter referred to as the Resolution), which played a role in raising the flag, setting the direction, turning the tide, and making the final decision at a critical juncture related to the future and destiny of the Party and the country. More than 40 years have passed, and with the complex and profound changes in the domestic and international situation, Deng Xiaoping’s extraordinary courage, superb wisdom and political foresight in making this major strategic decision have become increasingly evident.

Deng Xiaoping’s extraordinary courage in leading the formulation of the Resolution was reflected in his decisive decision-making at a critical historical turning point.

History can often be seen more clearly after the passage of time. The drafting of the Resolution is of great importance because it reviews the history of the Party before the founding of New China, summarises the historical experience of socialist revolution and construction, and evaluates some major events and important figures. In particular, it correctly evaluates Mao Zedong and Mao Zedong Thought, distinguishes right from wrong, corrects the wrong views of the ‘left’ and the right, unifies the thinking of the whole Party, and has a significant impact on promoting the Party to unite and look forward, and better promote reform and opening up and socialist modernisation. Whether from the perspective of the time or today, the series of major issues that the Resolution was to solve, especially the evaluation of Mao Zedong and Mao Zedong Thought, are major issues concerning the development direction of the Party and the country and the future and destiny of socialism and are “major international and domestic political issues.”

Under what historical background did the Resolution come into being? In general, it came into being during the historical process of emancipating the mind and rectifying the wrongs after the end of the Cultural Revolution. At a critical historical juncture when the Party and the country were faced with a questionable path, Deng Xiaoping began by rectifying the ideological line, emphasising that seeking truth from facts was the essence of Mao Zedong Thought, and clearly opposed the erroneous view of “two whatevers”. He supported and led the discussion on the criterion of truth, promoted rectification of the wrongs in all aspects, and promoted the ideological emancipation of the whole Party. Before and after the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Party, there were calls within and outside the Party to summarise and evaluate the history of the Party after the founding of New China, especially Mao Zedong, Mao Zedong Thought, and the Cultural Revolution.

It is crucial to correctly understand and grasp the problem, and it is equally important to choose the right time to solve the problem. In the face of calls from inside and outside the Party, whether and when to formulate the Resolution is related to the future and destiny of the Party and the country, and also tests the political courage of the helmsman of the Party and the people’s cause. When the time is not ripe and the conditions are not met, insisting on doing it, rushing and acting rashly will only backfire; when the situation changes and the conditions are met, prevaricating and hesitating will also miss the opportunity and bring serious consequences. Deng Xiaoping’s extraordinary courage as a Marxist politician is concentrated in the fact that he should not rush to formulate the Resolution when it is not time, and he should not wait when it is time to formulate the Resolution.

Don’t rush. Deng Xiaoping was always good at thinking about problems from a holistic perspective and making strategic decisions at critical moments. On the issue of formulating the Resolution, he believed that the strategic issue related to the overall situation before and after the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Party was to achieve a strategic shift in the focus of the Party and the country’s work. The time was not yet ripe to evaluate Mao Zedong, Mao Zedong Thought and the Cultural Revolution. In order to maintain stability and unity, this issue should not be touched upon for the time being. At the Central Working Conference before the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Party, when many cadres demanded to seriously summarise the painful lessons of the Cultural Revolution, Deng Xiaoping advocated that the summary of the Cultural Revolution should not be carried out immediately. He pointed out:

“The Cultural Revolution has become a stage in the development of our country’s socialist history. It is necessary to summarise it, but there is no need to rush. To make a scientific evaluation of such a historical stage, we need to do serious research work. Some things will take a longer time to fully understand and evaluate. At that time, we may be able to explain this period of history better than we do today.”

The Communiqué of the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Party also emphasised that it is necessary to summarise the Cultural Revolution as experience and lessons at an appropriate time, but it should not be done in a hurry. At the Party’s theoretical work retreat in 1979, some comrades expressed the hope that the Party Central Committee would summarise the 30 years of history since the founding of New China as soon as possible, and make a resolution on several historical issues since the founding of New China, just as the “Resolution on Several Historical Issues” was made at the Seventh Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee of the Party in 1945. In response, Deng Xiaoping focused on elaborating on the fundamental ideological and political issue of why the Four Cardinal Principles must be upheld in China, which actually showed a clear position on Mao Zedong and Mao Zedong Thought.

We can’t wait. With the full implementation of the rectification of chaos and the promotion of reform and opening up, two erroneous tendencies emerged in the discussion of Mao Zedong, Mao Zedong Thought and the Cultural Revolution. One tendency was that some people were bound by “leftist” thinking and showed a certain degree of misunderstanding and even resistance to the line, principles and policies of the Party since the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee; the other tendency was that a very small number of people took advantage of the opportunity of the Party’s rectification of chaos to distort the slogan of “emancipating the mind” and extremely exaggerate the mistakes made by the Party, attempting to deny the leadership of the Communist Party of China, deny the socialist system, and deny Mao Zedong and Mao Zedong Thought. Not only were people inside and outside the Party very concerned about how the Party Central Committee would evaluate Mao Zedong, Mao Zedong Thought and the Cultural Revolution, but foreign countries were also very concerned about this issue and raised various suspicions. These situations showed that the issue of evaluating Mao Zedong and Mao Zedong Thought is a major, sensitive issue with international influence, and it had become increasingly urgent. How to thoroughly negate the erroneous practices and theories of the Cultural Revolution and resolutely resist the erroneous trend of negating Mao Zedong and Mao Zedong Thought is a major test of our Party’s leadership ability, political determination, ruling status and international image. From a domestic perspective, if this issue is handled well, it will unify the thinking of the entire Party, the entire army and the people of all ethnic groups in the country, consolidate the political situation of stability and unity, and enable the Party and the country to move forward in the correct political direction; if it is not handled well, it will cause great chaos, ruin the political situation of stability and unity, and the Party may even mess itself up and collapse. From an international perspective, if this issue is handled well, it will be conducive to the unity of political parties and organisations that support the Communist Party of China and China’s socialist cause, to the unity of the people of the Third World, and to the cause of human progress; if it is not handled well, it may bring about a series of serious problems.

In response to the changing situation, in 1979, Deng Xiaoping proposed in the drafting of Comrade Ye Jianying’s speech at the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China that this speech should summarise the past 30 years, especially explain the Cultural Revolution, have some new content, and be able to speak at a new level. Ye Jianying’s evaluation of Mao Zedong, Mao Zedong Thought and the Cultural Revolution in the celebration speech received great attention from inside and outside the party and aroused a good response. However, this summary was preliminary after all, and it was impossible to elaborate on the important issues of concern to the party and others in detail. Therefore, the voices inside and outside the party for a formal resolution on historical issues to be made as soon as possible got louder and louder. At this time, Deng Xiaoping evaluated the situation and made a comprehensive judgment, and believed that the time for formulating the Resolution was ripe and could not wait any longer, otherwise it would affect the implementation of the line, principles and policies of the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Party. He made a decisive decision and asked to start drafting the Resolution based on Ye Jianying’s celebration speech. He stressed: “With the National Day speech, it will be easier to write a historical resolution. Take the speech as an outline and consider making it more specific and in-depth.” In response to the opinion of some people that the time and conditions were not yet ripe and that there was no rush to make a resolution, hoping to resolve it after the 12th National Congress of the Party or even later, he pointed out: “We must resolve it now, and cannot let future generations resolve it because they do not understand the entire history.” “In the past, some comrades have also raised the question of whether this resolution should be made in a hurry? No, everyone is waiting. Domestically, everyone inside and outside the Party is waiting. If you don’t come up with something, there will be no unified view on major issues. The international community is also waiting. People look at China and doubt our stability and unity, including whether this document can be produced, whether it is produced early or late. Therefore, it cannot be delayed any longer, otherwise it will be disadvantageous.”

Deng Xiaoping’s superb wisdom in leading the formulation of the Resolution is reflected in the creative proposal of the guiding ideology, basic principles, important requirements and scientific methods for drafting the Resolution.

The Resolution was drafted under the leadership of the second generation of the Party’s central leadership collective with Comrade Deng Xiaoping as the core. Deng Xiaoping presided over the drafting of the Resolution from beginning to end and played a decisive role in the promulgation of the Resolution. He proposed the guiding ideology of the Resolution, designed the framework of the Resolution, determined the evaluation of major events, important meetings, and important figures in the Resolution, and made decisions on some major historical and theoretical issues in the Resolution. From March 1980 to June 1981, Deng Xiaoping held 17 talks on the drafting of the Resolution, clarifying the direction and setting the tone for the drafting of the Resolution. Among them, nine talks were included in the Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping. It can be said that Deng Xiaoping’s series of major ideological viewpoints and strategic ideas with overall significance provided a fundamental basis for the formulation of the Resolution.

