Friends of Socialist China, Author at Friends of Socialist China

Xi Jinping greets DPRK national day

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) celebrated its 78th national day on September 9.

Marking the occasion, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Chinese president, extended congratulations to his DPRK counterpart Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) and president of the State Affairs of the DPRK.

Xi pointed out that over the past 78 years, under the leadership of the WPK, the DPRK people have achieved vigorous development in various fields of socialist construction through self-reliance, unity and hard work. In recent years in particular, under the leadership of Kim Jong Un, the WPK and the DPRK people have made every effort to advance economic and social development, scoring a series of development achievements to China’s heartfelt delight.

China and the DPRK are friendly socialist neighbours who stand by each other and share weal and woe, Xi said, stressing that it is an unswerving policy of the CPC and the Chinese government to preserve, consolidate and develop China-DPRK relations.

Xi said that he stands ready to work together with Kim to continue strengthening the strategic guidance of relations between the two parties and the two countries, jointly promote the development of their respective party and state causes, continuously improve the well-being of the two peoples and deepen their friendship, so as to make greater contributions to promoting peace, stability, development and prosperity in the region and the world at large.

Andy Burnham: Britain is prepared to restore relations with China to their historic high

Chinese President Xi Jinping held phone talks with new British Prime Minister Andy Burnham on September 8.

Congratulating Burnham on assuming office, Xi noted that China and Britain are comprehensive strategic partners. He urged the two sides to respect and trust each other, overcome differences, seek common ground and expand mutually beneficial cooperation, adding that both governments are committed to developing their economies and improving people’s well-being, and the two countries can complement each other’s strengths and facilitate each other’s development.

China and Britain are both major countries in science and technology with rich resources in education, culture, sports and other fields, Xi said, and called on the two sides to adopt an open and forward-looking approach and strengthen exchanges and cooperation in various fields.

More pointedly, considering the recent issues faced by British Steel and Chinese wind turbine maker Ming Yang, Xi expressed the hope that the British side will fully protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese investors.

Prime Minister Burnham told Xi that he had served as mayor of Manchester for many years and maintained friendly exchanges with China for years. President Xi’s visit to Manchester during his state visit to Britain in 2015 had a significant impact on promoting local exchanges and cooperation with China, he noted. Britain is ready to conduct high-level exchanges with China, advance bilateral cooperation in various fields, strengthen people-to-people exchanges, and restore bilateral relations to their historic high, so as to better benefit the peoples of both countries.

He added that amidst the current turbulent and complex international landscape undergoing changes, Britain and China, as permanent members of the UN Security Council, should promote the resolution of international hotspot issues through dialogue, jointly address global challenges such as climate change, and work together to safeguard world stability and prosperity.

Burnham also spoke highly of China’s efficient and effective response to the mudslide disaster that struck Gyirong Port in southwest China’s Xizang [Tibet] Autonomous Region on the country’s border with Nepal and expressed his appreciation for China’s assistance to affected British citizens.

The revolution that continues: marking 50 years since the death of Mao Zedong

Fifty years after his death, Mao Zedong remains among the most systematically vilified figures of the twentieth century in Western writing, but in China he is still revered as the architect of the revolution that ended imperialist domination and laid the foundations for the country’s socialist development.

On September 6, Friends of Socialist China, in conjunction with the International Manifesto Group convened a webinar to take the measure of Chairman Mao’s legacy. Introduced and moderated by Professor Radhika Desai, the panel featured Ding Xiaoqin (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences), Senator Mushahid Hussain (Chairman, Pakistan-China Institute), Ken Hammond (Professor of History, New Mexico State University), Tings Chak (Asia coordinator, Tricontinental Institute), Jenny Clegg (Author and peace campaigner), Fiona Sim (Co-founder, Black Liberation Alliance) and Keith Bennett (Co-editor, Friends of Socialist China).

The webinar stream is embedded below, followed by a brief report.

The vilification is not about Mao

Radhika Desai opened by framing the problem. The charge sheet is long and familiar – the accusations of totalitarianism, the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution – but, she argued, the campaign is not fundamentally about Mao at all. It is about the history he made, so this part of the record of human liberation can be dismissed as a terrible mistake from which nobody should take inspiration or lessons.

Radhika highlighted the importance of understanding the global and historical context of China’s development from 1949, starting from a baseline of horrifying poverty and technological backwardness to which imperialism and the century of humiliation had reduced it, and proceeding in the teeth of relentless imperialist hostility. What’s more, China’s industrialisation had to be accomplished without any of the things that financed Western prosperity: no tribute extracted from subject peoples, no cheap forced inputs, no exporting of surplus population to supposedly empty lands.

Given this context, China’s achievements become even more impressive, and its errors more understandable.

Three resolutions, one method

Ding Xiaoqin of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences read Mao through the three historical resolutions that the Communist Party of China has adopted on its own past. The 1945 resolution, on the eve of victory over Japan, was the first major party document to state that the party had developed a system of thought, Mao Zedong Thought, which was Marxism-Leninism adapted to Chinese conditions.

The 1981 resolution navigated a path between those who insisted on rigid adherence to all of Mao’s policies and those who wanted to repudiate his legacy wholesale. The 2021 resolution reaffirms Mao Zedong Thought as marking “the first historic step” in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context.

Running through all three, Ding said, is the basic methodology of Chinese Marxism: historical materialism, seeking truth from facts, and opposition to historical nihilism. From this follows the principle emphasised throughout the webinar: the period of initial socialist construction cannot be used to negate the period of reform and opening up, and vice versa.

Slander over solidarity: the BBC reports a Himalayan disaster

The following article by Carlos Martinez examines the BBC’s coverage of the catastrophic glacier collapse of 26 August, which sent a wall of ice, rock, mud and water down the river valleys straddling the border between Nepal and China’s Tibet (Xizang) Autonomous Region, killing well over a thousand people.

Rather than report on the disaster itself, or on its underlying cause in the accelerating warming of the world’s highest mountain range, the BBC’s China correspondent chose to run a story alleging that Beijing was suppressing footage of the event – footage which, as Carlos points out, had been released by the Chinese port authorities at Gyirong and was circulating widely on Chinese platforms. A massive rescue operation, with the direct involvement of China’s top leadership, becomes a “muted response”; Communist Party members being asked to assist their neighbours becomes evidence of authoritarian anxiety.

