In the following contributed article, Bhabani Shankar Nayak salutes the Chinese people on the 75th anniversary of their revolution, noting that the founding of the People’s Republic constituted a triumph over imperialism, colonialism and feudalism. However, imperialist aggression against China continues in the midst of the country’s stellar progress in all fields, which stands in stark contrast to the crises enveloping the capitalist world.
Bhabani Shankar Nayak is a Professor of Business Management at London Metropolitan University. He is the author or editor of numerous books and articles on China and other issues related to development in the Global South.
On October 1, 1949, the revolutionary people of China established the People’s Republic of China (PRC) under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), this being the culmination of a protracted struggle that saw the defeat of Western imperialism, Japanese colonialism, and Chinese feudal warlords, all of whom had unleashed a ‘white terror’ on communists, revolutionaries and the Chinese people generally. Even after the defeat of Japanese militarism, American imperialists supported the so-called nationalist government of Chiang Kai-shek in an attempt to defeat the communists and undermine the victory of the Chinese revolution.
Imperialist aggression against China continues to this day, as the Chinese people celebrate seventy-five years of their revolutionary republic, while progressing along the path of revolution, reform, and redistributive development centreed on the people. The peace, progress, and prosperity in China define its development path, shaped by the resilient and revolutionary spirit of its people under the leadership of the CPC, whose motto is ‘Serve the People’. The journey from the semi-colonial period of shame and humiliation from the mid-19th century onwards to China’s rise to the position of the second-largest economy is a testament to the resilience and dignity of the Chinese people. It is celebration of the abilities of Chinese people and their indomitable spirit.
What have China and its people achieved over the last seventy-five years?
In 1949, China was economically backward, feudalism was endemic, and the people suffered from poverty, hunger, and homelessness. Over the past seven and a half decades, the Chinese people have transformed their agrarian society into an industrial powerhouse, producing quality goods and efficient services for the world. Unprecedented economic growth, coupled with redistributive development policies, has led to the complete eradication of extreme poverty and hunger. Universal access to food, education, and healthcare has contributed to the development of a scientifically advanced society in China, with a rising standard of living, while capitalist countries are facing economic and social crises. The Chinese people have built technologically advanced infrastructure, new cities, ports, airports, and high-speed rail networks that are more efficient than their capitalist counterparts in America and Europe. China’s lunar and Mars missions exemplify the significant progress the country has made in space exploration and scientific innovation. Despite this rapid modernisation, the Chinese people have not forgotten to reclaim their cultural heritage, celebrating their diversity through art, film, music, literature, language, and fashion.
The Chinese policy of peaceful coexistence and a collaborative approach to building a global community with a shared and sustainable future, aimed at addressing global challenges, offers an alternative to a divided world plagued by imperialist wars. The Global Development Initiative (GDI), Global Civilisation Initiative (GCI) and Global Security Initiative (GSI) are examples of the Chinese approach to global peace and development based on solidarity and cooperation. Such an alternative is not acceptable to American and European hegemons, as it fundamentally opposes their capitalist interests under the guise of democracy dominated by markets, where the majority of people are marginalised. The Chinese vision for global peace and solidarity stands in stark contrast to the confrontational, dominating, competitive, and rent-seeking capitalist approach, which prioritises large corporations while people suffer from never-ending crises.
Therefore, there is relentless propaganda against China and its hardworking people. Phrases like “Chinese goods are cheap”, “Chinese low-quality products”, “Chinese cheap labour”, “Chinese virus”, “Chinese human rights violations”, “expansionist China”, and “Chinese domination and dictatorship” are part of a propaganda campaign designed to undermine the achievements of the Chinese people and their revolution. The Chinese alternative is an anathema to the racial capitalism where the budget for war is prioritised over those for education and health. In China, the state works for the people and their welfare, whereas in capitalist countries, governments serve corporate interests for profits. It is time to expose the hypocrisies of the West and celebrate the achievements of the Chinese people over the last seventy-five years. These achievements offer hope for working people around the world. Thus, celebrating the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China is a global event for working people. It is a milestone in the revolutionary history of working-class achievements.
The 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, on October 1, was marked in Ireland with a reception hosted by the Chinese Embassy in Dublin as well as with a statement issued by the Communist Party of Ireland (CPI).
Ambassador He Xiangdong, together with his wife Xia Lining, hosted a reception for more than 300 people on the evening of September 26.
Early in his speech, Ambassador He underlined the importance of people-to-people diplomacy by recalling a special moment in China-Ireland relations:
“Here, I would like to pay special tribute to a few special guests. Mr. Kevin Carey, Mr. Patrick Dwyer, Mr. John McGrath, Mr. Norman Plunkett, Mr. Brian Purcell and Mr. Martin Moran. They are among the earliest Irish ‘envoys’ to the new China. In 1976, three years before the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Ireland, these five gentlemen and their teammates of the UCD [University College Dublin] football team paid a three-week visit to China. They visited Beijing, Shanghai, Changsha, Nanchang, Hangzhou and Guangzhou, and shared their experiences in Irish newspapers, opening a window for the Irish people at that time to know something about China. The spirit of curiosity, exploration and inclusiveness of these young people is still the source of power for the continuing development of China-Ireland relations.”
The Ambassador summarised 75 years of achievements in socialist nation building as follows:
“The past 75 years have witnessed the tremendous development and progress that China has made under the leadership of the Communist Party of China and by the hard-working Chinese people.
–We have historically solved the problem of absolute poverty, and more than 1.4 billion Chinese people have entered a well-off society.
–We have continuously developed the whole-process people’s democracy, and the people’s right to be masters of their own lives and their own country has been more fully realised.
–We have deepened the reform of the judicial system, strengthened the construction of a safe and law-abiding China, and made China one of the safest and most peaceful countries in the world.
–We have built the world’s largest education system, social security system, and medical and health system, and continuously enhanced the people’s sense of gain, happiness, and security.
–We have contributed 25% of the world’s new green area since the beginning of this century, built the world’s largest clean power generation network, with the largest installed capacity of hydropower, wind and solar power in the world. With an average annual energy consumption growth rate of 3%, we have supported an average annual economic growth of more than 6% and contributed to the global response to climate change and green transformation.
–We are committed to promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. While achieving our own development, we provide assistance to more than 160 countries and international organisations to the best of our ability to help many other countries improve their people’s livelihood and move towards the goal of common development.”
He added: “We live in a world of interdependence where the destinies of nations are intertwined. China’s growth and development have been closely linked to its engagement with the global community, including Ireland. Looking into the past, China has proven itself as a partner to Europe and Ireland, not a rival, not a challenger, let alone a threat.
“For China, Ireland is a friend worthy of respect and trust, a bridge for China-EU cooperation and a partner in promoting globalisation. China’s further comprehensive deepening of reform and promotion of Chinese-style modernisation will bring new opportunities for China-Ireland practical cooperation and play a constructive role in maintaining the competitiveness of Irish companies. Let us join hands to promote the sustained and stable development of bilateral relations and build a bright future for Ireland and China.”
Former Taoiseach (Prime Minister) and Co-Chair of the Inter Action Council Bertie Ahern responded, speaking highly of China’s development achievements and praising the country for always being a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development, and a defender of international order. Ireland looks forward to the new high of Ireland-China relations and better benefits for the two countries and two peoples.