Three general guiding ideologies were proposed, among which the most core, important, fundamental and crucial one was to establish Mao Zedong’s historical status and to uphold and develop Mao Zedong Thought. In March 1980, Deng Xiaoping proposed three general guiding ideologies for drafting the Resolution when talking with the responsible comrades of the Central Committee, which pointed out the correct direction for the drafting of the Resolution. “First, establish Comrade Mao Zedong’s historical status and uphold and develop Mao Zedong Thought. This is the most core one.” “Second, we must conduct a realistic analysis of the major events in the history of the country over the past 30 years, which are correct and which are wrong, including the merits and demerits of some responsible comrades, and make fair evaluations.” “Third, through this resolution, we will make a basic summary of the past.” He emphasised in particular: “The most important, fundamental and crucial one is still the first one.” Deng Xiaoping constantly expounded on these three principles in relevant speeches and talks, especially on the first one, he repeatedly talked about it on various occasions, and conducted serious and patient persuasion and education on various vague understandings and mistakes. He pointed out: “The evaluation of Comrade Mao Zedong and the exposition of Mao Zedong Thought are not just issues related to Comrade Mao Zedong personally but are inseparable from the entire history of our party and our country.” “This is not just a theoretical issue, but especially a political issue, a major international and domestic political issue. If this part is not written or written poorly, the entire resolution would be worse off.” A member of the drafting group recalled: “If (Comrade Deng Xiaoping) had not unswervingly adhered to this guiding ideology, it would have been difficult for the Resolution to achieve the current effect, receive such good reviews, and would have made it difficult for all party comrades and people of all ethnic groups in the country to achieve unity in thought and understanding, and unite and look forward on the basis of the Resolution.”

Put forward the basic principle of “broad rather than detailed”. How should the Resolution be written? One of the basic principles established by Deng Xiaoping is “broad rather than detailed”. He pointed out: “Generally speaking, historical issues should be treated in a rough and general way, not too detailed.” “This summary should be rough rather than detailed. The purpose of summarising the past is to guide everyone to unite and look forward. We will strive to clarify the thoughts and reach a consensus among the party and the people after the adoption of the resolution, and the discussion of major historical issues will basically end here.” “We cannot dwell on the past but must direct everyone’s thoughts and attention to the four modernisations.” Guided by this basic principle, the Resolution gives a relatively general and rough description of the party’s history, especially the party’s history since the founding of New China. It does not seek to be comprehensive, nor does it dwell on minor details and minor issues. This basic principle is in line with the research methods of contemporary history, because the Resolution involves many parties and many important policies and guidelines, and the evaluation of them will inevitably affect the current overall situation, so it must be cautious. This basic principle is also in line with the characteristics and laws of historical cognition, because many historical facts are not long ago, and the truth of the historical facts needs to be further clarified and our understanding needs to be continuously improved.

Put forward the important requirement of adhering to historical materialism. Deng Xiaoping emphasised: “We are historical materialists. The study and solution of any problem cannot be separated from certain historical conditions.” “We can only affirm what should be affirmed and negate what should be negated in a realistic way.” “When evaluating people and history, we must advocate a comprehensive and scientific viewpoint and prevent one-sidedness and emotionalism.” Deng Xiaoping said this and did it. On the important issue of evaluating Mao Zedong and Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping did not proceed from personal feelings, but from the overall situation of the work of the Party and the country, from the history and cause of the Party, and from the fundamental and long-term interests of the whole Party. This is particularly touching and admirable. Deng Xiaoping pointed out: “Although our party has made some major mistakes in history, including the thirty years after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, and even made major mistakes such as the Cultural Revolution, our party has finally succeeded in the revolution. China’s position in the world has greatly improved since the founding of the People’s Republic of China.” He demanded “to evaluate the “Cultural Revolution” realistically and appropriately, and to evaluate the merits and demerits of Comrade Mao Zedong. Under the guidance of Deng Xiaoping, the Resolution adheres to the viewpoint of historical materialism, analyses the evaluation of Mao Zedong in the historical conditions of his time and society, correctly analyses the mistakes and twists and turns the Party experienced on its road ahead, and discusses Mao Zedong’s historical status and the scientific system of Mao Zedong Thought in a realistic and appropriate manner. The conclusions drawn have withstood the test of history, practice and the people.

Propose scientific methods for evaluating historical figures. Focusing on the core issue of evaluating Mao Zedong and Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping proposed many scientific methods with strong guiding significance. For example, we should distinguish the primary and secondary between Mao Zedong’s achievements and mistakes. When meeting with Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci, he said: “We will affirm that Chairman Mao’s achievements are the first and his mistakes are the second.” “We should speak realistically about Chairman Mao’s mistakes in his later years.” “From the perspective of the feelings of the Chinese people, we will always commemorate him as the founder of our party and country.” The portrait of Chairman Mao on Tiananmen Square “should be preserved forever.” For example, distinguishing Mao Zedong Thought from the mistakes of Mao Zedong in his later years, he pointed out: “Mao Zedong Thought should be distinguished from the mistakes of Comrade Mao Zedong in his later years, so as to avoid a lot of confusion. Of course, this does not mean that Comrade Mao Zedong did not express correct opinions in his later years.” For example, the most important reason for Mao Zedong’s mistakes was the system problem. He pointed out: “All problems cannot be attributed to personal qualities” and “even people with good qualities cannot avoid mistakes under certain circumstances.” He stressed: “A good system can prevent bad people from running rampant, while a bad system can prevent good people from doing good things to their full potential, and even turn them into the opposite. Even a great figure like Comrade Mao Zedong was seriously affected by some bad systems, which caused great misfortune to the Party, the country and himself.” For example, wrong opinions must be resisted and guided. After the draft of the Resolution was formed, in response to the tendency of completely denying Mao Zedong and Mao Zedong Thought that emerged in the “Four Thousand People Discussion”, he “strongly rejected wrong opinions” and pointed out: “There are many good opinions in the discussion, which should be accepted. Some opinions cannot be accepted,” and “We must bite the bullet and resist the wrong opinions of some comrades on some issues.” Because Deng Xiaoping demonstrated the Party Central Committee’s rock-solid position and uncompromising attitude on the most controversial, most divergent, and most fundamental and core issues at the time, this provided the most important conditions for the Resolution to eliminate interference and succeed.

In short, Deng Xiaoping’s superb political wisdom provided the general ideas, general principles and general compliance for the drafting of the Resolution, and especially played the role of a stabilising force on major key issues. It was under the guidance of the guiding ideology, basic principles, important requirements and scientific methods proposed by Deng Xiaoping that the drafting of the Resolution firmly grasped the key of scientifically evaluating Mao Zedong’s historical status and the scientific system of Mao Zedong Thought, summed up the party’s major historical events and important lessons, distinguished right from wrong, unified thoughts, enhanced unity, and promoted the development of the party and the people’s cause. The formulation of the Resolution marked the successful completion of the party’s rectification of the chaos in the guiding ideology.

Deng Xiaoping’s political foresight in leading the formulation of the Resolution was reflected in determining the correct direction for the development of the Party and the country, guiding the whole Party to unite and look forward, and creating a new situation for the development of the cause.

Deng Xiaoping pointed out: “Summarising the past is to guide everyone to unite and look forward.” Summarising history is looking back, but looking back is to better look forward and to better open up the future. This clear orientation of “looking forward” is not only reflected in the guiding ideology and essence of the Resolution, but also in the timing and venue of passing historical resolutions. The Resolution was passed at the Sixth Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Party, just as Deng Xiaoping hoped: “Strive to pass this resolution at the Central Plenary Session before the Twelfth National Congress, so that there will be a unified understanding of past issues and a conclusion. The Twelfth National Congress will speak new words and talk about looking forward.”

Under the guidance of Deng Xiaoping, the Resolution, based on summarising the positive and negative experiences since the founding of New China, summarised the main points of the correct road of socialist modernisation construction that the Party has gradually established since the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Party, which is suitable for the country’s national conditions, in ten aspects. This is actually a theoretical summary of the correct road of socialist modernisation construction that has been opened up since the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Party, which is suitable for the country’s national conditions, and preliminarily raised the question of what kind of socialism to build in China and how to build socialism. In other words, the Resolution actively explored the major historical issue of establishing the correct road of socialist modernisation construction in the country in accordance with the new reality and development requirements, showing our Party’s strong determination to follow the trend of the times and the people’s wishes and bravely open up a new road to build socialism. It made full preparations for the 12th National Congress of the Party to put forward the major proposition of “building socialism with Chinese characteristics” and to create a new situation in reform and opening up and socialist modernisation and laid an important foundation for the creation of the road of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “Comrade Deng Xiaoping guided our party to systematically summarise the historical experience since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, solved two interrelated major historical issues: scientifically evaluating Comrade Mao Zedong’s historical status and the scientific system of Mao Zedong Thought, and establishing the correct path for China’s socialist modernisation construction based on new realities and development requirements. He completely negated the erroneous practices and theories of the Cultural Revolution, resolutely resisted the erroneous trend of thought that negated Comrade Mao Zedong and Mao Zedong Thought and determined the correct direction for the development of the Party and the country.” This is a scientific summary and high evaluation of Deng Xiaoping’s historical achievements in leading the formulation of the Resolution. It should be noted that the two interrelated historical issues of scientifically evaluating Mao Zedong’s historical status and the scientific system of Mao Zedong Thought and establishing the correct path for China’s socialist modernisation construction based on new realities and development requirements are two aspects of a general issue. If any of the historical issues is not resolved, the resolution of the other historical issue is out of the question. Fundamentally speaking, these two historical issues have profound internal consistency, because the great practice of revolution, construction, and reform led by our party is a historical process of continuous struggle. Deng Xiaoping emphasised many times: “After the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee, we restored the correct things of Comrade Mao Zedong, that is, accurately and completely studied and applied Mao Zedong Thought. The basic points are still the same. In many ways, we are still doing what Comrade Mao Zedong had proposed but did not do, correcting what he opposed wrongly, and doing well what he did not do well. We will still do this for a considerable period of time in the future. Of course, we have also developed, and we will continue to develop.” “We are carrying out reform and opening up, focusing our work on economic construction. We have not abandoned Marx, Lenin, or Mao Zedong. We cannot abandon our ancestors!”