The article also takes apart the BBC’s assertion that Tibet was “annexed” by Beijing in the 1950s – a formulation at odds even with the declared position of the British government, which abandoned the colonial-era doctrine of “suzerainty” in 2008.

Xi Jinping pays state visit to Egypt: “The people in the Middle East should be the masters of their own affairs”

Following his state visit to Kyrgyzstan and attendance at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit 2026, Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to Egypt, arriving in Cairo on the evening of September 1.

On that day, Xi published a signed article in Egypt’s three main newspapers, writing that he was, “Setting foot for the second time on this land nourished by the Nile. Just as an Egyptian proverb reads, ‘Once you drink from the Nile, you are destined to return’… Known for their age-old civilisations, China and Egypt have each contributed an invaluable intellectual legacy and splendid cultural heritage to the progress of humanity. The Yangtze River and the Yellow River gave birth to the Chinese civilisation, and the Nile was the cradle of the ancient Egyptian civilisation.”

Against this background: “Seventy years ago, China and Egypt officially established diplomatic relations, marking the start of New China’s friendly cooperation with Arab and African countries. For seven decades, the China-Egypt relationship has braved wind and rain and withstood the test of the changing international landscape. It has stayed on the right course, remained robust as ever, and sustained a strong momentum. It is a fine example for China’s cooperation with Arab states and Africa as a whole, and for friendship, solidarity and collaboration between developing countries.

“China and Egypt have always been close brothers standing by each other. In the struggle for national independence and against imperialism and colonialism, the people of our two countries forged profound friendship. China firmly supported Egypt’s sovereignty over the Suez Canal, and Egypt, alongside the majority of Asian, African, and Latin American and Caribbean countries, voted unequivocally in favour of the restoration of the lawful seat of the People’s Republic of China in the United Nations.”

Now, “Egypt is China’s major trading and investment partner in the Arab world and Africa, and one of the first countries to participate in Belt and Road cooperation. As early as ten years ago, President El-Sisi and I jointly unveiled the China-Egypt Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone.”

Xi pointed out that: “China and Egypt have always been sincere friends committed to equality and mutual trust. At the Bandung Conference in 1955, our two countries actively supported the anti-imperial and anti-colonial struggle, and jointly advanced Asian-African solidarity. Today, China and Egypt have shared goals and a common aspiration in upholding international order, championing fairness and justice, and practicing multilateralism. Both sides firmly support the just cause of the Palestinian people in restoring their legitimate national rights, and both are committed to facilitating the political settlement of hotspot issues and realising peace and stability in the region. This demonstrates our commitment, as Global South countries, to seeking strength through unity and upholding fairness and justice…

“We need to enhance mutual trust and serve as a model in carrying forward friendship. The friendship between our two countries was forged by the elder generations of our leaders. It is our honour and responsibility to carry forward, develop and promote this friendship. Our two sides should continue supporting each other on core interests and major concerns and deepen exchanges and cooperation at various levels and across all sectors to ensure that the baton of friendship is passed on from generation to generation.”

SCO adopts Bishkek Declaration: “More countries can now be expected to explore this alternative path”

The website of the President of Russia carried the text of the speech delivered by President Vladimir Putin at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit 2026 recently held in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek.

Vladimir Putin noted that: “The SCO has covered a really long path during these 25 years. I would like to remind you that the organisation, which was established in 2001 at the initiative of six states – Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan – has grown to become stronger, turning into an independent and influential centre of the emerging multipolar world. It has, de facto, become the largest regional association not only on our shared Eurasian continent but in the world as a whole. Nearly half of the global population lives in its countries, which account for over one-third of global GDP.”

Referring to the draft protocol on amending the fundamental SCO Charter, he explained that “all current observer states and dialogue partners will receive the newly-introduced SCO partner status. This decision will help streamline and expand mutually beneficial cooperation between the SCO and countries and international organisations which are interested in this cooperation.”

President Putin went on to note that: “Reciprocal trade and investment exchanges continue to expand each year. For example, Russia’s trade with the SCO member states exceeded US$400 billion last year. Our states use national currencies in mutual settlements more actively. Their share exceeds 98 percent in Russia’s operations with the organisation’s members.

“The SCO Business Council and the SCO Interbank Consortium make a major contribution to implementing joint mutually beneficial economic projects. The Development Bank, being established within the framework of our organisation, could take part in this work in the future. In my opinion, this bank should receive maximum independence from the financial systems of the states which weaponise economic tools in order to obtain unilateral advantages in international affairs.”

“Yesterday”, he continued, “we attended the opening ceremony of the World Nomad Games, which are currently taking place in the Kyrgyz Republic and in which representatives of many SCO member states, including Russia, are participating. Our country stands ready to host the next games in 2028 in Kazan, Russia. We will be pleased to welcome teams from all interested states.”

Concluding he noted: “I would like to remind you that today is September 1 – the day on which the Second World War began. We must do everything in our power to prevent a return to the global practice of instigating armed conflicts. I am convinced that our efforts are directed precisely towards this objective.”

The official website of the Russian head of state also reported that: “In conclusion of the meeting, the leaders signed and adopted the final documents, including the Bishkek Declaration, decisions of the SCO Heads of State Council on joint initiatives on combatting drug addiction and on countering the spread of synthetic drugs and their precursors for the period until 2030; initiatives for the conservation and sustainable management of biodiversity and a joint action plan for their implementation for 2026–2031; as well as scientific and technological cooperation programmes for creating the SCO Green Technology Corridor for 2026–2030.

“The SCO leaders also adopted decisions on declaring the city of Lahore (Pakistan) as the SCO Tourism and Cultural Capital for 2026–2027, and on signing a Memorandum of Understanding between the SCO Secretariat and the African Union Commission.

“The following documents were adopted without signing: the Declaration of the SCO Heads of State Council on Strengthening Multilateral Partnership for Nuclear and Physical Nuclear Security, statements of the SCO Heads of State Council on expanding interaction in energy conservation and energy efficiency, energy systems, on supporting and strengthening the institution of the family, and on assistance to states affected by disasters.”

The Morning Star newspaper carried a feature article by Kenny Coyle analysing the significance of the Bishkek Declaration.

According to Kenny: “If you wondered where world leaders were this past week, you certainly wouldn’t have found them in London, Brussels or Washington, not even Kiev. In fact, many of the most significant leaders were in Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic, from August 31 to September 1 at the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

“Despite disagreements on many critical issues, a joint statement, the ‘Bishkek Declaration’, was signed by Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, as well as other leaders of SCO member nations.”