Meanwhile, in a statement published on social media, the Communist Party of Ireland sent, “revolutionary greetings to the Communist Party of China and to the Chinese people on the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the People’s Republic of China.”
The CPI noted that: “The victory of the Chinese Revolution shook the foundations of the system of colonial exploitation and sounded the death knell for the old European colonial empires. China’s example inspired other subject peoples in their struggles against colonialism and imperialism… In the 75 years since its foundation, the People’s Republic serves as an example to millions suffering under capitalist and imperialist exploitation.”
The following articles were originally published on the website of the Chinese Embassy in Dublin and on Instagram by the CPI.
The Chinese Embassy in Ireland held a Reception to Celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China
Sep 27 (Chinese Embassy in Ireland) — On September 26, Ambassador He Xiangdong and Madame Xia Lining held a reception to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Ambassador He, former Taoiseach and Co-Chair of Inter Action Council Bertie Ahern delivered speeches at the reception.
Ambassador He briefed the great achievements China has made in politics, economy, social security, green development, and international cooperation since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, and emphasized that the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee made systematic arrangements for further deepening reform and promoting Chinese-style modernization, which will bring new opportunities for China-Ireland practical cooperation.
Mr. Bertie Ahern spoke highly of China’s development achievements and praised China for always being a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development, and a defender of international order. Ireland look forward to the new high of Ireland-China relations and better benefits for the two countries and two peoples.
More than 300 guests from the Irish Government, Houses of the Oireachtas, Defense Forces, County and City councils, Diplomatic Corps, and various local communities attended the reception.
China used the 2024 session of the United Nations General Assembly, held in New York in the last week of September, to further intensify its diplomatic push for a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Ukraine.
On September 27, a ministerial meeting of the “Friends for Peace” group on the Ukraine crisis was held at the UN headquarters, co-chaired by Foreign Minister Wang Yi along with Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira and Chief Advisor of the Presidency of Brazil Celso Luiz Nunes Amorim. Representatives from 17 Global South countries were present, including the foreign ministers of Egypt, Indonesia, South Africa, Mexico and Zambia.
Wang Yi said, “We gather here with a single purpose: to seek peace… The original intention of this meeting is to unite more forces and amplify stronger voices to contribute Global South countries’ efforts to promoting a ceasefire and achieving lasting peace.”
He emphasised that in the choice between peace and war, the world must resolutely choose peace. “The more critical the situation and the more serious the crisis, the more we cannot give up hope for peace, and the more we cannot slacken our efforts for peace.”
In the choice between dialogue and confrontation, it is essential to firmly choose dialogue. No matter how great the conflicts or how deep the contradictions are, everything must ultimately return to the track of dialogue and negotiation. At the onset of the full escalation of the Ukraine crisis, both Russia and Ukraine were close to reaching an agreement, but it ultimately fell through, and the reasons for this should be reflected upon. [This clearly refers to the efforts of a handful of imperialist countries, principally the United States and Britain, to pressurise, goad and incite Ukraine to reject peace, even when they had already agreed to terms that would have ended the conflict.]
Wang Yi added that Brazil, China, South Africa, Egypt, Indonesia, Türkiye and other countries, as partners of the Global South committed to the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis, agreed to launch the “Friends of Peace” initiative on the Ukraine crisis at the platform of the United Nations. The “Friends of Peace” platform is not about taking sides in the conflict, engaging in bloc confrontation, or replacing existing platforms. It is open and welcomes the joining of more like-minded countries, in particular, Global South countries.
In a joint communique issued by the meeting, the participating countries underlined the importance of peaceful solutions for all international conflicts, whilst continuing to promote the spirit of solidarity and partnership between nations, as emphasised by the Bandung principles.
It further stated:
“We call for increased humanitarian assistance and protection of civilians, including women and children. Civilian infrastructures, including peaceful nuclear facilities and other energy facilities should not be the targets of military operation. We support mediation efforts for the exchange of prisoners of war (POWs) between the parties to the conflict.
“We call for refraining from the use or the threat of weapons of mass destruction, particularly nuclear weapons and chemical and biological weapons. All efforts must be made to prevent nuclear proliferation and avoid a nuclear war. All parties must comply with relevant international laws and agreements and resolutely prevent man-made nuclear accidents.”
The following articles were originally published on the website of the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
“Friends for Peace” Group on the Ukraine Crisis Set up in the United Nations
Sep 28 (MFA) — On September 27, 2024 local time, a ministerial meeting of the “Friends for Peace” group on the Ukraine crisis was held at the UN headquarters in New York. The meeting was co-chaired by Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi as well as Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira and Chief Advisor of the Presidency of Brazil Celso Luiz Nunes Amorim. Representatives from 17 Global South countries were present, including Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Ozzy Lamola, Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena, and Zambian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Mulambo Haimbe.
Wang Yi said, “We gather here with a single purpose: to seek peace.” The Ukraine crisis has entered its third year. The fighting is still raging, the risks of spillover are rising, the dawn of peace has yet to emerge, and the developments in the situation are concerning. The original intention of this meeting is to unite more forces and amplify stronger voices to contribute Global South countries’ efforts to promoting a ceasefire and achieving lasting peace.
We reprint below the message of greetings that was sent from the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), which was read to the events held by Friends of Socialist China in London and New York marking the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
In their message, the Palestinian comrades note that China is known for defending the cause of the Palestinian people and that it sponsored dialogue between the Palestinian factions to achieve internal unity and consensus on a Palestinian government, with the aim of stopping projects related to the future of the Gaza Strip that do not reflect the ambitions of the Palestinian people.
We were honoured to receive this message sent from the embattled and heroic city of Beirut.
It has been lightly edited by us for style.
Dear Comrades
The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) sends its greetings to the participants, and hopes for the success of the conference on the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, known for defending the cause of the Palestinian people who face an Israeli colonial and apartheid regime, which commits massacres and crimes against the Palestinian people; and which sponsored dialogue between the Palestinian factions to achieve internal unity and consensus on a Palestinian government, with the aim of stopping projects related to the future of the Gaza Strip that do not reflect the ambitions of the Palestinian people.
The DFLP appreciates your struggle in defending the rights of the Palestinian people stipulated in international legitimacy resolutions, specifically their right to self-determination and ending the Israeli occupation of their lands based on the decision of the International Court of Justice, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital and the return of refugees to their homes in accordance with UN Resolution 194.
The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) points out the necessity of sustaining the relationship between us in order to defend the interests of the people and confront global imperialism that contributes to the destruction of societies and countries, as well as with all leftist parties that are struggling to reach this goal.
The DFLP hopes you continue to provide your permanent political support to the Palestinian people and the just Palestinian cause.
The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine
In the following article, Robert Griffiths, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Britain (CPB), surveys the proud history of solidarity between the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB, founded in 1920) and the Communist Party of China (CPC, founded in 1921), up to the founding of the People’s Republic in 1949 and the outbreak of war in Korea the following year.
Noting the British colonial presence in China since the seizure of Hong Kong in 1841, he writes that the CPGB was well aware of its responsibility in the “belly of the beast” to oppose British imperialism’s machinations.