Today, more than 40 years later, we can gain a lot of inspiration, wisdom and strength from looking back at the history of Deng Xiaoping’s leadership in formulating the Resolution at a critical turning point. In particular, by looking back at the road we have travelled, comparing the roads of others, and looking ahead to the road ahead, we can more deeply understand the great significance and far-reaching impact of Deng Xiaoping’s leadership in formulating the Resolution, and we can more deeply appreciate Deng Xiaoping’s broad mind and foresight as a great Marxist, a great proletarian revolutionary, politician, military strategist, and diplomat.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Soviet Union disintegrated, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union collapsed, and Eastern Europe underwent drastic changes, causing serious setbacks to world socialism. The source of this tragedy can be traced back to the secret report of Khrushchev at the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, which completely denied Stalin. Mao Zedong said: “I think there are two ‘swords’: one is Lenin and the other is Stalin. Now, the Russians have lost the sword of Stalin. … Have some Soviet leaders also lost some of the sword of Lenin? I think they have lost quite a lot.” Khrushchev’s secret report caused serious ideological confusion in the world socialist camp at that time. The subsequent development of events was just as Mao Zedong had predicted. The Communist Party of the Soviet Union went from completely denying Stalin to denying and attacking Lenin, denying and attacking Marx and Engels, and denying the entire Communist Party of the Soviet Union. It completely distorted and vilified the entire history of the Soviet Union’s socialist revolution and construction, and fundamentally disintegrated all the supports of the socialist edifice. As a result, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, as big a party as it was, was scattered, and the Soviet Union, as big a socialist country as it was, fell apart.

Fortunately, the Communist Party of China has always been extremely serious and solemn in its attitude towards its own history and its leaders, showing the style of a truly mature Marxist party. Imagine if Deng Xiaoping had not resisted the erroneous trend of negating Mao Zedong and Mao Zedong Thought, would our party still be able to stand? Would our country’s socialist system still be able to stand? It would not be able to stand, and if it did not stand, there would be chaos in the world. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “If the leadership of the Communist Party of China and our socialist system also collapsed in the domino-like changes of the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the collapse of the Soviet Communist Party, and the upheaval in Eastern Europe, or failed for other reasons, then the practice of socialism might have to wander in the darkness for a long time, and would have to wander around the world as a spectre as Marx said.” China had Deng Xiaoping’s foresight and courageous decision-making at a critical moment, and correctly solved the major political issue of evaluating the historical status of Mao Zedong and Mao Zedong Thought, which was related to the future and destiny of the party and the country, and avoided making a “historical mistake”, thus laying a solid foundation for the unity of the party, the stability of the country, and the long-term development of the cause of the party and the people. Following the correct direction guided by Deng Xiaoping, our Party not only withstood the impact and stood the test when world socialism fell into a low tide, and held up and stabilised the banner of socialism in the world, but also promoted socialism with Chinese characteristics into a new era, making the historical evolution and competition of the two ideologies and two social systems in the world undergo a profound transformation that is beneficial to Marxism and socialism, and becoming the mainstay of the revitalisation of world socialism. Looking back on the past and comparing the present, it is touching and thought-provoking!

History is the best textbook, the best teacher, and the best sobering agent. The historical process and great achievements of Deng Xiaoping’s leadership in formulating the Resolution will always illuminate our party’s great journey of learning from history and creating the future. We must unite more closely around the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core, further deeply understand the decisive significance of the “two establishments”, enhance the “four consciousnesses”, strengthen the “four self-confidences”, and achieve the “two safeguards”, and strive to comprehensively promote the construction of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation with Chinese-style modernisation!

China and South Africa to boost cooperation on renewable energy, digital economy and AI

With the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit being held in Beijing from September 4-6, as the country’s greatest diplomatic event of 2024, leaders of some 50 African countries began arriving in the Chinese capital from the beginning of the month.

Among President Xi Jinping’s first bilateral meetings with his visitors was that in the afternoon of September 2 with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who also paid a state visit to China that day.

At their meeting, President Xi pointed out that the friendship between China and South Africa stems from their mutual support in the fight for national liberation, from their mutual assistance in advancing national development, and from their unity and coordination in pursuit of international equity and justice. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, and also the 30th anniversary of the new South Africa. Despite changes in the international landscape, there has been no change to the mission of China and South Africa to pursue modernisation, no change to their commitment to promoting China-Africa cooperation, and no change to their aspiration to improve global governance. Greater unity and cooperation between China and South Africa meet the expectations of the two peoples and is consistent with the historic process of the growth of the Global South. It has important significance for the times and implications for the world.

The Chinese leader further stressed that transformation unseen in a century is accelerating across the world and human society is facing unprecedented challenges. The more complex the international landscape, the more important that countries of the Global South stay committed to independence, solidarity and coordination to jointly safeguard international equity and justice.

President Ramaphosa recalled the fourth successful state visit by President Xi to South Africa last year where the two sides celebrated the 25th anniversary of their diplomatic ties and brought the relationship into a golden era. South Africa and China enjoy strong political trust and deep friendship and share similar positions and the same goals on many issues, he stressed.

Following the signing of a number of bilateral cooperation documents, the two countries issued the Joint Statement Between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of South Africa on the Establishment of an All-Round Strategic Cooperative Partnership in the New Era.

The two sides reaffirmed that they cherish the special and ever-growing friendship between the two countries and recommitted to working together towards building a high-quality China-South Africa community with a shared future. To carry forward the friendship, consolidate mutual trust, expand cooperation and enhance coordination, the two Heads of State agreed to elevate the bilateral relationship to an all-round strategic cooperative partnership in the new era, underpinned by strong political ties and focused on a prosperous future with balanced trade and accelerated transformative economic growth.

China congratulated President Ramaphosa on his re-election as President of the Republic of South Africa, and believes that under his leadership, the South African Government of National Unity will achieve success in building a united, just, equal and prosperous country as espoused in the National Development Plan, including maintaining an independent and non-aligned foreign policy based on the principle of progressive internationalism. China firmly supports national unity and the path of economic and social development that South Africa has chosen and respects efforts by the South African government to safeguard its national interests so as to improve the lives of all South Africans. The South African government reaffirmed its commitment to the One-China Policy, recognised that there is but one China in the world, the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. South Africa supports efforts made by the Chinese government to achieve national reunification.

Regarding economic cooperation, the two sides agreed to work on strengthening cooperation and synergy between China’s Belt and Road Initiative and South Africa’s Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan and to continue implementing the 10 Years Strategic Programme of Cooperation between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of South Africa (2020-2029).

They agreed that promoting modernisation is the joint goal in building a high-level South Africa-China community with a shared future. The two sides will deepen cooperation in traditional fields such as agriculture, health, medical sciences and infrastructure development. However, they will further seize opportunities presented by the new scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, focusing on key areas such as the digital economy, new energies and artificial intelligence, boost cooperation on new quality productive forces, and further expand mutually beneficial cooperation in renewable energy, energy storage and power transmission and distribution.

China is committed to sharing with South Africa experience in poverty alleviation and rural revitalisation, in building poverty alleviation model villages, and offering support for South Africa’s coordinated urban and rural development. The two sides further agreed to continue to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in the areas of culture, women, health, youth, education, sport, media, tourism, and other people-to-people cooperation fields.

The two sides applauded the recent 70th Anniversary of China’s Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, as these were espoused in the buildup to the Asia-Africa Summit of 1955 in Bandung and were later adopted as the main goals and objectives of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).

They also expressed deep concern about the serious humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip. Both countries called for the earnest implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2728 and an immediate ceasefire and end to all fighting, and support resuming a process of political settlement of the Palestinian question. Alluding in particular to South Africa’s case against Israel, brought to the International Court of Justice, China commended the positive role that South Africa has played in activating the role of the international community in the conflict in Gaza and is willing to work together toward a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement at an early date. South Africa expressed its appreciation to China for successfully inviting various Palestinian factions to hold a reconciliation dialogue and to sign the Beijing Declaration.

We reprint below the report on the meeting, which was released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, as well as the full text of the joint statement as published by the Xinhua News Agency.

Vietnam, China issue joint statement

To Lam, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) and President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, visited China from August 18-20, at the invitation of his counterpart, Xi Jinping, in his first foreign trip since he assumed the top leadership post of the CPV on August 3.

At the conclusion of his visit, the two socialist neighbours issued a joint statement on further strengthening their comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership and building a Vietnam-China community with a shared future.

The statement notes that: “The Communist Party of Vietnam and the Communist Party of China are two ruling Communist parties in the world, carrying a historic mission, striving for the happiness of the people, for national development, and for peace and progress of humanity. In the course of struggling for national independence and national liberation, the two parties, two countries and two peoples of Vietnam and China provided assistance and supported each other, establishing the Vietnam-China traditional friendship as both comrades and brothers. This year marks 100 years since President Ho Chi Minh came to Guangdong for revolutionary activities; 2025 sees the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and China, and the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

“Entering a new era, the two sides will not forget their original aspiration of friendship, and will engrave the common mission, steadfastly pursue the path to socialism and promote modernisation in line with each country’s situation… [they will] promote relations between the two parties and two countries to a new height, strive for the happiness of the people and for strong and prosperous countries, for the development of the socialist cause, and for the cause of peace and progress of humanity.”