Also underlining the growing economic significance and focus of the SCO, he writes: “This central concern, over the past quarter century, has been to break the US stranglehold over international finance and trade. The Bishkek Declaration strongly promotes the transformation of existing structures. ‘Member states support reform of the international financial architecture aimed at increasing the representation and strengthening the role of developing countries in the governing bodies of international financial institutions, including the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Monetary Fund’.”

The declaration also states that: “Member states, reaffirming their support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran, call for the conflict to be resolved exclusively through political and diplomatic means. In this regard, they welcome all efforts aimed at reducing tensions in the region.”

“On Afghanistan, which is a neighbour to several SCO members, it was stated that: ‘Member states reiterate that only an inclusive government with broad representation from all ethnic and political groups can bring lasting peace,’ and support ‘establishing Afghanistan as an independent, neutral and peaceful state free from terrorism, war and drugs.’ [Afghanistan also has observer status in the SCO. However, since the return to power of the Taliban its participation has largely been dormant.]

“On nuclear weapons and disarmament, the declaration reaffirmed support for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons by SCO ‘signatory members’. This is an important caveat, since neither India nor Pakistan are NPT signatories.”

[A more striking caveat is to be found in the part of the declaration dealing with China’s Belt and Road Initiative. It reads: “The Republic of Belarus, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan, and the Republic of Uzbekistan reaffirmed their support for the People’s Republic of China’s joint construction of the Belt and Road initiative, affirming the efforts of all parties to jointly implement the initiative, including promoting the alignment of the Belt and Road with the construction of the Eurasian Economic Union.” In other words, BRI is endorsed by all SCO members with the sole exception of India.]

At just over 4,200 words, the declaration also deals with a huge range of other issues.

Kenny concludes: “While far from perfect, the Bishkek Declaration is an example of what used to be understood in the West as ‘diplomacy’, the focus on multilateral discussions and agreements, however limited, stands in stark contrast to what is currently on offer from Washington. More countries can now be expected to explore this alternative path.”

SCO summit: Xi Jinping meets with Russian, Mongolian and Uzbek presidents

China’s President Xi Jinping met bilaterally with his counterparts from Russia, Mongolia and Uzbekistan on the afternoon of August 31 on the sidelines of the 2026 Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit held in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek.

In his meeting with the Russian president, Xi Jinping recalled Vladimir Putin’s successful state visit to China in May this year. During the visit, the two presidents mapped out plans from a strategic height and with a long-term perspective to steer the bilateral relations toward higher quality and higher levels and reached consensus on deepening cooperation in various fields under the new circumstances. The competent authorities of both countries are actively implementing those understandings. Many results have been achieved, and bilateral exchanges and cooperation have maintained a robust momentum of development.

President Xi emphasised that while uncertainties and unpredictable factors in the international landscape have significantly increased amid the accelerating global transformation unseen in a century, the aspiration of people around the world for peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit remains unchanged. The SCO has the important mission of safeguarding regional stability and promoting regional development. China is ready to work with Russia and all other parties to jointly draw up the blueprint for the organisation’s development, help it pursue steady and long-term progress, and boost the forces that steer global governance reform and advance an equal and orderly multipolar world.

President Vladimir Putin noted that despite the turbulent and complex international situation, Russia and China have steadily deepened their comprehensive strategic coordination, upheld equality, mutual trust, and mutual support, and enjoyed rapidly growing cooperation across different areas. Russia-China relations have become a model for state-to-state relations. With joint efforts of all parties, the SCO has become a dynamic and efficient regional cooperation platform with important international influence. Russia and China should continue to strengthen solidarity and cooperation within the organisation and play a lead role.

Meeting with President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa of Mongolia, President Xi Jinping noted that China and Mongolia are close neighbours connected by mountains and rivers, and that living peacefully together, supporting each other and pursuing win-win cooperation have always been the mainstream and defining features of their bilateral relations. China will continue to put China-Mongolia relations at an important position in its diplomacy with neighbouring countries.

China stands ready to work with Mongolia to foster greater synergy between their development strategies, advance cooperation in traditional areas such as trade, connectivity, energy, and minerals, explore cooperation potential in emerging areas such as green minerals, AI, and the digital economy, foster more sources of growth for mutually beneficial cooperation, and stride forward together on their paths toward modernisation.

President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa said that Mongolia and China are friendly neighbours and, in an ever-changing world, have consistently respected and trusted each other and remained a good neighbour to each other. China’s development offers great opportunities to its neighbouring countries and adds impetus to development in Asia and around the world. Deepening friendship and cooperation with China is a key priority in Mongolia’s diplomacy. The four major global initiatives and the vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity set out by President Xi Jinping bear great significance to upholding world peace and security, promoting sustainable development, and tackling global challenges. Mongolia will join efforts with China in their implementation.

In his meeting with President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan, President Xi Jinping stressed that no matter how the world changes, China will never waver in its position of deepening China-Uzbekistan friendship and will always support Uzbekistan in following a development path suited to its national conditions. The two sides should join hands to strive for more successes in bilateral cooperation. The two countries should promote the high-quality construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, expand cooperation in such areas as artificial intelligence and desertification control, and stay committed to pursuing mutual benefit and win-win outcomes. The two countries should maintain robust exchanges at subnational levels, accelerate the establishment of cultural centres in each other’s countries, expand cooperation in areas such as education and poverty reduction, and promote people-to-people connectivity.

President Sadyr Zhaparov: China is Kyrgyzstan’s closest friend and most reliable partner

From August 30 to September 3, Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit 2026 in Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan and paid a state visit to the country followed by one to Egypt.

Prior to his arrival in Bishkek, Xi published a signed article entitled “Jointly Opening up New Prospects for the High-Quality Development of China-Kyrgyzstan Relations” in the Kyrgyz media.

Invoking history, he wrote: “The ancient Silk Road is a testimony to the long-standing friendship between the two peoples. In both countries, the stories of historical figures such as Zhang Qian, Xuanzang and Li Bai — who had contributed to civilisational exchanges between China and Kyrgyzstan — are still widely told.”

Having surveyed a broad range of contemporary China-Kyrgyzstan relations, the Chinese leader noted: “With justice on our side, we have jointly navigated risks and challenges. Linked by mountains and rivers and bound by shared security, China and Kyrgyzstan are staunch defenders of regional security and stability. As founding members of the SCO as well as Global South countries, we share similar positions on upholding international fairness and justice and promoting open, inclusive development. Amid changing and volatile international and regional landscapes, we coordinate closely in multilateral frameworks, actively support each other’s major initiatives, and jointly advance an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalisation.”