After British colonial police shot down striking workers in Shanghai in May 1923, the CPGB launched a militant ‘Hands off China’ campaign. In 1927, Tom Mann, a leading CPGB trade unionist, embarked on a five-month mission to China on behalf of the Red International of Labour Unions. Speaking on arrival, he accused the “British imperialist pirates” of filling history with numerous bloody pages.
In his maiden speech to parliament, having been elected as the Communist MP for West Fife in 1935, Willie Gallacher spoke out against the British government’s acquiescence in Japan’s aggression against China.
The Labour government of Clement Attlee announced its recognition of the newly founded People’s Republic on January 6, 1950, but less than a year later Chinese and British troops were confronting each other as the cold war turned hot on the Korean peninsula. The CPGB responded with a courageous ‘Hands off Korea’ campaign.
This article was originally carried in the special supplement marking the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, which was compiled and edited by Friends of Socialist China and published together with the Morning Star on Saturday, September 28, to coincide with our conference the same day.
The PDF of the full Morning Star supplement may be downloaded here.
Inspired by Russia’s Bolshevik Revolution, the Communist Party of China (CPC) held its founding congress in July 1921.
With the inability of the nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) to consolidate its authority and therefore its failure to lift the country out of its semi-colonial and semi-feudal state, intellectuals and workers had begun studying the ideas of Marxism.
Since Britain’s seizure of Hong Kong in 1841, other imperialist powers had carved up Chinese territory from Manchuria in the north to the island of Taiwan in the southeast, also taking control of bustling port cities from Shanghai down to Canton (now Guangzhou).
The British, Japanese and French ruling classes had waged wars, imposed treaties and suppressed popular rebellions in order to enforce their commercial interests, often in collaboration with the Qing dynasty or local warlords.
In 1919, student protests erupted in Beijing against the decision of the Great War allies to maintain their “international settlements” in China and specifically to transfer control of Shandong province from Germany to Japan. The May 4th Movement raised the banner of national sovereignty and democracy against this fresh humiliation.
China and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) marked the 75th anniversary of their establishing diplomatic relations on October 6. One of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China, the DPRK had been founded in the previous year. However, the north of Korea had been liberated by communist-led partisans, supported by the Soviet Red Army, in August 1945. Between 1946-49, the Korean communists provided very significant support to their Chinese comrades, making an important contribution to the liberation of north-east China.
Top leaders of China and the DPRK, Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un, marked the occasion with an exchange of messages.
Xi Jinping wrote that: “For 75 years, the two countries have advanced hand in hand on the road of promoting socialist construction while supporting and strengthening exchange and cooperation with each other in the struggle to consolidate the people’s power and defend national sovereignty and have closely cooperated in the work to promote regional peace and stability and safeguard international equity and justice.
“The traditional China-DPRK friendship has withstood the changes of the times and the trials of the ever-changing international situation and become a precious asset common to the two countries and the two peoples.”
He added that: “In the new era and under the new situation, the Chinese side is ready to jointly promote, together with the DPRK side, the stable and further advance of the socialist cause in the two countries and provide the two peoples with better welfare by continuing to write a new chapter of the traditional China-DPRK friendship through strengthened strategic communications and coordination and deepened friendly exchange and cooperation with the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries as an occasion.”
For his part, Kim Jong Un stated that: “Over the past 75 years, the two parties and the two countries have vigorously advanced along the road of socialism, withstanding all sorts of trials and challenges of history with the firm faith in the validity of their cause.”
He added: “Recently, the Chinese people celebrated the 75th founding anniversary of the People’s Republic of China. We hope that the Chinese people will achieve steady and fresh successes in the course of building a modern socialist country on a full scale under the leadership of the Communist Party of China with you as its core.”
The two countries’ foreign ministers also exchanged greetings.
Wang Yi wrote to his DPRK counterpart Choe Son Hui that, the traditional China-DPRK friendly and cooperative relations have entered a new historic period and are maintaining stable development under the guidance of General Secretary Xi Jinping and General Secretary Kim Jong Un in recent years.
Saying that it is the steadfast policy of the Chinese party and government to successfully defend, consolidate and develop the China-DPRK relations, the message expressed the willingness to promote the greater development of the China-DPRK relations in line with the important common understanding reached by the top leaders of the two parties and two countries and the common desire of the two peoples.
For her part, Choe Son Hui noted that the two countries have supported and closely cooperated with each other in various fields including politics, economy and culture for the past 75 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations.
She added that it is an important duty for the diplomatic field of the two countries to steadily consolidate and develop the DPRK-China friendship and jointly and dynamically promote the socialist cause under the present complicated international situation.
The following articles were originally published by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). A related article issued by the Xinhua News Agency may be read here.
Respected Comrade Kim Jong Un Receives Greetings from Chinese President
Pyongyang, October 6 (KCNA) — Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, received a message of greeting from Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and president of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), on October 6.
The following article by Andrew Murray explores the enduring significance of the People’s Republic of China, 75 years after its founding.
Andrew writes that this significance proceeds along three axes:
First is the developmental axis – China’s “transformation from the mutilated prey of sundry imperialisms and a laggard in world standards of social development, into a mighty power in sight of having the world’s largest national economy”.
Second is the democratic, anti-imperialist axis – China’s impact on the ongoing eastward and southward shift of the world’s economic and political centre of gravity.
Third is the socialist axis – “by maintaining a socialist orientation after other developments in that direction have faltered it both keeps open the possibility of plural systemic options in the world, defeating Washington’s dreams of ideological unipolarity, and prevents socialism itself from being pushed into the shadows of history”.
Andrew, a longstanding and prominent anti-war campaigner, notes in relation to China’s foreign policy:
The alternative world order promoted by the Chinese government offers co-operation and development for all and eschews militarism and interference. It prioritises adherence to international law and peaceful resolution of disputes. This is not the world order of imperialism — pressure, threats, looting and diktat.
On the nature of China’s political system, Andrew urges the reader not to try and “squeeze the experience of Chinese socialism into the straitjacket of European experience” and to instead study it on its own terms. In spite of undeniable problems and contradictions, “the future of socialism in the world depends very heavily on developments in China and on the leadership of its Communist Party”. And furthermore, “the complete elimination of absolute poverty, a recent achievement of the CPC, is not just a staggering achievement, it is a socialist one”.
The article concludes:
After 75 years, the People’s Republic of China stands at the very heart of an alternative to the world of the Washington Consensus, neoliberal centrism, the militarised “New World Order” and economic crisis and chaos. The alternative itself is unfinished and perhaps unfinishable, but China is holding the door open to possibilities beyond the status quo, to a menu of other options for humanity. That is most likely the most profound global significance of the PRC on its 75th birthday.
This article was written for the Friends of Socialist China special anniversary supplement published by the Morning Star on September 28, to coincide with London conference celebrating the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. It is extracted from Andrew’s contribution to the book People’s China at 75 – The Flag Stays Red, available now from Praxis Press.
There is a story, possibly apocryphal, regarding a parliamentary by-election in St Pancras, north London, in 1949. The Communist Party stood a candidate and, amidst a deteriorating Cold War atmosphere, polled fairly dismally.