The two sides further underlined the need to seriously implement the common understanding and results achieved during the bilateral visits of the top leaders of the two parties and two countries, especially the two historic visits by late General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong to China in 2022 and General Secretary and President Xi Jinping to Vietnam in 2023, along with the Joint Statement on continuing to promote and deepen the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership and the Joint Statement on continuing to deepen and elevate comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries, and building a Vietnam-China community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, issued during the two visits.

Further underlining the special role played by the communist party in their bilateral relationship, they agreed to jointly orient the development of the Vietnam-China relationship by fully promoting the special role of the party channel, and to further strengthen the overall coordination role of the exchange and cooperation mechanisms between the two parties, especially high-level meetings, theoretical workshops between the two parties, and exchanges between the two parties’ international departments; improve the effectiveness of cooperation between the respective agencies of the two parties at the central level and party committees at the local level, especially in the provinces and border areas; comprehensively implement theoretical exchanges and experience sharing in party and nation management; jointly deepen awareness of the Communist Party’s governing regulations, the law of building socialism, and the law of human development to serve party building and the development of the socialist cause of each side.

They also affirmed that defence and security cooperation is one of the pillars of Vietnam-China relations. They agree to enhance defence and security cooperation, strengthen exchanges at all levels between the two countries’ armies through channels such as the border defence friendship exchange, and defence and security dialogue, deepen border, naval, and coast guard exchanges; and promote cooperation in areas such as political work, defence industry, mutual visits of naval ships, and United Nations peacekeeping (to which both countries are major contributors). They will also strengthen information exchanges and share experiences on countering interference, combating separatism, preventing ‘colour revolution’, and jointly protect political security and regime security; and expand legal and judicial cooperation to ensure a legal foundation for collaboration in various fields between Vietnam and China.

On enhancing the connectivity of their respective development strategies, they agreed to effectively implement the cooperation plan connecting Vietnam’s ‘Two Corridors, One Belt’ Framework with China’s ‘Belt and Road’ Initiative; and to accelerate ‘hard connectivity’ in terms of railways, expressways and border gate infrastructure. China agreed to provide assistance for Vietnam to develop the planning of the Lang Son – Hanoi and Mong Cai – Ha Long – Hai Phong standard gauge railway lines, and to develop a Feasibility Study Report for the Lao Cai – Hanoi – Haiphong standard gauge railway line.

Both sides affirmed their commitment to preserving the traditional friendship, upholding shared ideals and missions, and consistently promoting popularisation work on the Vietnam-China friendship. The two sides declare 2025 as the ‘Year of Vietnam-China People-to-People Exchange’ and will jointly organise a series of activities to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and China through party, youth and friendly city channels, effectively utilising ‘red relic sites’ in localities such as Guangxi, Yunnan, Guangdong, and Chongqing, and holding activities in research, education, culture, and tourism in diverse forms.

The two sides agreed to persevere in the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and the basic norms of international relations, jointly protect the international system with the United Nations as its core and the international order with international law as its foundation, protect international justice, fairness and the common interests of developing countries. Resolutely promoting an equal, orderly multipolar world and comprehensive, inclusive and sustainable economic globalisation, the two sides agree to step up cooperation within the framework of the major initiatives – Community with a Shared Future for Humanity, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilisation Initiative – which aim to protect the common interests of all humanity, advance the cause of peace, justice and progress of people all over the world, and meet the aspirations of people worldwide for a better world.

On outstanding issues that remain between them, the two sides discussed in depth, and in a sincere, straightforward manner, maritime issues, stressing the need for better control and active handling of disagreements at sea, and the maintenance of peace and stability.

The two sides unanimously agreed that the state visit to China of General Secretary and President To Lam is a success, significantly promoting the building of the Vietnam-China community with a shared future that carries strategic significance that is conducive to peace, stability and development in the region and the world.

To Lam thanked the Chinese side for the warm and friendly welcome and invited Party General Secretary and President Xi Jinping to visit Vietnam again at an early date. Xi Jinping thanked his counterpart and accepted the invitation with pleasure.

The following is the full text of the joint statement. It was originally published by the Vietnam News Agency (VNA).

1. At the invitation of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam To Lam paid a state visit to China from August 18 – 20, 2024.

China strongly condemns Israeli operations and settlement expansion in the West Bank

In its latest statement at the United Nations Security Council on the question of Palestine, China has drawn serious attention to the situation on the occupied West Bank, where Israel is increasingly replicating the openly genocidal measures it has employed in the Gaza Strip for the last nearly one year.

Speaking at a UN Security Council briefing on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, on August 29, Ambassador Geng Shuang first referred to the situation in Gaza, where, in the past month alone, “Israel issued 16 emergency evacuation orders. Schools and refugee camps that sheltered a large number of people were targeted in attacks. Hundreds of thousands of people were forced to flee time and again, unable to find a safe place of living,” and where the polio virus seriously threatens the health of children,

He continued: “In the West Bank, Israel continues to violate international law and Council resolutions, its settlements continue to grow, and it ramps up searches, arrests, and raids against Palestinians. Since last October, over 620 Palestinians have lost their lives. Yesterday, the Israeli military launched a large-scale military operation targeting Tulkarm, Jenin, and Tubas, among others in the West Bank, which resulted in at least 10 deaths and many injuries. China strongly condemns this. Senior Israeli officials in the government recently spoke of using the same approach in the West Bank as they have employed in operations in Gaza. We are shocked and seriously concerned by such extreme remarks that risk global condemnation. Gaza has now turned into hell on earth. We must never allow the same humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza to happen in the West Bank, which will turn the West Bank into another hell on earth.”

We reprint below the full text of Ambassador Geng Shuang’s remarks. It was originally published on the website of China Permanent Mission to the UN.

Remarks by Ambassador Geng Shuang at the UN Security Council Briefing on the Situation in the Middle East, Including the Palestinian Question

President,

I thank Switzerland and the UK for requesting this meeting, and thank Assistant Secretary-General Joyce Msuya and Deputy Director-General Mike Ryan for their briefings.

Over 10 months have passed since the outbreak of the conflict in Gaza, which has led to the death of over 40,000 civilians and an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe. Despite the repeated calls by the international community for an end to the fighting, the multiple resolutions adopted by the Security Council in this regard, and provisional measures ordered by the ICJ, the situation has not seen any improvement. Rather, it continues to worsen.

In the past month alone, the conflict has consumed the lives of over 1,000 people in Gaza. Israel issued 16 emergency evacuation orders. Schools and refugee camps that sheltered a large number of people were targeted in attacks. Hundreds of thousands of people were forced to flee time and again, unable to find a safe place of living. Israel continued to further suppress and restrict the UN and other humanitarian organizations, frequently rejecting deliveries of supplies such as fuel. Recently, humanitarian agencies were compelled to evacuate from their centers and warehouses in Deir al-Balah, further causing serious damage to the humanitarian system in Gaza.

The polio virus seriously threatens the health of children in Gaza. Vaccination is the most effective way to stem the spread of the virus and ensure the safety of children. Virus knows no borders. China supports the appeal by Secretary-General Guterres and urges Israel, in a responsible manner towards its own children and those of the region, to provide security guarantee and facilitation to the vaccination work. We support the Council in making a strong appeal to this end to avoid further worsening of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

In the West Bank, Israel continues to violate international law and Council resolutions, its settlements continue to grow, and it ramps up searches, arrests, and raids against Palestinians. Since last October, over 620 Palestinians have lost their lives. Yesterday, the Israeli military launched a large scale military operation targeting Tulkarm, Jenin, and Tubas, among others in the West Bank, which resulted in at least 10 deaths and many injuries. China strongly condemns this. Senior Israeli officials in the government recently spoke of using the same approach in the West Bank as they have employed in operations in Gaza. We are shocked and seriously concerned by such extreme remarks that risk global condemnation. Gaza has now turned into hell on earth. We must never allow the same humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza to happen in the West Bank, which will turn the West Bank into another hell on earth. China opposes any rhetoric or action that fuels tensions, condemns all attacks on civilians, and calls on all the parties concerned, Israel in particular, to remain calm and exercise restraint and prevent further escalation of the situation.

President,

The priority now is to fully implement the four Council resolutions on the situation in Gaza, promote an immediate and durable ceasefire, and effectively ease the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. Ceasefire negotiations cannot be indefinitely delayed, still less should they be used as an excuse to continue committing atrocities in Gaza and the West Bank in violation of international law. China urges Israel to immediately stop all military operations in Gaza, open all border crossings, stop its suppressing and restriction of the UN and other humanitarian organizations, stop its attacks on the West Bank, curb settler violence and impunity. Countries with significant influence on the parties concerned should demonstrate a sincere and responsible approach and take practical actions to promote the realization of a ceasefire. We support further actions by the Council to promote the implementation of relevant resolutions, bring an early end to the fighting, and ease the humanitarian catastrophe.

Thank you, President.

China and Africa safeguard global peace and promote development

The 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) will be held in Beijing, September 2-4. It is six years since the summit was last held in China and it will be the country’s largest diplomatic event for this year.

In advance of the summit, on August 31, the Xinhua News Agency published a guest opinion contributed by Li Xiang, China’s Ambassador to Eritrea. The Ambassador notes that:

“Politically, China and Africa share the same aspirations and vision. China and Africa have supported each other in fighting imperialism, colonialism and racism, based on similar suffering in recent history. In the struggle for national independence, China and Africa, as members of the Global South, have been united in their common goal, extending mutual assistance and having been the most distinctive, steadfast and major supporters of each other’s anti-imperialist, anti-colonial and anti-hegemonic struggles.”