He added: “We should take a long-term view, focus on high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and continuously upgrade practical cooperation. While strengthening existing cooperation in trade and investment, connectivity, and green mining, we should also cooperate in the digital economy, clean energy, artificial intelligence, and other emerging fields. We need to move forward with building the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, accelerate the revamping of land ports, and advance institutional connectivity alongside physical connectivity to facilitate the smooth flow of people and goods.

“We need to carry forward the traditional friendship. Our long-standing friendship is an invaluable asset. We should step up exchanges and cooperation in culture, tourism, art, media, think tank, youth, archaeology, and health to forge closer bonds. We should encourage our young people to study in each other’s countries and support more substantive outcomes from subnational exchanges. We need to spread the stories of our friendly exchanges and mutually beneficial cooperation to cement the foundation of people-to-people goodwill.

“We need to practice multilateralism. Kyrgyzstan’s historic election as a nonpermanent member of the United Nations Security Council is a cause for celebration. It presents us with an opportunity to enhance coordination across the UN, firmly uphold the UN-centered international system and the international order based on international law, act on the vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity and China’s four global initiatives, unequivocally oppose hegemonism, unilateralism, and bloc confrontation, jointly combat terrorism, separatism, and extremism, and bring into play a more just and equitable global governance system.

“Over the past 25 years, the SCO has fostered and followed the Shanghai Spirit of mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diversity of civilisations, and pursuit of common development. It has pioneered a new model of regional cooperation that features partnership instead of alliance, safeguards shared security and stability, and promotes common development and prosperity. It has become a comprehensive regional organisation with the widest geographical coverage, the largest population, and enormous potential. Since taking over the SCO presidency, Kyrgyzstan has carried out a great deal of productive work. China commends Kyrgyzstan’s efforts in building consensus among member states and advancing practical cooperation under the theme ‘Together Toward Sustainable Peace, Development, and Prosperity’.”

Xi held talks with President Sadyr Zhaparov of Kyrgyzstan on the morning of August 31.

President Xi Jinping stressed that the steady and sustained development of China-Kyrgyzstan relations is underpinned by high-level political mutual trust and unwavering mutual support. China firmly supports Kyrgyzstan in safeguarding sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and supports Kyrgyzstan in following a development path suited to its national conditions. China will work with Kyrgyzstan to continue rendering each other unwavering support on issues concerning each side’s core interests.

China supports Kyrgyzstan in playing a greater role in international and regional affairs and will work with Kyrgyzstan to further enhance coordination under the UN framework, jointly implement China’s four global initiatives, oppose hegemonism and power politics, stay committed to true multilateralism, uphold international fairness and justice, and make the global governance system more just and equitable. As founding members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, China and Kyrgyzstan should work for the implementation of the outcomes of the Tianjin Summit, promote the shared development of this region, and take the SCO to new heights.

President Sadyr Zhaparov said that it is a great honour to receive President Xi Jinping on the 35th anniversary of the independence of Kyrgyzstan. This visit further demonstrates the profound friendship and high-level political mutual trust between Kyrgyzstan and China and marks an important milestone in the development of bilateral relations.

As neighbours, the two countries have been bound together by the ancient Silk Road. In recent years, with the rapid growth of the Kyrgyzstan-China comprehensive strategic partnership for the new era, the bilateral relationship has entered a golden period and reached the highest level in history. Kyrgyzstan is grateful for China’s selfless support and assistance at every critical moment in Kyrgyzstan’s development. Kyrgyzstan warmly congratulates the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China and the start of the implementation of the country’s 15th Five-Year Plan, admires China’s remarkable development achievements under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, and is keen to learn from China’s governance experience, in particular President Xi Jinping’s resolve to serve the people selflessly and live up to their expectations. China has always been a high priority in Kyrgyzstan’s foreign policy and is Kyrgyzstan’s closest friend and most reliable partner. Kyrgyzstan firmly upholds the one-China principle and is ready to deepen good-neighbourliness and friendship with China on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit. Kyrgyzstan will enhance cooperation with China in such areas as trade, investment, connectivity, sci-tech innovation, energy, mining and green economy, step up exchanges in areas including education, health, culture and youth, and jointly combat terrorism, separatism and extremism to uphold regional security. Kyrgyzstan is ready to actively advance the construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, to make it a “steel and iron Silk Road” of the new era and a new bond of Kyrgyzstan-China friendship. The four global initiatives put forward by President Xi Jinping can help countries jointly address common challenges and make the international order more just and stable. Kyrgyzstan will enhance coordination with China in multilateral platforms including the UN, the SCO, the China-Central Asia mechanism, and the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organisation, to jointly uphold world peace and stability.

President Sadyr Zhaparov also extended condolences, on behalf of the government and people of Kyrgyzstan, over the devastating mudslide in Gyirong County, Xizang [Tibet] Autonomous Region. President Xi Jinping expressed his appreciation and noted that the Communist Party of China and the Chinese government are making every effort to conduct search-and-rescue operations for missing Chinese and foreign nationals, relocate disaster-affected people, treat the injured and guard against secondary disasters. Meanwhile, China has provided urgent assistance to Nepal. China has the capability and confidence to overcome the difficulties posed by the disaster and rebuild the devastated communities.

After their talks, the two heads of state signed the joint declaration between the People’s Republic of China and the Kyrgyz Republic on the high-quality development of the comprehensive strategic partnership for the new era and the treaty between the People’s Republic of China and the Kyrgyz Republic on permanent good-neighbourliness, friendship and cooperation, and witnessed the exchange of bilateral cooperation documents in areas including investment, transport, customs and sister-city relationships. During the visit, the two sides also signed more than 20 cooperation documents in areas such as science and technology, education, people-to-people exchanges and media.

Xi Jinping at SCO summit: “The trend toward a multipolar world is irreversible”

On the morning of September 1, President Xi attended the 26th meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO.

The meeting was chaired by President Sadyr Zhaparov of Kyrgyzstan, the current holder of the rotating presidency of the SCO, and attended by leaders of SCO member states, including President Aleksandr Lukashenko of Belarus, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, President Masoud Pezeshkian of Iran, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan, President Vladimir Putin of Russia, President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan, and Secretary General Nurlan Yermekbayev of the SCO.