Johnnie Campbell, a laconic Scotsman central to the CPGB’s leadership for decades, was dispatched to the locality to rally the troops in the aftermath. Surveying his dispirited comrades, he supposedly declared: “Well, things aren’t going our way in St Pancras right now…but we’ve won in China!”
To many, that was the immediate significance of the Chinese revolution. For millions of Communists and sympathisers around the world, as well as oppressed masses in the colonies and semi-colonies, the victory of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the party-led People’s Liberation Army was a huge advance – really the greatest conceivable – in a worldwide process of socialist revolution.
We are pleased to reprint below the speech given by Comrade Phonesy Boulom, First Secretary of the Embassy of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (LPDR) in London, at the opening session of our September 28 conference celebrating the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
The representative of the LPDR outlines the course of Laos-China friendship, which has socialism at the core, as well as her country’s achievements and goals along the road of socialist-oriented development. She concludes with the rousing call: “Let us build socialism together.”
Excellency Ambassadors, colleagues from the Diplomatic Corps
Dear Comrades
At the outset, I would like to apologise that Ambassador Douangmany is unable to join us today due to his earlier commitment in Scotland. I have a great pleasure and honour to attend this important event today. On behalf of the Embassy of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (LPDR), I would like to convey my heartfelt congratulation to our Chinese comrades and friends on the 75th Anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, it has made a great number of impressive accomplishments in securing national stability, peace and economic growth. China embraced the centenary of the Communist Party of China and ushered in a new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics and built a prosperous society in all aspects. This is a historic accomplishment by the Communist Party of China and the Chinese people striving for unity and raising a high profile of China in the world, especially in economic development.
Laos and China have enjoyed a long-standing relationship and stable strategic partnership for a long time based on ‘four goods’, namely good neighbours, good friends, good comrades and good partners. The two parties and the two governments have sympathised with and supported each other in the struggle for national independence, liberation and building socialism, which has created an absorbing and deep friendship. Laos and China are socialist countries with the same ideals, with similar political regimes and development paths. Although the regional and international conditions are rapidly changing and complicated, both countries have continued to adhere to the direction of relations based on mutual trust, which provides assistance and creates mutual benefits at a high level.
Lao PDR, under the leadership of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP), nowadays continues to enjoy political stability, peace, and social order, and steady economic growth, which are the foundation and precondition for social and economic development. Laos was one of the fastest-growing economies in the world prior to the Covid 19 pandemic, averaging growth of 7.5-8% per year. But then the outbreak of the pandemic came, by which the country has been heavily affected.
In the first 6 months of 2024, the economy grows at about 4.7%. The government adopted in 2021 the 9th 5 year National Social-Economic Development Plan (NSEDP) for 2021-2025, with the aim to graduate from least developed country (LDC) status by 2026, to become a self-reliant and an upper-middle income country by 2030. This Five-Year Plan sets out the fundamental direction for creating a new turning point in socio-economic development in the coming years.
Once again, we are all here today to commemorate the 75th founding anniversary of the People’s Republic of China. On behalf of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, and on my own behalf, I would like to express my warmest congratulations and best wishes to Minister Zhao Fei and the entire friendly people of China for good health, well-being and greater success in your noble tasks, as well as continued progress and prosperity.
I am pleased to note that the existing bonds of friendship and close cooperation between our two countries have been further enhanced continuously and widely in various areas. I am confident that our bilateral relations will be further enhanced in the coming years. Let us build socialism together.
We are very pleased to publish below the text of the statement delivered by His Excellency Ambassador Félix Plasencia González, Head of Mission of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the United Kingdom, at the conference held in London on Saturday 28 September to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
Ambassador Plasencia started by welcoming the audience to Bolívar Hall, a historic venue in Central London which is owned by the Venezuelan Embassy, and “a space of open doors for brotherhood and solidarity between our peoples”.
Plasencia was formerly Venezuela’s ambassador to China and knows the country well. After congratulating the Chinese people on their remarkable achievements over the last 75 years, he went on to discuss China-Venezuela relations and the role the two countries are playing in global politics.
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the People’s Republic of China are pioneering nations in the construction of a multipolar and multicentric world, where cooperation, solidarity, and respect for international law play a fundamental role.
Comrade Plasencia noted that, while the US and its allies have been subjecting Venezuela to illegal and arbitrary unilateral coercive measures, “China has consolidated itself as a true friend and a beacon of hope for sovereign nations and governments still striving for full independence”.
He concluded by expressing Venezuela’s willingness to continue expanding cooperation and solidarity with China to ever-wider areas of life, “to contribute to the well-being of our peoples, the development of both nations, and to build strengths that will help create a fairer, more inclusive, peaceful, and equitable multipolar world”.
On behalf of the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro Moros, the People and the Bolivarian Government, I am pleased to extend to you a warm greeting, as well as the most cordial welcome to the Bolívar Hall, a space of open doors for brotherhood and solidarity between our peoples, provided by the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in London.
It is a great honour for me, as a former Ambassador of the Bolivarian Republic to the People’s Republic of China, to be able to accompany our sister nation, China, in this warm and close gathering organised by social movements and friends of the solidarity in London and the United Kingdom, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
This significant date for the Chinese people and government reminds us of the greatness of the Chinese nation, which we in Latin America and particularly in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, recognise for its millennia of historical greatness and contributions to the development of humanity.
Likewise, on this day we are called to reflect on the profound transformations that the People’s Republic of China has undergone over the last 75 years, during which historic achievements have been made to improve the quality of life for the Chinese people.
China has been remarkably successful in achieving major goals, such as the eradication of extreme poverty, a milestone that fills all our developing nations with hope.
The following article by Zheng Zeguang, China’s Ambassador to the UK, was originally carried in the special supplement marking the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, which was compiled and edited by Friends of Socialist China and published together with the Morning Star on Saturday, September 28, to coincide with our conference the same day. It is the main body of the speech he delivered at the reception he hosted to mark the anniversary on the evening of September 25.
The Ambassador’s speech was carried in full on the website of the Chinese Embassy, along with a report on the reception. A response to the Ambassador’s speech, on behalf of the British government, was delivered by Catherine West MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
The PDF of the full Morning Star supplement may be downloaded here.
Seventy-five years ago, the birth of New China marked the end of more than a century of humiliation for the country, and the beginning of the historic process of China’s rejuvenation.
Over the past 75 years, under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Chinese people of all ethnic groups have united as one and worked diligently to achieve two phenomenal miracles of rapid economic growth and long-term social stability.
In the new era, under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, China has made historic achievements and gone through unprecedented transformation.
We have built a well-off society, and are working towards a great, modern socialist country in all respects. National rejuvenation is now on an irreversible course.
China’s composite national strength has achieved historic growth. Once a poor country, China is now the world’s second biggest economy, and the biggest manufacturer, biggest trader in goods, and the country with the biggest foreign exchange reserves.
Based on constant prices, China’s GDP in 2023 is 223 times larger than that of 1952. The average annual growth rate has been 7.9%.
China has become a scientific and technological powerhouse, and important advances have been made in the country’s national defence capabilities.
China is home to the world’s biggest middle-income group with the best growth potential. We have put in place the world’s largest medical, educational and social security systems. The quality of people’s lives has seen continuous improvement.
China’s development has been an engine for the global economy. From 1979 to 2023, China’s contribution to global economic growth averaged 24.8% annually, and for the period between 2013 and 2023, the figure was over 30%.