On economic matters, he reiterates that: “China will always walk side by side with Africa on its path to modernisation and join hands with Africa to inject strong impetus into the promotion of an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalisation.”

Both China and Africa, Li underlines, “have had the tragic experience of being colonised, and we cherish the golden rule of sovereign equality, oppose the big abusing the small and the strong bullying the weak, advocate the equality of all countries, large and small, and oppose interference in the internal affairs of other countries.”

Noting that, following his historic state visit to China in May 2023, President Isaias Afwerki will lead the Eritrean delegation to the summit, and alluding to the inspiration that the Eritrean people drew from the experience of the Chinese revolution during their liberation struggle, Ambassador Li writes: “China and Eritrea have established a strategic partnership and are in a unique position to build a closer community with a shared future. The two countries share similar philosophies, and their people maintain close contact.”

Meanwhile, in the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s regular press conference on August 30, spokesperson Lin Jian said that China and Africa endured colonialist and imperialist suppression and invasion, and the two sides supported each other and fought together on the road of anti-colonialism and anti-imperialism and won the independence of their countries and the liberation of their nations.

“Therefore, we deeply cherish independence, self-determination, fairness and justice; we agree on the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence; we are committed to building an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalisation; and we both aim to make the international order more just and equitable.”

China and the African countries stand for bridging the gap between rich countries and poor ones, reject all forms of interference by big powers and economic coercion, and ask developed countries to face up to their historical responsibilities and deliver on their development commitments.

“At the upcoming FOCAC Summit next week, the two sides will enhance unity and cooperation among developing countries to augment the strength of the Global South, jointly champion international fairness and justice, and advance the peace and development of the world,” Lin said.

The following articles were originally published by the Xinhua News Agency.

Jointly build a closer China-Africa community with shared future to push forward China-Eritrea strategic partnership

October 31 (Xinhua) — by Li Xiang (Chinese ambassador to Eritrea).

The 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) will be held in Beijing on Sept. 4-6. Chinese and African leaders will gather in Beijing again after six years to discuss future development and cooperation and exchange governance experience. H.E. President Isaias Afwerki will lead the delegation of Eritrea to attend this summit, following his historic state visit to China in May 2023. Through this summit, China and Africa will enhance their long-standing friendship and deepen unity and collaboration to open up new vistas for faster common development and start a new chapter for a China-Africa community with a shared future.

The world today is undergoing major changes unseen in a century. The waves of anti-globalization, unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise. Global crises such as geopolitical conflicts and climate change occur frequently. Humankind is at a crucial crossroads, and China-Africa cooperation and development are facing more uncertainty. China’s answer to the question of “where is human society headed and how can China-Africa cooperation develop” is to build a closer China-Africa community with a shared future. This is the trend of the times and the common voice of the people of China and Africa.

China urges Israel to immediately cease all military operations in Gaza

China has again made a powerful call at the United Nations for an end to Israel’s genocidal war against the Palestinian people in Gaza, and increasingly the West Bank, too, as well as drawing attention to the United States’ culpability for the ongoing human tragedy.

Speaking at the UN Security Council Briefing on the Situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian Question, on August 22, Ambassador Fu Cong began his remarks by stating:

“Gaza has been subjected to more than 10 months of blockade, siege, bombing, and attacks that have killed more than 40,000 people and displaced 1.9 million. 80% of homes in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed, and 85% of the area is under emergency evacuation orders imposed by the Israeli military. In the West Bank, nearly 600 Palestinians have been killed since last October. Such a tragedy cannot go on any longer.”

Noting the steadily mounting calls for a ceasefire, he continued: “However, we have seen that Israel has turned a deaf ear to them and has not shown any sign of a ceasefire. More than two months after the adoption of Security Council Resolution 2735, the Israeli military operations in Gaza continue causing new casualties every day.”

Making unmistakable reference to the United States, in particular, he added:

“We urge countries with significant influence to demonstrate a sincere, impartial, and responsible attitude in pushing Israel to cease its military operations in Gaza as soon as possible and to stop the killing of civilians. China supports the Council in taking further necessary actions to promote the implementation of the relevant resolutions and achieve a ceasefire in Gaza.”

The following is the full text of Ambassador Fu’s remarks. They were originally published on the website of China’s Permanent Mission to the UN.

Remarks by Ambassador Fu Cong at the UN Security Council Briefing on the Situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian Question

President,

I thank Special Coordinator Tor Wennesland and Ms. Louisa Baxter for their briefings.

Gaza has been subjected to more than 10 months of blockade, siege, bombing, and attacks that have killed more than 40,000 people and displaced 1.9 million. 80% of homes in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed, and 85% of the area is under emergency evacuation orders imposed by the Israeli military. In the West Bank, nearly 600 Palestinians have been killed since last October. Such a tragedy cannot go on any longer.

The international community has repeatedly sent clear calls for a ceasefire and an end to the fighting. And the General Assembly, the Security Council, and the International Court of Justice have all made clear demands. However, we have seen that Israel has turned a deaf ear to them and has not shown any sign of a ceasefire. More than two months after the adoption of Security Council Resolution 2735, the Israeli military operations in Gaza continue causing new casualties every day. At the same time, the repeated provocative and adventurous actions by the Israeli side have intensified the risk of conflict spillovers. The Middle East is hanging by a thread.

It must be noted that blind faith in achieving a total victory in Gaza will only result in more innocent civilian casualties and will not create the conditions for the release of hostages, nor will it bring peace or tranquility to Israel and the region. Ceasefire negotiations and a political solution are the fundamental way out.

It must be noted that humanitarian issues cannot be politicized, hunger cannot be weaponized, and civilian lives cannot be trivialized as bargaining chips. Israel must fulfill its obligations under international humanitarian law by opening all border crossings, guaranteeing rapid and safe access to humanitarian supplies at scale, ceasing restrictions and attacks on the United Nations and humanitarian agencies, and providing support and cooperation for the polio vaccination program in Gaza.

It must be noted that sustainable security can only be achieved by upholding the concept of common security. Regional peace must be built with the responsible participation of all parties. Achieving an independent Palestinian state and implementation of the two-State solution is the only viable way forward for the political settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli question.

China urges Israel to immediately cease all military operations in Gaza, to immediately stop its actions that stoke escalation of the situation in the region, and to end immediately placing obstacles to a ceasefire in Gaza. We urge countries with significant influence to demonstrate a sincere, impartial, and responsible attitude in pushing Israel to cease its military operations in Gaza as soon as possible and to stop the killing of civilians. China supports the Council in taking further necessary actions to promote the implementation of the relevant resolutions and achieve a ceasefire in Gaza.

China stands ready to work with the international community to make unremitting efforts to end the war in Gaza at an early date, alleviate the humanitarian catastrophe, implement the two-State solution, and achieve lasting peace and security in the Middle East.

Thank you, President.

Canada’s unjustifiable tariffs on EVs from China

The following opinion piece, written by International Manifesto Group convenor and Friends of Socialist China advisory group member Radhika Desai for CGTN, critiques the Canadian government’s recent decision to slap 100 percent tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs).

Radhika notes that the Trudeau government’s stated justification for the tariffs – that “China has an intentional state-directed policy of overcapacity and oversupply designed to cripple our own industry” – is pure misdirection. The real reason is to prove Canada’s loyalty to the US in the run-up to the renegotiation of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. As for China’s “intentional state-directed policy”, “the most authoritative development economists will agree that there are no known instances of successful industrialisation where the state has not played a central role. This is as true of Japan or Germany or South Korea as it is of the US itself and even Canada.”

China’s government has intentionally concentrated resources on the EV industry for over 20 years, “particularly focusing research and development in making lithium iron phosphate batteries that were safer and cheaper than lithium nickel manganese cobalt batteries almost as energy dense as the latter.” The authorities provided further support by buying vast numbers of electric buses to provide low-emission public transport, and by building EV charging infrastructure throughout the country.

As for the oft-repeated trope about China’s “overcapacity”, Radhika writes that “if anything, the world needs more production of these things” – echoing the sentiments of former under-secretary-general of the United Nations and former executive director of the UN Environment Programme Erik Solheim.

Radhika observes: “What such complaints really mean is that there is a market for high-technology goods that is no longer being supplied by the US or the West, thus endangering their 200-year-old monopoly on such goods. Well, for all the crocodile tears Western politicians weep over the poverty and lack of the development in so much of the world, they do get mighty upset when one part of it, namely China, manages to develop and even push back the technological frontier.”

The article concludes by noting that the US and Canada, having followed the path of neoliberalism and financialisation for several decades, have precious little chance of success in competing with China on advanced manufacturing.

Three months after the U.S. announcement slapping 100 percent tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles (EV), Canada has followed suit. As local observers see it, the Trudeau government faced a choice. On the one hand, it could risk retaliatory tariffs from China on Canada’s much smaller economy: The memory of those imposed on Canadian canola, pork and soybeans worth billions in trade in 2019 in retaliation for Canada’s illegal arrest of Meng Wanzhou remains fresh. On the other hand, it could risk U.S. anger should China extend even part of its EV supply chain into Canada to get the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement access to the U.S. market. Such anger would be bound to spill over into the renegotiation of that agreement in 2026.