Xi Jinping delivered a speech on the theme, “Toward Higher Quality Development of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.”

He pointed out that this year is the 25th anniversary of the SCO: “Twenty-five years ago, reckoning with the hard lessons of the Cold War, confronting the real threats from terrorist, separatist and extremist forces, and heeding the earnest aspirations of the world for peace and development, countries in our region came to a prevailing consensus on upholding sovereignty, security, and development interests. The SCO was founded in this context, and it has shown increasingly stronger vigour and vitality. Over the past 25 years, the SCO has travelled an extraordinary journey. Its biggest achievement is that it has steadily grown into a new type of regional cooperation organisation with the largest land area and population and enormous development potential. Its most valuable spiritual asset is that it pioneered, and has since followed invariably, the Shanghai Spirit of mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diversity of civilisations, and pursuit of common development. Its most important experience for cooperation is that it has found the right way of coexistence featuring non-alliance, non-confrontation and not targeting any third party, enabling regional countries to build a common home together. Twenty-five years later today, transformation not seen in a century is accelerating across the globe. The rivalry is intensifying between dialogue and confrontation, win-win and zero-sum, and multilateralism and unilateralism. The shadow of war continues to haunt the world. At such a crossroads with humanity’s future at stake, the SCO should step forward to shoulder its historical responsibility and steer the course for the future.”

In this regard, President Xi put forward four points:

Staying committed to putting development first and opening up the prospects for shared prosperity.
Staying committed to taking security as a key goal and fostering an environment of common security.
Staying committed to a people-centred approach, and cementing the foundation for everlasting friendship.
Staying committed to dialogue and consultation, and striving for more equitable and orderly governance. “We should always advocate that all countries, regardless of their size, are equal, and that regional affairs should be discussed by all countries to bridge differences and build consensus, properly handle differences through dialogue and consultation, and meet common challenges through multilateral collaboration.”

Leaders of the SCO member states signed and issued the Bishkek Declaration on the 25th Anniversary of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and approved a large number of other agreements and documents.

In the afternoon of September 1, President Xi attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Plus Meeting and delivered an important statement entitled “Jointly Advocating an Equal and Orderly Multipolar World and Making Global Governance More Just and Equitable”.

He pointed out that the meeting focuses on strengthening the role of the United Nations and building a multipolar world, and it demonstrates SCO’s commitment to reforming and improving global governance as required by our times. “Currently, major changes unseen in a century are accelerating across the globe. Hegemonism, unilateralism and protectionism are resurging against historical trends. Nevertheless, the overwhelming majority of the world do not condone power politics, conflict and confrontation, or isolation and backwardness. What they want instead is to hold a place on the world stage through national development and international cooperation. In recent years, the rise of the Global South is driving a profound shift in the international balance of power. The trend toward a multipolar world is irreversible.”

Xi stressed that as a responsible major country, China advocates for an equal and orderly multipolar world. Sovereign equality and mutual respect are fundamental principles. “Mutual benefit, win-win, and inclusiveness are the way forward for development. We should ensure equal rights, equal opportunities and equal rules for all countries, regardless of their size, strength and wealth. As an important part of a multipolar world and a key driving force behind it, the Global South countries ought to have greater representation and voice in international affairs. We should promote the common values of humanity, reject double standards, exceptionalism, foreign interference, bullying and the law of the jungle, and advance the rule of law in international relations. Major countries in particular should take the lead in observing international norms and honouring the rule of law, and work together to tackle global challenges. We need to uphold the principle that world affairs should be discussed by all, and international norms should be set by all. The authority and vitality of the UN need to be restored.”

Xi pointed out that after a 25-year journey, the SCO has successfully set a stellar example in conducting relations among big countries, among neighbours, and among countries of different sizes. It has successfully brought together half of the world’s population and a quarter of the global economy, generating strong driving forces for development. A more united and vibrant SCO is fully capable of making greater contributions to a multipolar world.

To this end he put forward three points:

We should advance common prosperity in the vast continent straddling Asia and Europe with the SCO Strength.
We should promote the development and rise of the Global South through the SCO Wisdom.
We should guide the reform and improvement of global governance through the SCO Action.

He concluded: “Let us take the people-centred and action-oriented approach, jointly advocate an equal and orderly multipolar world, make global governance more just and equitable, and build a community with a shared future for humanity.”

The meeting was chaired by President Sadyr Zhaparov of Kyrgyzstan, the current holder of the rotating presidency of the SCO, and attended by leaders of SCO member states, along with leaders of other countries invited, including Mongolia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Egypt, Laos, Türkiye, Vietnam, and Togo, and heads of international and regional organisations including UN Secretary General António Guterres.

China’s photovoltaic power capacity overtakes coal-fired power for first time

Solar is now China’s single largest power source by installed capacity. The country’s installed photovoltaic capacity reached 1,286 gigawatts at the end of July, overtaking coal for the first time. PV now accounts for over 30 percent of total installed capacity, and represents more than 40 percent of capacity added in 2026.

To give a frame of comparison: China’s solar capacity alone is now around ten times Britain’s entire generating capacity, from all sources. Under the current five-year plan, another 2,800 gigawatts of renewable capacity is to be integrated by 2030 – roughly double the whole installed capacity of the United States.

Note that installed capacity is not the same as generation. Solar produced 802.4 billion kilowatt-hours from January to July, which is 13 percent of China’s electricity consumption. Liu Zhiqiang of the China Electricity Council notes that PV is intermittent and volatile, that its utilisation hours are far below coal’s, and that “in the short term, coal-fired power will remain a major source of support for the power system in China”.

However, China is working rapidly on technological innovation, and plans to generate around 6 trillion kilowatt-hours of renewable energy annually by 2030, with over 4 trillion from wind and solar, alongside integrated PV-storage systems and PV hydrogen production.

The trajectory is clear. Coal supplied around 80 percent of China’s electricity at the start of this century. It fell below 50 percent of output in the first half of this year. Carbon emissions appear to have peaked in 2023, some seven years ahead of target.

The global significance of this is profound. China manufactures over 80 percent of the world’s solar modules and 70 percent of its wind equipment. That industrial scale is why the cost of renewable energy globally is a fraction of what it was 15 years ago. This collapse in price is the single most important factor making decarbonisation viable for much of the Global South.