China itself is making remarkable progress in green and low carbon transition and is now the world’s biggest clean energy producer. In the meantime, China’s ‘new three’, namely, new energy vehicles, lithium batteries, and photovoltaic products are enabling other countries to expedite their transition.
As a developing country itself, China feels the desire of other developing countries for modernisation and is actually facilitating the modernisation of the Global South, through the Belt and Road Initiative and South-South cooperation.
By the end of 2023, the accumulated investment made by China in Belt and Road partner countries reached over two trillion RMB.
Chinese companies have helped to build Latin America’s first ultra-high-voltage transmission line, Africa’s first modern electrified railway, and its first digital mining project, among many other infrastructure and livelihood projects in developing countries.
China’s development has injected positive energy into world peace. Following an independent foreign policy of peace, China has been building friendship and cooperation with all countries on the basis of mutual respect, non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit.
Over the past 75 years, China has never initiated any war or conflict and has never occupied an inch of other countries’ territory. We have always worked for peace and dialogue, and the political settlement of international disputes.
China has sent more troops to UN peacekeeping missions than any other permanent members of the Security Council. We are now the second biggest funding contributor to both the UN and its peacekeeping operations.
In the face of increasing volatility and transformation around the world, we call on all countries to work together to build a community with a shared future and call for an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalisation.
We stand ready to work with all parties to earnestly implement the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilisation Initiative, so as to bring about more stability and economic growth to this turbulent world.
As we speak, the Chinese people are going all out to achieve modernisation through our own path. Daunting as our mission may be, we have full confidence in achieving our goals.
In the next five years, we will complete over 300 reforms and further enhance our institutions in different sectors, as set out at the third plenum of the 20th CPC Central Committee.
With these measures, China’s productivity and social vitality will be further unleashed, the development momentum further reinforced, and new opportunities will be created for China’s cooperation with other countries.
The United Kingdom was among the first major Western countries to recognise New China. And it has been 52 years now since the two countries established full-fledged diplomatic relations.
History has taught us a lot about the relations between these two countries:
–Despite the differences in political system, history and culture, we have a lot in common and extensive shared interests.
–Exchanges and cooperation conform to the common aspiration of our peoples and serve the fundamental interests of both sides.
–With our respective advantages in economy, education and culture, there are great potentials for collaboration.
–We can contribute to the resolution of major international issues by working together, and this is also our responsibility as two permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.
Last month, President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Keir Starmer reached important common understanding in their phone call. They agreed that we should uphold mutual respect, enhance engagement, and expand cooperation.
And recently, Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Foreign Secretary David Lammy met in Laos, Vice Premier He Lifeng and Chancellor Rachel Reeves talked over the phone, and so did our energy ministers. Our two militaries have just conducted their consultations on defence strategies.
Going forward, we should work together to follow up on the understanding between our leaders and build a stable and mutually beneficial relationship.
The development of China-UK relations needs the support of people across different sectors from both countries.
We never forget the “Icebreakers” who opened the doors for trade between China and the UK in the 1950s.
We never forget that generation of statesmen from both countries who made the strategic decision to establish diplomatic relations 52 years ago.
And we never forget all those who have worked tirelessly to help connect our two peoples over the past seven decades.
All of them continue to give inspiration to us today.
I call on all of you to continue to support and take an active part in China-UK relations and make new contributions to the steady development of this relationship.
Writing in his regular blog, on September 29, Chris Nash, the Chair of the Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding (SACU), who has lived in China, working in the education sector, for the last 10 years, provided a snapshot of various aspects of China’s progress since the founding of the People’s Republic 75 years ago.
In economics, he notes that in 1949 China accounted for just 4% of Global GDP, whereas today it accounts for 19% and moreover is actively fuelling global growth, especially in other developing countries and emerging markets.
He goes on to explain that “economic growth must be balanced with environmental sustainability. Drawing on deeply embedded cultural ideas of ‘harmony’, China has energetically followed policies that are healing and sustaining eco-systems across the whole country. In my travels all over the country in the last ten years I have seen none of the environmental pollution that used to be presented as the image of rural China. Instead, I have seen landscapes of profound beauty, which are loved and cared for by local populations engaged in their care and preservation.”
With concrete and vivid examples, Chris highlights some of China’s achievements in biodiversity sustainability as well as in the protection of eco-systems and vulnerable species.
On education, he recalls that, in 1949, there was 80% illiteracy in China, but now, a financial aid system covering students from pre-school to postgraduate level has been established, ensuring that no student from a disadvantaged background is forced to drop out because of financial difficulties.
He emphasises: “These are only snapshots from the remarkable journey of the last 75 years in China. What is important to note is that these 75 years of progress have made, and continue to make, international contributions, not just narrow national ones… think of the likely future benefits as China enters the next phase of its modernisation, led by a mission to ‘build a community of shared future for humankind and to achieve shared and win-win development.’”
We reprint the full text of Chris’s article below. It was originally published on the SACU website.
Starting this weekend the people of Beijing and visitors to the city will be able to experience a spectacular light show. Over 2,800 sites across the capital will be bathed in glorious illumination bringing their nocturnal beauty to full expression. This weekend also sees the opening of the National Day holiday all across China. This holiday takes place from October 1st to October 7th every year. It is often called ‘Golden Week’ and it is an annual celebration of the inauguration of New China on October 1st 1949. Those of you who are good at Maths will have worked out that 2024 is then the 75th anniversary celebration. Therefore in this article I want to talk to you about some of the progress China has made over this period, because it not only remarkable but of global importance to us all.
Let’s start with the economics. Up until the middle of the nineteenth century China had the largest and most successful economy in the world. The problems of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries had a devastating effect on the lives of the Chinese people. In 1949 China only produced 4% of global GDP. Over 80% of the population worked in agriculture but the country was not self-sufficient in food. In 1949 China produced only 7.9 kwh of electricity per head of capita compared to 1144.6 kwh per capita in America, 141 times greater. In 1949, the average life expectancy in China was only 35 years. It is against baseline figures like these that the remarkable progress of China over the last 75 years can be measured.
China today accounts for almost 19 percent of the global GDP. China’s progress has brought benefits across the developing world. Until the 1990s, the developing world was dependent on the West for many things. But by 2007, large emerging economies, spearheaded by China, were driving global growth, while the advanced Western economies’ growth had slowed down. As a result, the impact of the Chinese economy on low and middle-income economies soared, with development projects such as the Belt and Road Initiative and multilateral financial institutions supported by countries including China such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and New Development Bank helping boost growth in many emerging and developing economies. In this way, China has been fuelling global growth.
One of the key lessons of the modern era is that economic growth must be balanced with environmental sustainability. Drawing on deeply embedded cultural ideas of ‘harmony’, China has energetically followed policies that are healing and sustaining eco-systems across the whole country. In my travels all over the country in the last ten years I have seen none of the environmental pollution that used to be presented as the image of rural China. Instead I have seen landscapes of profound beauty, which are loved and cared for by local populations engaged in their care and preservation. In Dali, Yunnan Province, a community leader, took me to the exact spot next to Lake Erhai where President Xi had stood and told local hotel owners who had started to make greater and greater profits from the growth of tourism, that they had to take down their lucrative hotels on the shoreline because they were damaging the water quality in the lake.