Canada chose to avoid risking U.S. anger. But that was not how it justified the decision. Instead, Canadian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland claimed that “China has an intentional state-directed policy of overcapacity and oversupply designed to cripple our own industry … We simply will not allow that to happen to our EV sector, which has shown such promise.” This justification is clearly cooked up.

Let’s take all the elements of that statement in turn.

The reference to “intentional state-directed policy” is a bizarre instance of trying to tar a virtue as a vice. The most authoritative development economists will agree that there are no known instances of successful industrialization where the state has not played a central role. This is as true of Japan or Germany or South Korea as it is of the U.S. itself and even Canada.

The right to pursue industrial policy was recognized by the erstwhile General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and is recognized by its successor, the World Trade Organization. Moreover, both the U.S. and Canada are themselves talking about industrial policy and state subsidies to sectors facing competition from China.

As a study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology pointed out, China’s success in EV development is a classic case of a successful industrial policy. It began investing in the sector as early as 2001 when it became clear that its internal combustion and hybrid car industries were too far behind major manufacturers in the U.S., Germany and Japan.

Moreover, EVs would also have beneficial effects in reducing pollution and oil imports. Chinese authorities concentrated resources on this nascent industry, particularly focusing research and development in making lithium iron phosphate batteries that were safer and cheaper than lithium nickel manganese cobalt batteries almost as energy dense as the latter. They also began providing the fledgling industry with markets by buying its vehicles for public transport.

Nor was China at all autarkic. On the contrary, it invited Tesla in, giving it the same tax and subsidy treatment as domestic producers. Tesla extended its supply chains into China while also stimulating domestic producers to compete with it.

Next, let us come to “overcapacity and oversupply.” Since when did the production of low-cost and high-quality products, particularly those that advance the world towards its critically important climate goals, become a matter of overcapacity and oversupply? If anything, the world needs more production of these things. Canada, the U.S. and the West should join in the effort to produce such goods.

What such complaints really mean is that there is a market for high-technology goods that is no longer being supplied by the U.S. or the West, thus endangering their 200-year-old monopoly on such goods. Well, for all the crocodile tears Western politicians weep over the poverty and lack of the development in so much of the world, they do get mighty upset when one part of it, namely China, manages to develop and even push back the technological frontier.

As for “crippling our (Canadian) industry,” that’s pretty ridiculous coming from countries that have been sparing no effort – sanctions, tariffs, military alliance and base building, “freedom of navigation” and other military exercises, propaganda, fear-mongering and false “development” advice – to prevent the rise of China and, one might add, that of most of the developing world.

Finally, Freeland speaks of Canada’s own EV sector “that has shown so much promise.” Undoubtedly, the thing that countries like Canada and the U.S. ought to do is find a sector or product that they have the unique strengths to develop, as China did with EVs, knowing that it could not compete internationally on conventional cars or hybrids.

However, there is a big distance between “should” and “can.” Today, notwithstanding the corporate subsidies that the U.S. and Canada are giving to their manufacturers, it is unlikely that they will be able to replicate China’s success in manufacturing, not least because, as they have gone down the road of neoliberalism and financialization, they have lost the capacity for sustained industrial policy they once had.

Build global mass opposition to the New Cold War

The following is the text of a speech given by Friends of Socialist China co-editor Carlos Martinez at an online meeting of the Scottish Trade Union Peace Network on 22 August 2024.

Carlos discusses the nature of China’s foreign policy, dealing with common criticisms such as that China seeks to “undermine democracy” in Taiwan, that it is an aggressive and expansionist power in the South China Sea, and that its nuclear arsenal poses a serious threat to world peace.

The speech goes on to analyse the theoretical basis and economic underpinnings of China’s foreign policy, observing that China’s rise “has never been based on dominating the land, labour, resources and markets of the rest of the world. It has never been driven by the expand-or-die logic of capital.”

Carlos concludes by detailing the expanding US-led campaign of containment and encirclement against China, and calling for “progressive and peace-loving people the world over to join hands in building global mass opposition to this insanity”.

Other speakers at the event included Fiona Edwards (No Cold War Britain) and Jonathon Shafi (Stop the War Scotland).

NB. This speech has been published as an article on Xinhua.

Many thanks for inviting me to join you.

I’m going to focus my remarks on China’s foreign policy, comparing that with the US and Britain’s foreign policy, and then discussing the dangers of this escalating New Cold War, which could all too easily end up as a hot war.

China aggressive?

China of course is framed in the Western media as an “aggressive” and “expansionist” power which is hell-bent on subverting the “rules-based international order”.

According to the NATO Heads of State summit in Washington last month, “China’s stated ambitions and coercive policies continue to challenge our interests, security and values”.

What’s the basis for this characterisation? I’m going to talk about some of common themes:

First, Taiwan. China is accused of undermining democracy in Taiwan and threatening imminent invasion.

The funny thing is that China’s position on the Taiwan question has not meaningfully changed in the last seven decades, and it’s entirely consistent with international law and numerous United Nations resolutions – not to mention the various joint agreements between the US and China.

Taiwan is a part of China. It was seized by Japan in 1895 and returned to Chinese control in 1945, at the end of World War 2, as agreed by Britain, the US, the Soviet Union and China at the Potsdam Conference.

In 1949, having lost in the Chinese Civil War, Chang Kai-shek and his people fled to Taiwan and set up a renegade administration, and the US positioned its Navy – the Seventh Fleet – in the Taiwan Strait to prevent the communist government from reuniting the country. But even then, Taiwan never claimed to be a separate country – the Kuomintang simply said that Taiwan was the real China and that the People’s Republic was the renegade. Indeed that idea is still part of Taiwan’s constitution.

So China’s very consistent position is that Taiwan is part of China. This position – the One China Principle – is accepted by more than 90 percent of the world’s countries, including the US and Britain. China has always said that it seeks peaceful reunification but that it reserves the right to use force in case of outside interference or a unilateral declaration of independence. Furthermore it makes the very reasonable point that the Taiwan issue is an internal matter for Chinese people on both sides of the Strait to resolve.

There is nothing particularly bellicose or unusual about such a position. Frankly, if you’ll excuse the slight provocation, China’s historic claim to Taiwan is far stronger than Britain’s historic claim to Scotland, but does anyone think Westminster would avoid the use of force if Scotland, backed and armed by Russia, say, were to unilaterally declare independence.

So nothing has changed with respect to China’s position on the Taiwan question. What’s changed is that the US and its allies, seeking to provoke conflict and undermine China, are increasing their support for separatist elements, are increasing their supply of weapons to the administration in Taipei, and are steadily rowing back on the One China Principle.

Biden has said multiple times that the US would intervene militarily if Beijing were to attempt to change the status quo by force – which goes directly against what was agreed by the US and China back in the 1970s when relations were re-established. It is essentially a way of signalling: we are building towards war against China, and Taiwan will likely be the flashpoint. And the way we plan to win public support for that war is by presenting it as a war to protect democracy in Taiwan.

Another popular accusation about China’s “aggression” is that it’s engaged in expansionism in the South China Sea, because it patrols its own waters, and because it has a number of complicated territorial disputes over control of an array of tiny uninhabited islands.

The details of the disputes are not particularly relevant for our purposes. These territorial disputes are inherited from previous generations and they’re not easy to resolve. For example, there are numerous disputes in relation to the Arctic Circle, between Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia and the US. The disputes involving China receive relatively more attention because the US is attempting to leverage them to foment broader anti-China feeling in Southeast Asia and to present China in the most negative light possible.

Again, China hasn’t changed its position on these questions; there has simply been an escalation of anti-China propagandising by the West.

On the South China Sea, it’s worth mentioning that China’s definition of its borders was determined before 1949, before the founding of the People’s Republic. The nine-dash line defining China’s maritime borders was created by the Kuomintang government in 1947, and certainly didn’t cause any stir in Western capitals at the time. After all, China at that time was considered by the West as an important ally in the global war against communism.

The People’s Republic of China has not made a single new territorial claim. And although it patrols the South China Sea and works to protect its trade routes and to prevent any potential blockade being imposed by the US, it has never once impeded international trade.

So when the US carries out its so-called ‘freedom of navigation assertions’ in the South China Sea, it’s not because China is blocking navigation. China is not being aggressive; the US is being aggressive, and according itself the role of world policeman. The US has no jurisdiction in the South China Sea. Can anyone imagine what the US response would be if China carried out freedom of navigation assertions off the coast of California?

Then there’s the question of nuclear weapons. The media is full of alarmist reports about China’s expanding nuclear arsenal. But China has fewer than 500 nuclear warheads, compared to over 5,000 for the US.

China maintains a strictly defensive nuclear posture. Of all the nuclear powers, it is the only one to have a clear policy of no-first use, meaning that it will never use nuclear weapons other than in response to a nuclear attack.

It’s also the only nuclear power to guarantee that it will never use nuclear weapons against a non-nuclear country, meaning that it refuses to engage in the type of nuclear blackmail which the US specialises in.

Xi: Deng Xiaoping was a great Marxist, strategist, diplomat, and long-tested communist fighter

The Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee held a symposium on the morning of August 22 at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People to commemorate the 120th birth anniversary of Comrade Deng Xiaoping. Chinese President Xi Jinping made an important speech there.