Cuba, under an illegal blockade and suffering daily blackouts, has installed around 1,000 megawatts of Chinese solar in two years. Zambia is getting a solar plant with battery storage in every one of its 156 constituencies. Africa’s clean energy boom runs on Chinese equipment.

Meanwhile, the US is dismantling its clean energy industry while ramping up drilling. Britain is opening new North Sea fields. The EU imposes tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and solar panels that could help cut its emissions.

China’s remarkable progress in renewable energy is the product of long-term state direction, sustained public investment and the deliberate construction of a complete industrial chain over two decades – that is, the things Western journalists and politicians consistently denounce as distortion and overcapacity.

A global energy transition is being made possible by Chinese socialism.

Chinese project gives hope to West Bank children

A report published by the Xinhua News Agency on August 25 detailed a Chinese project to give both hope and practical skills to children on the West Bank in conjunction with the Palestinian Popular Struggle Front.

One hundred and thirty-six children participated in a 10-month initiative combining education, extracurricular activities and psychosocial support.

The Volunteer for Hope organisation, affiliated with the Palestinian Popular Struggle Front, held a ceremony on August 24, attended by some 100 people, including Sun Zhen, head of the Chinese Office in Palestine, and Ahmed Majdalani, secretary-general of the Palestinian Popular Struggle Front and a Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) Executive Committee member, to mark its successful conclusion.

Funded by the Chinese Office in Palestine, the project included 71 girls and 65 boys and provided 803 hours of educational and training activities, including lessons in English, mathematics and science, alongside activities in chess, Dabke (a traditional Palestinian folk dance), journalism and artificial intelligence applications.

In terms of psychosocial support, 97 children participated in group emotional expression activities, while 28 mothers took part in parenting-related activities.

Xinhua noted that: “The initiative comes as children in the West Bank face growing obstacles to regular education amid movement restrictions, deteriorating security conditions and school disruptions.”

Hind Ayyad, director of the Leaders of Tomorrow project at Volunteer for Hope said that the project had helped children become more confident and encouraged them to remain engaged with education, while expressing hope for continued friendship between the Palestinian and Chinese peoples.

Palestinian Popular Struggle Front leader Majdalani highlighted China’s support and stressed the importance of investing in children and young people as an investment in the future of Palestinian society.

Head of the Chinese Office in Palestine Sun Zhen said Chinese assistance to Palestine was rooted in the friendship between the two peoples, describing “voluntary support” and “hope” as two keywords for Chinese aid. He expressed hope that the participating children would grow into active contributors to their homeland and ambassadors of friendship between the Chinese and Palestinian people.

Zimbabwe: Learning from China to enhance land reform

Zimbabwe can draw lessons from China on unlocking the economic value of agricultural land through secure, bankable, registrable, and transferable title deeds, thereby consolidating the gains of its land reform programme.

This was stated by Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Mthuli Ncube at a high-level stakeholder meeting on land tenure reform held in the capital Harare on August 27.

“China demonstrates that value can be unlocked even where underlying rural land remains collectively owned,” Ncube said. “By certifying long-term household contract rights and allowing operational rights to be leased, transferred and consolidated, China created room for investment at scale while protecting the underlying rights of rural households.”

Providing secure tenure has the potential to unlock up to 20 billion US dollars currently unaccounted for in the national gross domestic product, he noted, adding: “We must collectively transform the land in the hands of our people into a foundation for increased production, decent jobs, exports, rural industrialisation and sustainable national prosperity.”

New book: China’s Foreign Policy and the Making of a Multipolar World

Friends of Socialist China is delighted to announce the publication of China’s Foreign Policy and the Making of a Multipolar World: Changes unseen in a century, edited by Keith Bennett and Carlos Martinez and published by Praxis Press. The book is available now in paperback and as an ePub.

The volume aims to set out the broad contours, historical background and theoretical underpinnings that shape and guide China’s practice on the global stage. What are the historical roots of China’s foreign policy? What are its theoretical foundations? How has it been applied in practice, across radically different historical circumstances? Is China an imperialist power? Is its foreign policy “good enough”? And what does China’s rise mean for the rest of humanity – for the Global South, for peace, and for the struggle to build a just world order?

The ten essays collected here approach these questions from a range of angles, but they share a common premise: that China’s emergence as a global power, far from being a threat to humanity, offers the best hope for a peaceful, multipolar and ultimately socialist future.

Alongside the editors, the contributors are Ken Hammond, Andrew Murray, Jenny Clegg, Danny Haiphong, Cheng Enfu, Torkil Lauesen and Michael Dunford, with a foreword by João Pedro Stédile, founding member of the national leadership of Brazil’s Landless Workers’ Movement (MST).

Buy the paperback

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Edgar Snow and George Hatem – Friendship beyond borders

As part of its series of articles celebrating the 90^th anniversary of the successful conclusion of the Long March, China Today recently wrote about how two young Americans, Edgar Snow and George Hatem (Ma Haide) witnessed the Long March spirit up close and shared it with the world, demonstrating the enduring power of international friendship transcending borders.

After the Central Red Army had arrived in northern Shaanxi in October 1935, Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai wrote to Soong Ching-ling, the widow of Chinese revolutionary leader Dr. Sun Yat-sen and a prominent revolutionary fighter herself, seeking her recommendation for an impartial foreign journalist and a highly skilled foreign doctor to visit the liberated area, conduct on-the-ground investigations, and present the truth to the world. Soong immediately recommended Edgar Snow, an American journalist, and George Hatem, an American doctor of Lebanese descent.

In June 1936, arranged by underground Communist Party of China (CPC) agents, Snow and Hatem broke through the blockades of the Kuomintang military and police, arriving in Bao’an (today’s Zhidan County of Yan’an City, Shaanxi Province), the capital of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia revolutionary base, in mid-July. Mao Zedong received them, and Zhou Enlai drew up an itinerary of approximately three months for their investigation and interviews.

Snow thus became the first foreign journalist to provide a complete account of the Long March to the outside world, while Hatem became the first foreign doctor to join the Red Army and participate in the Chinese revolution.

During his nearly four months in Bao’an, Snow lived in a cave dwelling and conducted dozens of long conversations with Mao Zedong. He returned to Beiping (present-day Beijing) in October 1936. One year later, Red Star Over China was published in London and immediately caused a sensation. As the US historian and Harvard professor John King (JK) Fairbank said, the book opened a new window for the West to understand China. Then US President Franklin D. Roosevelt was also moved by the book and invited Snow to the White House.