Over the last 75 years Chinese scientists have made significant contributions to the world in the realm of conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. For example, China has increased the population of giant pandas by establishing nature reserves and succeeding in artificially breeding them. Yuan Longping, a famous rice breeding expert in China who made outstanding contributions to the world’s food security, developed the first strain of hybrid rice in 1970 by crossing the sterile plants of wild rice found in Hainan with cultivars. Tu Youyou, a Chinese female pharmacist, won the Nobel Prize for her discovery of artemisinin, a drug that that helped save millions of lives from the threat of malaria globally, especially in developing countries.
China has established a system of national parks that are making enormous contributions to protecting eco-systems and vulnerable species. The Tibetan antelope, the flagship species at the Three-River-Source National Park, has increased to over 70,000. The snow leopard population has recovered to over 1,200, and the populations of Northeast tigers and leopards in the national park have grown from the initial 27 and 42 at the pilot stage, respectively, to around 70 and 80. The wild population of the Hainan gibbon, the flagship species at the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park, has increased from fewer than 10 in two groups 40 years ago to 42 in seven groups. And in a remarkable story of international co-operation, the World Wild Life Fund, the Chinese Government and local people in the Yangtze River area have worked together to rescue the Yangtze Finless Porpoise that had been declared extinct. A survey in 2023 found a 23% increase in the population. It is hoped that lessons learned from preserving this river species can now be applied globally to rescue five other river Dolphins vulnerable to extinction.
Finally, in our quick tour through 75 years of achievements in China, let’s focus on education. In 1949 astonishingly, there was an 80% illiteracy rate in China. Education became an immediate priority for the new government. In 1952, 1956 and 1958, the Chinese government repeatedly launched free literacy-education campaigns, which were responded to enthusiastically by 150 million participants. As late as 1978, only 60 per cent of primary school pupils went on to study in junior high schools. Now school completion rates are in the high 90% range. There are 9,752 secondary vocational education schools, with a total of 17.847 million students enrolled. A financial aid system covering students from pre-school to postgraduate level has been established, ensuring that no student from a disadvantaged background is forced to drop out because of financial difficulties. This national focus on education has also benefited university education. China’s universities have been edging up the world university rankings, with more making it to the top 100, and some 100 disciplines making it to the world’s top 1,000. There are now 7 Chinese universities in the World top 100 ranking. For the first time this year, as my Chinese students are studying to gain entrance to western universities, our campus is now hosting international students studying to gain entrance to elite universities in Beijing.
These are only snapshots from the remarkable journey of the last 75 years in China. What is important to note is that these 75 years of progress have made, and continue to make, international contributions, not just narrow national ones. For example, figures from the United Nations show that China’s sustained commitment to poverty reduction over this period has resulted in an over 70% global reduction in poverty rates. It is China’s expertise in manufacturing, supplying and installing highly efficient photo-voltaic solar power technology that is enabling the world to transition to cleaner alternative energy. In the first four months of 2024 alone, 43% of China’s photo voltaic cell production was exported to Europe. History shows us long eras of peaceful co-operation between China and the world, dwarfing any periods of rivalry and competition. The next time you use something as ordinary as a wheelbarrow, remind yourself this was a Chinese invention of an earlier time, which spread to the world across ancient trade routes. And think of the likely future benefits as China enters the next phase of its modernisation, led by a mission to ‘build a community of shared futures for humankind and to achieve shared and win-win development.’
On the invitation of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the third quadrilateral Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the People’s Republic of China, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and the Russian Federation, on Afghanistan was held on September 27, 2024, on the sidelines of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
In a joint statement issued following their discussions, the four neighbours of Afghanistan reiterated their support for the country’s national sovereignty, political independence, unity, and territorial integrity. They asserted that all members of the international community have a shared interest in a stable and peaceful Afghanistan, “a country that should serve as a platform for international cooperation rather than geopolitical competition.”
The ministers expressed deep concern over the security situation related to terrorism in Afghanistan, noting that terrorist groups such as ISIL, Al-Qaida, the Eastern Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Jaish ul-Adl, Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and other similar groups in the region including the Majeed Brigade, as well as others, based in Afghanistan, continue to pose a serious threat to regional and global security.
They acknowledged the efforts of Afghanistan’s de facto authorities to combat ISIL-Khorasan and called on them to take visible and verifiable actions to fulfill the international obligations and commitments made by Afghanistan to fight terrorism, dismantle, and eliminate all terrorist groups equally and in a non-discriminatory fashion, and prevent the use of Afghan territory against its neighbours, the region, and beyond. (The reference to de facto authorities reflects the fact that no country, including the four represented in this meeting, has yet formally recognised the current regime established by the Taliban.)
In this regard, the ministers emphasised the importance of building an inclusive and broad-based governance system in Afghanistan that reflects the interests and aspirations of all segments of Afghan society.
They called for practical support to the country and rejected imperialist pressure and bullying, saying that they:
Supported effective regional initiatives aimed at uplifting Afghanistan’s economy and emphasised the importance of continued economic engagement with the de facto authorities to alleviate the dire situation of the Afghan people.
Expressed willingness to expand economic and trade cooperation and regional connectivity with Afghanistan that will contribute to the active integration of Afghanistan into the regional economic cooperation.
Pointed out that NATO members should bear the primary responsibility for the current plight in Afghanistan. They should create opportunities for Afghanistan’s economic recovery and future development and prosperity, immediately lift unilateral sanctions against Afghanistan, and return Afghanistan’s overseas assets for the benefit of the Afghan people.
At the same time, they emphasised the importance of the rights and needs of the entire population of the country including all ethnic and religious groups. They also stressed that women and girls’ access to education, and economic opportunities, including access to work, participation in public life, freedom of movement, justice and basic services, will contribute to peace, stability and prosperity in the country.
They also encouraged the de facto authorities to maintain a friendly and cooperative foreign policy, adhere to international law, comply with international obligations within the bilateral and multilateral treaties that Afghanistan is a party to, and coexist peacefully with neighbouring countries, and the region.
They further advocated for the establishment of Afghanistan as an independent, united, and peaceful state, free from terrorism, war, and narcotics, living in peace with its neighbours and ensuring respect for basic human rights and freedoms, including for women, children, persons with disabilities, and ethnic and religious minorities.
We reprint below the full text of the statement issued by China, Iran, Pakistan and Russia. It was originally published on the website of the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Upon the invitation of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the third quadrilateral Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the People’s Republic of China, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and the Russian Federation, on Afghanistan was held on 27 September 2024 on the sidelines of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
During the meeting, the Ministers discussed the situation in Afghanistan and agreed on the following points:
1- The Ministers reiterated their support for Afghanistan’s national sovereignty, political independence, unity, and territorial integrity. They reaffirmed principles of international law, particularly non-interference in its internal affairs, and the right of the Afghan people to independently decide the future of their country in accordance with the principles and purposes of the United Nations Charter.
2- The Ministers stressed that all members of the international community have a shared interest in a stable and peaceful Afghanistan, a country that should serve as a platform for international cooperation rather than geopolitical competition.