Xi emphasised that Comrade Deng Xiaoping is recognised by the entire Party, the military, and the people of all ethnic groups across the country as an outstanding leader with high prestige, a great Marxist, a great proletarian revolutionary, statesman, military strategist, diplomat, and a long-tested communist fighter. Deng was the core of the second generation of the Party’s central collective leadership, the chief architect of China’s socialist reform, opening up and modernisation, the trailblazer of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and the principal creator of Deng Xiaoping Theory. He made significant contributions to world peace and development as a great internationalist. And he made outstanding contributions to the Party, the people, the country, the nation, and the world.

Xi further noted that Comrade Deng Xiaoping’s life was a glorious, fighting and extraordinary one. Deng made outstanding contributions to the Party-led causes of national independence and people’s liberation, and to the founding of the People’s Republic of China. He carried out highly effective work in establishing the socialist system and advancing socialist construction. After the end of the Cultural Revolution, as the core of the second generation of the Party’s central collective leadership, Deng led the Party and the people in achieving a historic shift, drove a new leap forward in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context, broke new ground in socialist modernisation, set a right path for realising China’s complete reunification, firmly upheld the splendid banner of socialism, and successfully initiated socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Xi emphasised that Deng’s historical achievements are comprehensive and groundbreaking, with profound and lasting impact on both China and the world. Deng’s lifelong journey of struggle fully demonstrated his unwavering commitment to the lofty ideals of communism and the belief in socialism with Chinese characteristics, his deep love for the people, his adherence to the principle of seeking truth from facts, his political courage in continuous innovation, his far-sighted strategic thinking, and his broad-mindedness and selflessness.

Referring to Deng’s early life, Xi said that in the face of the profound national disasters of feudal rule and corruption, the invasion of Western powers, and the starvation and cold of the people, the young Deng Xiaoping actively participated in the mass struggle in his hometown, and later went to Europe to work and study, firmly chose Marxism, and joined the Communist Party of China.

An important section of Xi’s speech dealt with the events of 1989:

“Comrade Deng Xiaoping firmly defended the glorious banner of socialism. In the process of reform and opening up, he always took a clear-cut stand against bourgeois liberalisation. Against the backdrop of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the drastic changes in Eastern Europe, a serious political turmoil occurred in China at the turn of the spring and summer of 1989. At the critical moment, Comrade Deng Xiaoping led the party and the people to take a clear-cut stand against turmoil and resolutely defend the socialist state power, so that the party and the country withstood the severe test of dangerous winds and waves. After that, he profoundly summed up the lessons in the process of reform and opening up, and stressed the need to concentrate on party building, strengthen ideological and political work and education in fine traditions, improve the party’s leadership level and ruling ability, and ensure the stability of the red country. He admonished the people with a deafening voice: ‘Socialism in China cannot be changed. China will certainly follow the socialist road it has chosen to the end. No one can crush us.'”

Xi continued: “Comrade Deng Xiaoping’s historical exploits are all-round and groundbreaking, and their impact on China and the world is profound and long-term. In the course of his life’s struggle, he fully demonstrated his lofty character of incomparably firm belief in the lofty ideals of communism and socialism with Chinese characteristics, his great feelings of incomparable love for the people, the theoretical quality of always seeking truth from facts, the political courage to constantly blaze new trails, his far-sighted strategic thinking, and his frank and selfless broad-mindedness. His great historical exploits will always be remembered. His noble revolutionary demeanour will always be admired by us!”

He added: “Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, everything we have done is to fulfil the original mission of the party, to complete the unfinished business of Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping and other revolutionaries of the older generation, and to uphold and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics under the conditions of the new era. The times are constantly advancing, the cause is constantly developing, and theoretical and practical innovation cannot be stopped for a moment. Comrade Deng Xiaoping said: ‘China should have something new every year, and something new every day.’ It is the solemn historical responsibility of the contemporary Chinese Communists to constantly open up a new realm of Sinicisation and modernisation of Marxism. In the new era and new journey, we must adhere to integrity and innovation, never forget our ancestors, always take the right path, be good at breaking new paths, make the tree of theory evergreen and the tree of our cause evergreen, and constantly comfort the older generation of revolutionaries with new deeds and new achievements.”

Towards the end of his speech, he stated: “At this moment, I am reminded of two remarks made by Comrade Deng Xiaoping: First, ‘by the next century and 50 years, if we basically achieve modernisation, we can further assert the success of socialism.’ The second is that ‘by the middle of the next century, it will be able to approach the level of the developed countries in the world, and that will be the big change. At that time, the weight and role of Socialist China will be different, and we will be able to make greater contributions to humanity.'”

Deng’s remark here about making greater contributions to humanity is derived from Mao Zedong’s 1956 article commemorating the 90th birthday of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen:

“Things are always progressing. It is only forty-five years since the Revolution of 1911, but the face of China has entirely changed. In another forty-five years, that is, by the year 2001, at the beginning of the 21st century, China will have undergone an even greater change. It will have become a powerful industrial socialist country. And that is as it should be. China is a land with an area of 9,600,000 square kilometres and a population of 600 million, and it ought to make a greater contribution to humanity. But for a long time in the past its contribution was far too small. For this we are regretful.”

We reproduce below a report on the symposium that was originally published by the Xinhua News Agency. We also carry the full text of the important speech of Xi Jinping. This was issued by Xinhua and published in Chinese in People’s Daily. It has been machine translated and lightly edited by us.

Xi urges advancing socialism with Chinese characteristics at symposium held to mark Deng Xiaoping’s 120th birth anniversary

The Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee held a symposium on the morning of Aug. 22 at the Great Hall of the People to commemorate the 120th birth anniversary of Comrade Deng Xiaoping. Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), delivered an important speech. Xi emphasized that Comrade Deng Xiaoping is recognized by the entire Party, the military, and the people of all ethnic groups across the country as an outstanding leader with high prestige, a great Marxist, a great proletarian revolutionary, statesman, military strategist, diplomat, and a long-tested communist fighter. Deng was the core of the second generation of the Party’s central collective leadership, the chief architect of China’s socialist reform, opening up and modernization, the trailblazer of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and the principal creator of Deng Xiaoping Theory. He made significant contributions to world peace and development as a great internationalist. Deng made outstanding contributions to the Party, the people, the country, the nation, and the world. Deng’s achievements have been immortalized in history and will always inspire future generations.

The symposium was attended by members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Ding Xuexiang, and Li Xi, as well as Vice President Han Zheng. The symposium was presided over by Cai Qi, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.

Xi Jinping speaks with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer

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 to view their relations from a long-term and strategic perspective, continue to see each other as partners, strengthen dialogue and cooperation, and build a stable and mutually beneficial relationship that contributes to the well-being of the two countries and the world. China is committed to building a great country and achieving national rejuvenation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernisation and follows a path of peaceful development. It is hoped that the UK will view China in an objective and rational manner.

He went on to say that China is moving faster to develop new quality productive forces and advance new industrialisation. These efforts will create new opportunities for the UK and countries around the world. China is prepared to have equal-footed and mutually respectful dialogue with the UK to enhance mutual understanding and trust, build greater synergy between the development strategies of the two countries, expand cooperation in such areas as financial services, green economy and artificial intelligence, and deepen people-to-people ties, thus making mutual benefit the defining feature of China-UK relations.

Starmer congratulated Chinese athletes on their excellent achievements at the Paris Olympics. He said that developing closer UK-China cooperation is in the long-term interests of both sides. Enhanced trade, financial, educational, energy and health cooperation supports the goals of both countries and helps address climate change and other global challenges. He reassured China there is no change to the UK’s long-term one-China policy.

We reprint below the report of the conversation that was originally published on the website of the Chinese Foreign Ministry. We also reproduce for reference the much briefer report that was posted on the British government’s website.

Xi Jinping Speaks with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer on the Phone

On the afternoon of August 23, President Xi Jinping took a phone call from U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

President Xi congratulated Keir Starmer on assuming the office of the Prime Minister. President Xi noted that faced with transformation and volatility in the international landscape, China and the U.K., as permanent members of the United Nations Security Council as well as the world’s leading economies, need to view their relations from a long-term and strategic perspective, continue to see each other as partners, strengthen dialogue and cooperation, and build a stable and mutually beneficial relationship that contributes to the well-being of the two countries and the world. China is committed to building a great country and achieving national rejuvenation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization, and follows a path of peaceful development. It is hoped that the U.K. will view China in an objective and rational manner. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee laid out a strategic plan for further deepening reform comprehensively to advance Chinese modernization. China is moving faster to develop new quality productive forces and advance new industrialization. These efforts will create new opportunities for the U.K. and countries around the world. China is prepared to have equal-footed and mutually respectful dialogue with the U.K. to enhance mutual understanding and trust, build greater synergy between the development strategies of the two countries, expand cooperation in such areas as financial services, green economy and artificial intelligence, and deepen people-to-people ties, thus making mutual benefit the defining feature of China-U.K. relations.

Prime Minister Starmer congratulated Chinese athletes on their excellent achievements at the Paris Olympics. He said that developing closer U.K.-China cooperation is in the long-term interests of both sides. Enhanced trade, financial, educational, energy and health cooperation supports the goals of both countries and helps address climate change and other global challenges. The U.K. hopes to strengthen engagement and dialogue with China at all levels and in various areas, strive for positive results in practical cooperation and institutionalized exchanges between the two countries, and develop long-term, stable and strategic U.K.-China relations in the spirit of mutual respect. The U.K. will have regular dialogue with China on key international and regional issues to contribute to world security and stability. Prime Minister Starmer reassured China there is no change to the U.K.’s long-term one-China policy.