Hatem had originally intended only to conduct a medical survey. However, while reviewing medical records at the Red Army’s field hospital and conducting clinics for chronically ill soldiers and civilians, he saw many Long March survivors left permanently disabled due to the lack of medicine and medical care. Deeply moved, he told Snow, “They need doctors here so badly. I’m not leaving.”

In August 1936, Hatem accompanied Snow to Yuwangbu in Ningxia (today’s Tongxin County), where he guided rescue efforts at a frontline field hospital and treated local Muslim residents of the Hui ethnic group. He observed the equality between officers and soldiers, their shared hardships, and their close bonds with the people.

Entrusted by Mao Zedong, Hatem spent more than a month surveying the needs of the Red Army’s medical teams. On submitting his survey report to Mao Zedong, he applied to stay and join the Red Army. Mao praised the report, welcomed him into the Red Army, and appointed him as an advisor to the Health Department of the Central Military Commission.

Because of his Lebanese ancestry and his basic knowledge of Arabic, Hatem was deeply respected by the Hui people. Noticing that most local Hui people had the surname Ma, he adopted the Chinese name “Ma Haide” to better connect with the local people. In February 1937, he was admitted into membership of the CPC, becoming the first foreigner to join the party.

Ma Haide devoted the rest of his life to the Chinese revolution as a member of the Communist Party of China and a citizen of the People’s Republic of China. He died in Beijing on October 3, 1988, at the age of 78 and is buried at the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery.

We reproduce the article below. Previous articles from the series can be read here and here.

China at UN: Resolution of Palestine question is long overdue

Speaking at a UN Security Council Briefing on the Palestine-Israel Issue held on August 26, Chinese Ambassador Fu Cong said that: “Recently, the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory has continued to escalate, with a sharp increase in violence, repeated trampling of fairness and justice, and repeated breaches of the moral bottom line, casting an even darker shadow over the prospects for resolving the Palestinian question. The Palestinian people have endured immense suffering, with generations waiting for historical injustices to be redressed.”

He made three points:

No effort should be spared to uphold the ceasefire in Gaza and restore peace and stability at an early date. Recently, the Board of Peace announced progress on the arrangements for the second phase of the ceasefire agreement. Israel not only openly rejected them but went even further by escalating its deadly attacks on Gaza, undermining the fragile situation there. The facts have made it abundantly clear that the fundamental reason why lasting peace has yet to be achieved in Gaza is the lack of political will for peace, and that the biggest obstacle is the dangerous attempt to deliberately prolong the hostilities.
Acts of violence and annexation must be stopped and tensions in the West Bank eased. The security situation in the West Bank is becoming increasingly precarious and acts of violence against Palestinian civilians are appalling. In recent days, settlers in the West Bank have besieged Palestinian residents for days in an attempt to drive them out and seize their homes. China strongly condemns such acts. Any attempt at the de facto annexation of the West Bank is unacceptable. All settlement activities violate international law and Security Council resolutions and must cease immediately.
International fairness and justice must be upheld and the implementation of the two-State solution advanced. Palestine is the homeland of all Palestinians. Governance of the West Bank and post-war reconstruction in Gaza should be advanced in accordance with the principle of Palestinians governing Palestine. The international community should act on the basis of international law, with the aim of addressing both the symptoms and root causes and through practical actions, support the just cause of the Palestinian people in pursuing their legitimate national rights… The legitimate right of Palestinian leaders to attend the general debate of the United Nations General Assembly should be safeguarded.

In his conclusion, Fu Cong noted: “The Palestine question has been on the United Nations agenda for more than 70 years. Its resolution is long overdue.”

China and India make progress on boundary issue

The 25th Round of Talks Between the Special Representatives of China and India on the Boundary Question was held in Beijing on August 25, making significant progress towards resolving the key outstanding issue between Asia’s two biggest developing countries.

The talks were headed by China’s Special Representative, Foreign Minister Wang Yi and India’s Special Representative and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. They were described as comprehensive, in-depth, friendly and candid, and besides the boundary question included bilateral relations as well as other issues.

Wang Yi noted that China and India are important neighbours to each other, and both are major developing countries and representatives of emerging economies. A sound and steady development of China-India relations serves the fundamental interests of the two peoples, meets the common aspiration of Global South countries, and conforms to the trend of the times. The China-India relationship has gone beyond the bilateral scope and bears global and strategic significance. In recent years, President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi held two meetings in Kazan and Tianjin [at the 2024 and 2025 summit meetings of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) respectively], reaching a series of important common understandings that charted the course for the improvement and development of bilateral relations. The two sides should draw lessons from history, place the boundary question in an appropriate position in bilateral relations, keep moving forward without stagnation, regression or deviation, and gradually foster a positive narrative on China-India boundary affairs, making dialogue, peace, consultation and cooperation the mainstream, so as to inject positive factors into the sound and steady development of bilateral relations.

Ajit Doval said that India and China are both ancient civilisations, populous countries and major economies, and are cooperative partners rather than competitors. A stable, predictable and forward-looking India-China relationship serves the common interests of the two peoples and is of great significance to Asia and the world at large. India is ready to work with China to further intensify strategic communication, expand mutually beneficial cooperation, deepen multilateral coordination, effectively manage the border areas, explore solutions to the boundary question, and promote faster improvement and development of India-China relations.

The two sides agreed the Eight Points of Outcomes and Consensus for the 25th Round of Talks Between Special Representatives of China and India on the Boundary Question.

Ajit Doval also met with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng on the same day.

Han said that China and India should view and handle bilateral relations from a strategic and long-term perspective, and work together to implement the important consensus reached by their leaders. The two sides should enhance strategic mutual trust, tap the potential for cooperation, maintain close multilateral coordination, properly manage differences, and promote the sustained and stable development of China-India relations.

Doval said that as the world’s two most populous and fastest-growing major economies, India and China have a historic opportunity for cooperation, adding that India stands ready to work with China to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, properly address the boundary question and make new progress in bilateral relations.

Xi Jinping puts forward four-point proposal to help resolve Palestinian issue

King Abdullah II of Jordan paid a state visit to China from August 18 to 24 at the invitation of President Xi Jinping.

Xi met with the Jordanian monarch on the afternoon of August 24. During the meeting, the Chinese president said that the Palestinian question is the core of the Middle East issue, and efforts to resolve it should be guided by four principles:

We must uphold political settlement, adhere to the two-State solution as the right direction, work for the resumption of peace talks between Palestine and Israel, and realise the early establishment of an independent State of Palestine.