3- The Ministers expressed deep concern over the security situation related to terrorism in Afghanistan, noting that terrorist groups such as ISIL, Al-Qaida, the Eastern Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Jaish ul-Adl, Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and other similar groups in the region including Majeed Brigade, as well as others, based in Afghanistan, continue to pose a serious threat to regional and global security.
4- The Ministers called on strengthening counter-terrorism cooperation at both bilateral and multilateral levels. Afghanistan should be supported in taking comprehensive measures to address both the symptoms and root causes of terrorism and to eradicate terrorism at an early date.
5- The Ministers acknowledged the efforts of Afghanistan’s de facto authorities to combat ISIL-Khorasan. They called on de facto authorities to take visible and verifiable actions in fulfilling the international obligations and commitments made by Afghanistan to fight terrorism, dismantle, and eliminate all terrorist groups equally and non-discriminatory and prevent the use of Afghan territory against its neighbors, the region, and beyond.
6- The Ministers condemned the recent terrorist attacks in all shapes and forms in Afghanistan and the region, including the attacks by ISIL-K on Karbala pilgrims on 13 September 2024 and the attacks by TTP in Bannu and Besham in Pakistan on 15 July and 26 March 2024, respectively.
7- The Ministers expressed deep concern over the terrorism-related security situation in Afghanistan and the region and stressed the concept of common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security, as well as principles of equal indivisible security, examine regional security issues from a more comprehensive and integrated perspective, and work together to address various security challenges in Afghanistan and the region.
8- The Ministers emphasized the importance of building an inclusive and broad-based governance system in Afghanistan that reflects the interests and aspirations of all segments of Afghan society.
9- The Ministers commended the de facto authorities’ efforts to reduce the cultivation of traditional opium. They called for comprehensive measures to combat narcotics, particularly in light of the significant rise in the production of synthetic drugs, including methamphetamine jointly fighting against and dismantling transnational organized criminal groups involved in the trafficking of opiates, and cutting off trade and transit corridors of narcotics within and beyond the region and stressed the importance of the international assistance to promote agricultural development and alternative crops on the way to building a society free of drug abuse.
10 -The Ministers urged de facto authorities to create conditions that facilitate the return of Afghan refugees to their homeland, prevent further migration, and take serious measures to ensure returnees’ livelihoods and reintegration into political and social processes to achieve a lasting solution.
11- The Ministers expressed appreciation for the regional countries, especially the Islamic Republic of Iran and Pakistan, for hosting millions of Afghan refugees. They urged the international community and donors to provide, adequate, predictable, regular, and sustainable financial support and other necessary assistance, in line with the principle of international responsibility and burden sharing, for time-bound and well-resourced repatriation of refugees back to Afghanistan, as well as to countries hosting Afghan refugees, particularly the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
12- The Ministers reaffirmed the importance of countering attempts to politicize the provision of humanitarian assistance needed by the people of Afghanistan and called on the international community to continue providing humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan and help the country strengthen its capacity for sustainable and self-reliant development.
13- The Ministers supported effective regional initiatives aimed at uplifting Afghanistan’s economy and emphasized the importance of continued economic engagement with de facto authorities to alleviate the dire situation of the Afghan people.
14- The Ministers expressed willingness to expand economic and trade cooperation and regional connectivity with Afghanistan that will contribute to the active integration of Afghanistan into the regional economic cooperation.
15- The Ministers emphasized the importance of the rights and needs of the entire population of the country including all ethnic and religious groups. They also stressed that women and girls’ access to education, and economic opportunities, including access to work, participation in public life, freedom of movement, justice and basic services, will contribute to peace, stability and prosperity in the country.
16-The Ministers pointed out that NATO members should bear the primary responsibility for the current plight in Afghanistan. They should create opportunities for Afghanistan’s economic recovery and future development and prosperity, immediately lift unilateral sanctions against Afghanistan, and return Afghanistan’s overseas assets for the benefit of the Afghan people.
17 -The Ministers encouraged de facto authorities to maintain a friendly and cooperative foreign policy, adhere to international law, comply with international obligations within the bilateral and multilateral treaties that Afghanistan is a party to, and coexist peacefully with neighboring countries, and the region.
18 -The Ministers emphasized that strengthening peace and stability in Afghanistan and countering the threats of terrorism, radicalism, and drug crime emanating from its territory are in line with our common interests in the region. They advocated for the establishment of Afghanistan as an independent, united, and peaceful state, free from terrorism, war, and narcotics, living in peace with its neighbors and ensuring respect for basic human rights and freedoms, including for women, children, persons with disabilities, and ethnic and religious minorities.
19- The Ministers supported all diplomatic efforts that are conducive to the political settlement of the Afghan issue and supported the international community, especially the United Nations. They emphasized the significant role of regional frameworks such as the Moscow Format, the Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of Afghanistan’s Neighboring Countries, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, to play a positive role in achieving a political solution.
During his recent visit to New York to attend the annual general debate of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and related activities, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi addressed a meeting of foreign ministers from the BRICS cooperation mechanism, which was held at the UN headquarters on September 26.
Wang Yi told his counterparts that: “As leading members of the Global South, we BRICS countries should pursue our own success while promoting the greater good and make our contribution to an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalisation.”
He went on to say that the BRICS members should promote common security and strive for lasting peace. In today’s world where countries are dependent on each other, humanity lives in an inseparable community of security. No country has the right to manipulate the global security agenda or seek its own security at the expense of others.
On Ukraine, the BRICS should “uphold the principles of no expansion of the battlefield, no escalation of fighting and no fanning the flames by any party, and encourage dialogue and negotiation for the settlement of the crisis. The six-point common understanding jointly released by Brazil and China to this end has received varying degrees of positive response from over 100 countries.
“On Palestine, China stands firmly with Arab countries. We must push for the early realisation of a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire in Gaza, support Palestine’s full UN membership, and implement the two-State solution, in a bid to bring enduring peace to the Middle East.”
The BRICS countries should stay focused on development, follow true multilateralism and improve global governance:
“When hegemonic and bullying acts run unchecked, human civilisation will revert to the law of the jungle. It is important that we firmly defend the international system with the UN at its core, uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and reject a selective application.”
He added: “Next month, BRICS will hold its first summit following its membership expansion… We should support Russia’s chairmanship, and take the summit as an opportunity to send a strong message of upholding fairness and justice and promoting common development… We should also step up efforts to set up the Partner Country category, which is a consensus reached by BRICS leaders at the Johannesburg Summit last year and a mission we must accomplish. We need to keep the door open to new members, so as to provide more vigour and drive to the development of BRICS.”
The following is the full text of Wang Yi’s speech. It was originally published on the website of the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Dear colleagues,
It is a great pleasure to meet you all in New York.
The current international situation is marked by change and instability, and the world is experiencing disorder, slowing growth, uneven development, and a loss of focus in governance. The theme of this year’s General Debate—“Leaving no one behind”—highlights the widely shared aspiration for greater equality, security and prosperity in our world. As leading members of the Global South, we BRICS countries should pursue our own success while promoting the greater good, and make our contribution to an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization.