President Xi pointed out that China places high importance on the U.K.’s desire for more engagement and dialogue, and will maintain exchanges with the U.K. at all levels, promote steady and sustained progress in China-U.K. relations, and work together to advance global peace and development.

PM call with President Xi Jinping of China: 23 August 2024

The Prime Minister spoke to President Xi Jinping of China this morning.

The Prime Minister began by setting out his priorities for his government, including national security, secure borders and economic stability.

The leaders discussed areas of shared collaboration, and potential areas of cooperation between the UK and China, including on trade, the economy and education.

As permanent members of the UN Security Council, the leaders agreed on the importance of close working in areas such as climate change and global security.

The Prime Minister added that he hoped the leaders would be able to have open, frank and honest discussions to address and understand areas of disagreement when necessary, such as Hong Kong, Russia’s war in Ukraine and human rights.

The leaders also agreed on the need for a stable and consistent UK-China relationship, including dialogue between their respective foreign and domestic ministers.

They agreed to stay in touch.

Plutocracy of private capital creates a crisis of US political legitimacy

The following article by Friends of Socialist China co-founder Danny Haiphong, first published in Global Times on 13 August 2024, addresses the crisis of legitimacy facing the United States’ political and economic system.

Politicians from both major parties attempt to deflect attention from the US’s structural failings by pointing the finger at China and others, leading to an escalating New Cold War and moves towards hot war. Danny writes that the Biden and Trump administrations’ “continuity on US foreign policy toward China extends into their military posture as both administrations saw greatly intensified US militarization in the Asia Pacific presence along China’s border and dangerous escalations over Taiwan in violation of the one-China principle”.

Ironically though, this aggressive stance towards China is not only failing to address the US’s internal problems, but is actually exacerbating them. “Nothing about US foreign policy, whether it targets China or another nation, benefits the American people. Trillions of US dollars have gone unaccounted for, while many Americans struggle with debt, increasing rates of poverty, lowering life expectancy, inflation and stagnant wages.”

With Kamala Harris taking on the foreign policy legacy of her predecessors – promising to ensure that “America, not China, wins the competition for the 21st century” – progressives in the US will “continue to look for ways to fulfill their desire for a more people-driven and people-centered political agenda”.

The US is confronting a political system facing a crisis of legitimacy. A major component of the crisis is structural and inherent to US governance. Politicians in the US do not succeed in politics because of their service to the people. They are first selected by a tiny fraction of society wielding immense wealth and power before they are presented to voters.

Nowhere is the gap between the policies that US politicians pursue and the well-being of the people bigger than foreign policy. A cursory look at the economic approach to China under the administrations of former president Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden demonstrates this clearly. Under the Trump administration, the US imposed tariffs on Chinese exports and sanctions on China’s tech sector. Under the Biden administration, the US increased these tariffs to include the Chinese electric vehicle sector, expanded “black list” of Chinese tech corporations and targeted the semiconductor industry as a flashpoint in arresting China’s high-tech development. The two US administrations’ continuity on US foreign policy toward China extends into their military posture as both administrations saw greatly intensified US militarization in the Asia Pacific presence along China’s border and dangerous escalations over Taiwan in violation of the one-China principle.

Nothing about US foreign policy, whether it targets China or another nation, benefits the American people. Trillions of US dollars have gone unaccounted for, while many Americans struggle with debt, increasing rates of poverty, lowering life expectancy, inflation and stagnant wages. This has led to a crisis of political legitimacy where support for Congress and the president are at an all-time low while support for third-party alternatives to the two-party system is at a high point. The question is, then, why do US politicians fail to serve the interests of their constituents? What makes them choose to enrich military contractors and monopoly financial institutions while neglecting the ordinary worker?

The US is not a democracy. It’s a plutocracy of private capital. One percent of the US population owns more than one-third of US wealth. But more importantly, this one percent comprises the property owners of the biggest monopolies and financial institutions in the US and have designed a political system where their patronage directly corresponds to US policy. While politicians may promise ordinary Americans that their policies will benefit them. However, once elected these same politicians pursue an agenda which enriches the wealthiest corporations at the expense of the well-being of the people. In 2014, two US scholars conducted a study on the impact that various interest groups hold on government policy. They found that big business and interest groups made a huge impact on US policy and average citizens made little to no impact at all. Their findings find no shortage of validation. While the vast majority of people face economic and social strife, US politicians are busy sending more military aid to Ukraine and Israel and holding fundraisers with the richest in the corporate and finance sectors. This has given way to political malaise in some respects, but it has also encouraged more people to seek alternative political avenues to the two-party system.

As the gap between US policy and the interests of humanity reaches an all-time high, US politicians will continue to compete among themselves over how to best manage a growing crisis of legitimacy. An ever-increasing number of Americans will grow disdainful of this process. This means that an even more polarized political environment is coming to the United States as people navigate gross power distortions between the average American and the elites. Meanwhile, they continue to look for ways to fulfill their desire for a more people-driven and people-centered political agenda.

Why do sections of the Western left ignore China’s solidarity with Palestine?

The article below, written for China Square, details China’s historic and current support for the national rights of the Palestinian people, and seeks to understand why elements of the Western left overlook this solidarity.

The article tallies “Beijing’s diplomatic tour de force uniting the 14 largest Palestinian resistance organisations around a declaration and programme of internal reconciliation”; China’s proposals for a ceasefire; its longstanding recognition of the State of Palestine; its recent contribution to the International Court of Justice recognising Palestinians’ right to armed resistance to occupation; and its insistence that governance of Palestine is a matter for the Palestinians themselves.

The article urges people in Palestine solidarity movements in the West to recognise China’s contributions, as opposed to “letting the US and EU elites deprive them of an important ally” and rendering themselves “more vulnerable to the propaganda designed to normalise the next round of horrendous wars driven by Washington, London and NATO, wars that seem to be inescapably coming our way in the Pacific region”.

This article has been translated into English by the author, Friends of Socialist China advisory group member Dirk Nimmegeers.

The fact that some elements of the Western left ignore Chinese solidarity with Palestine may indicate shortcomings in pro-Palestinian movements.

The analysis and statements in debates and meetings on Gaza are generally of good quality. Most panellists belong to organisations (or contribute to media outlets) that courageously go against the tide. Speakers dispel doubts around the term genocide, and convincingly argue that what is happening in Gaza is not “deplorable Israeli disproportionality”, but rather, planned and systematic expulsion. They express anger at the culpability of continued Western support and hypocrisy.

Blind spot

It is therefore disappointing that in debates on both the threat of war in general and on Palestine, there is a deafening silence about China and its principles, positions, proposals and actions. For example, in debates in Belgium this summer, there was a very brief mention of Beijing’s diplomatic tour de force uniting the 14 largest Palestinian resistance organisations around a declaration and programme of internal reconciliation. During a debate on the threat of war, someone shouted from the audience “and what about China?”, and during an event on Palestine, the moderator asked whether the Beijing Declaration could offer any hope. The panel remained silent. One speaker merely stressed that “this had been tried so many times before”. The important step forward of bringing together Fatah, Hamas and 12 others seemed to be shrugged off. It was very clear that if someone else had not started talking about the Beijing Declaration, the panellists themselves would not have mentioned it.

In most Western campaigns against genocide and for a ceasefire in Gaza, China is ignored. It is striking how little is published about China’s peace propositions even in courageous progressive media. It is to be feared that this will continue for some time to come. One can legitimately ask why the leftist and progressive community remains silent on China or refuses to show solidarity with a country that is the target of a multifaceted Western offensive, even if the community is well aware of the risk of the current NATO onslaught turning into an unprecedented global conflict.

Neither Washington nor Beijing?

Here and there we hear the idea that “China simply does not think the Middle East is that important now, and that this might change if there is some advantage to be gained”. A variant of this is the idea that China is now only interfering in the region to gain influence or out of rivalry with the US. These caricatures of a self-interested, neo-colonial or neo-imperialist China are among the many fables that the US and the EU successfully spread through their powerful media; myths that all too often carry an undertone of Sinophobia. In European leftist circles, this leads to an attitude of “neither Washington nor Beijing”. This slogan may sound good to some, but where it ends up is de facto support for advancing NATO offensive and acting as junior partners in the rearguard of the US attack.

What is China actually doing?

Another and more innocuous reason why China is often left out of the picture when it comes to Palestine is that many do not think, or rather know, that China is sincerely and usefully working for the cause of the Palestinians in many ways. Nevertheless, it is doing so.

For example, it is correct and important that China has so far never condemned Hamas’s actions. The importance of this is that it gives other countries, especially in the Global South, the necessary courage and strength to stand up to the US and the EU (as with the anti-Russian sanctions). Another strong signal in that regard is the fact that China is treating Hamas as a serious and important interlocutor. In recent months there have been several contacts between representatives of that resistance movement and Chinese diplomats. Neither the US nor Israel could appreciate this. China’s attitude is more correct than that of Western activists who go on and on distancing themselves from Hamas and repeating that the action of 7 October was a war crime (something that is highly questionable, and about which interesting views were expressed during the recent debate in Belgium).

Beijing seldom or never sides with one of the warring parties in conflicts in the Global South. This is in stark contrast to a tried-and-tested tactic of the West. China’s negotiated peace and reconciliation line is applied by Beijing to internal conflicts in Third World countries, e.g. Palestine. And neither does China provide irresponsible, arbitrary and facile criticism of Fatah and the Palestinian Authority, which are still recognised by most countries as official representatives of the Palestinian state.