We must uphold the principle of Palestinians governing Palestine. Palestine is the homeland of all Palestinians. The principle of Palestinians governing Palestine should be followed in advancing the governance of the West Bank and postwar reconstruction of Gaza.

We must uphold humanitarianism. The international community, particularly the UN Security Council, should truly take up the responsibility to keep civilians safe, ensure the delivery of humanitarian assistance, and put an end to humanitarian disasters.

We must uphold fairness and justice. We should act on the basis of international rule of law, aim at addressing both the symptoms and root causes, and take practical actions to realise a comprehensive, just and lasting resolution of the Palestinian question at an early date.

Meanwhile, it has been announced that Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to Egypt, his first in ten years. Between August 30 to September 3, Xi will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit 2026 in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek and pay a state visit to Kyrgyzstan and Egypt. His visit to Egypt will mark the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two nations. Under the leadership of Gamal Abdul Nasser, Egypt was the first Arab and African country to establish diplomatic relations with China. This followed the meeting between Nasser and Chinese premier Zhou Enlai at the Africa Asia Conference held in Bandung, Indonesia the previous year.

Michael Roberts: WAPE 2026 – Adam Smith, imperialism and financialisation

The following report by the Marxist economist Michael Roberts covers the 19th Congress of the World Association of Political Economy (WAPE), held at the University of Greenwich in London – a Chinese-initiated academic body that brings together Marxist economists from across the world.

This year’s theme was Adam Smith, 250 years after the publication of The Wealth of Nations. WAPE chair Cheng Enfu of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences argued that Smith has been badly misrepresented by the free-marketeers who claim him: he explained modern economies not through markets alone but through the social division of labour, moral norms and the role of the state. Several papers were devoted to rescuing Smith from neoliberalism. But as Cheng also noted, Smith’s labour theory of value was contradictory – he held that labour creates value while also reverting to a theory based on “factors of production”, and it is the latter that modern mainstream economics kept and the former that it discarded.

Roberts’s own paper, on imperialist exploitation, concludes that under imperialism the poor countries of the world will never close the gap with the Global North – with one exception. On present trends, no BRICS country will reach the current high-income level within twenty years except China, which he projects will get there by 2041 and match the projected rich-country level by 2046. His explanation is that value is persistently transferred from South to North, and that profitability across the Global South is falling faster than productivity is rising, choking off investment. China is the exception because its investment growth is less determined by profitability than that of any other major Global South economy – which is to say, because it is a socialist country with a planned core.

Roberts was also presented with a WAPE award for his significant contribution to Marxian economics.

Brazil’s election is the next front line in Washington’s war against a multipolar world

Brazil goes to the polls on 4 October, and Washington is treating a sovereign election as its own affair – Magnitsky sanctions on the Supreme Court judge who jailed Bolsonaro for attempting a coup, a 50 percent tariff whose removal was openly tied to his release, and a terrorism designation that Brazil’s own Foreign Ministry has warned could be used to justify US military action on Brazilian soil.

The following article by Friends of Socialist China co-editor Carlos Martinez and the Brazilian journalist Sara Vivacqua sets out that campaign of interference. Of particular interest to readers here is what makes Brazil, in their phrase, a hard nut for Washington to crack – and much of the answer lies in its relationship with China.

Brazil now trades more with China than with the United States, and is challenging US tariffs at the World Trade Organisation with Beijing joining the case. China buys more than a quarter of everything Brazil exports. The two countries increasingly settle accounts directly in reais and yuan, backed by a central bank swap line of 190 billion yuan – around $28 billion – cleared outside New York. Chinese investment committed to Brazil reached $6.1 billion in 2025, and BYD now assembles electric vehicles at Camaçari, on the site Ford abandoned in 2021. When the July duties took effect, Xi Jinping telephoned Lula to pledge Beijing’s support for Brazilian sovereignty against “external interference”, and the year set a fresh bilateral trade record.

The authors conclude that the more of the relationship that sits beyond the dollar, the less a hostile US Treasury can squeeze. We recently published a related article by Sara Vivacqua on the same theme.

Responding to left criticisms of China’s foreign policy

In this discussion with Radhika Desai, Friends of Socialist China co-editor Carlos Martinez confronts the charge, common even on parts of the left, that Beijing does far too little for Palestine, Iran, Cuba and Venezuela.

The conversation traces China’s foreign policy from the internationalism of Bandung and the Non-Aligned Movement, through its rapprochement with Washington and entry into the world economy, to its pursuit of a Global Community of Shared Future. Carlos argues that the criticisms rest on a misreading of what China is and what it can do – that a country still in the primary stage of socialism, subject to sanctions, encirclement and technology blockade, is being held to a standard never applied to any other state, and judged against an imagined capacity it does not possess.

He also addresses what China actually does: its consistent votes and vetoes at the United Nations, its material and diplomatic support for Cuba and Venezuela under blockade, its position on Palestinian statehood and the Beijing Declaration on Palestinian unity, and its insistence that unilateral sanctions have no basis in international law.

The video is embedded below, followed by a full transcript.

Transcript

Radhika Desai: Hello, viewers and listeners. Welcome to the Geopolitical Economy interview, a series in which I speak with prominent intellectuals, scholars, politicians, journalists, activists and public figures to illuminate the fast-changing political economy and geopolitical economy of our times.

I’m Radhika Desai and you’re watching Radhika Desai, Geopolitical Economist. Today’s topic is China’s foreign policy towards the United States and the West on the one hand, and the oppressed — and I should say oppressed and embattled — nations such as Palestine, Cuba, Venezuela and Iran on the other, in the broader context of rising multipolarity. How should the left make sense of it, particularly given that sections of the left have criticised China for not doing enough for precisely these countries?

I can think of few people better qualified to address this question than Carlos Martinez, who joins me today. Welcome, Carlos.

Carlos Martinez: Hi, Radhika. Lovely to see you. Good to be with you.

Radhika Desai: It’s really great to have you today, Carlos. Let me tell our audience that you are an independent scholar and researcher, co-editor of the increasingly important and influential Friends of Socialist China website, and author and editor of many books on China and on socialism — including the one on China, which is called The East Is Still Red, and the wonderfully titled book on the demise of the USSR, The End of the Beginning. You meant, of course, that this was just the end of the beginning of world socialism.