—We should promote common security and strive for lasting peace. In today’s world where countries are dependent on each other, humanity live in an inseparable community of security. No country has the right to manipulate the global security agenda or seek its own security at the expense of others. It is important that we make good use of such BRICS mechanisms as the Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs / International Relations and the Meeting of National Security Advisers and High Representatives on National Security to strengthen coordination on international and regional hotspots and make a joint response to the various challenges we face. On Ukraine, we should uphold the principles of no expansion of the battlefield, no escalation of fighting and no fanning the flames by any party, and encourage dialogue and negotiation for the settlement of the crisis. The six-point common understanding jointly released by Brazil and China to this end has received varying degrees of positive response from over 100 countries. On Palestine, China stands firmly with Arab countries. We must push for the early realization of a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire in Gaza, support Palestine’s full U.N. membership, and implement the two-State solution, in a bid to bring enduring peace to the Middle East.
—We should stay focused on development as a priority and remove hinderance to development. Development is an eternal pursuit of humanity and a major yardstick of the progress of times. The Global Development Initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping has received active support from the U.N. and a vast number of developing countries. BRICS should harness its strengths to drive development to the center of the U.N. agenda, stay attentive to the difficulties facing developing countries, urge developed countries to honor their promises, and give a stronger boost to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It is important to keep in mind the urgent needs of developing countries in poverty reduction, development financing, and energy and food security, and seize the opportunities presented by the technological revolution and industrial transformation to foster new drivers for high-quality development.
—We should follow true multilateralism and improve global governance. When multilateralism is under attack, the world will be in disarray. When hegemonic and bullying acts run unchecked, human civilization will revert to the law of the jungle. It is important that we firmly defend the international system with the U.N. at its core, uphold the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter, and reject a selective application of these purposes and principles. We could take the follow-up to the Summit of the Future as a chance to advance the reform of the international financial architecture, support countries of the South in participating fully in international economic decision-making, governance and rules-making, and increase their voice and representation. “Enhancing International Cooperation on Capacity-Building of Artificial Intelligence,” the resolution cosponsored by China and many other countries of the South, has been overwhelmingly adopted at the General Assembly. We welcome BRICS countries on board for its implementation so that more developing countries can benefit from it.
Colleagues,
Next month, BRICS will hold its first summit following its membership expansion. All eyes will be on this highly significant meeting. We should support Russia’s chairmanship, and take the summit as an opportunity to send a strong message of upholding fairness and justice and promoting common development. We could strive for new milestone outcomes in such areas as finance, AI, and energy and minerals to get the greater BRICS cooperation off to a good start. We should also step up efforts to set up the Partner Country category, which is a consensus reached by BRICS leaders at the Johannesburg Summit last year and a mission we must accomplish. We need to keep the door open to new members, so as to provide more vigor and drive to the development of BRICS.
Colleagues,
Not long ago, the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held its third plenary session. At the session, a new blueprint was drawn up to further advance Chinese modernization. As China pursues high-standard opening up and high-quality development, we will continue to view fellow BRICS countries as good companions and good partners. China will share development opportunities with BRICS countries and other countries around the world and seek more cooperation in building a community with a shared future for mankind.
We are pleased to publish below the text of a pre-recorded speech by Professor Cheng Enfu for the London conference marking the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
Cheng Enfu is one of China’s leading Marxist economists. He is former President of the Academy of Marxism, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; President of the World Association for Political Economy; Editor-in-Chief of the World Review of Political Economy; and Editor-in-Chief of the World Marxism Review.
In this speech, which is based on his contribution to the edited volume People’s China at 75 – The Flag Stays Red, Professor Cheng discusses the significance of, and progress towards, China’s second centenary goal of building a rich, strong, democratic, civilised, harmonious and beautiful modern socialist country.
Challenging the view typically held by bourgeois economists that there was very little development in pre-reform China, Cheng opines that “the first miracle of creating a preliminarily rich and strong China was achieved before the reform and opening-up”. He explains that New China broke out of underdevelopment, pushed forward science and technology, established an independent industrial system, significantly improved living standards, and achieved comprehensive development in education, culture, health and sports. In the period 1952-78, China’s GDP growth rate was more than twice the global average of 3 percent.
Development accelerated even faster from 1978, with the result that “China’s economic growth rate since the founding of New China has exceeded that of almost all capitalist countries, which vividly illustrate the historic achievements of China’s economic development.”
Professor Cheng observes that the US and its allies are trying to prevent China’s further rise. However, China’s consistent foreign policy – promoting peace and rejecting hegemonism – puts it at the heart of a global multipolar process in which the countries of the South and East are gaining importance. “Even if the US-led West launches a cool war, a cold war or a hot war against China, and keeps increasing illegal sanctions to the extent of a total blockade, China will be able to unite the vast number of developing countries and the countries of the South to fully realise the second centenary goal in a self-reliant manner.”
He advocates the adoption of a new Marxist internationalism, with three core aims:
First, to promote the development of the community of human destiny on the basis of the common values of humankind; second, to promote the development of world socialism on the basis of the core values of Marxism and socialism; and third, to unite all progressive forces at the international level to counter the hegemonic forces and monopolistic oligarchies that have attempted to besiege peace-loving countries and socialist forces such as China, Cuba, North Korea and Iran.
Professor Cheng concludes by calling for a broad unity in “opposition to neo-hegemonism, neo-imperialism, neo-colonialism, neo-racism, neo-liberalism, and neo-fascism, especially in the struggles against Russian-Ukrainian conflicts and Middle Eastern conflicts triggered by the US-led West, and against their attempts to trigger conflicts in a number of Indo-Pacific regions.”
A video of the speech is embedded below the text.
Dear comrades and friends,
First and foremost, congratulations from me and the World Association for Political Economy that I represent to the opening of the conference in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China co-organized by the British Communist Party and Socialist Friends of China.
As we all know, the Chinese nation, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), has gone through the bitter modern history of a semi-feudal and semi-colonial society, and finally established a new China in 1949, which not only cleansed itself of the humiliation of being constantly invaded by imperialist powers, but also set off a brand-new situation of becoming stronger. Nowadays, on the basis of fully realizing the first goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects in the first century after the founding of the Party, the second goal of building a rich, strong, democratic, civilized, harmonious and beautiful modern socialist country in the first hundred years of the founding of the country is being rapidly realized. I have submitted articles on this subject to the conference. Here I would like to share two points.
1. China has been continuously surpassing the United States in various economic respects and will become the world’s largest economy and a “top country in the center”. The growth rate of China’s economy since 1949 suggests that it will surpass the United States by 2049.
Below is a brief report by Betsey Piette, originally published in Workers World, about the conference held in New York City on Sunday 29 September to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. This event, held at the historic Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Education Center in Harlem, was initiated by Friends of Socialist China and put together by a range of progressive groups and individuals.
Speakers included:
Gerald Horne – Author and Historian
Zhang Weiwei – Director, China Institute, Fudan University
Henry Hakamaki -Iskra Books, Hosts Guerrilla History podcast
Danny Haiphong – Journalist and Co-Founder of Friends of Socialist China
Margaret Kimberley – Executive Editor, Black Agenda Report
Larry Holmes – First Secretary, Workers World Party
Mick Kelly – Political Secretary, Freedom Road Socialist Organization
Lee Siu Hin – Director, China/US Solidarity Network
Omowale Clay – International Secretariat, December 12th Movement
Ken Hammond – Party for Socialism and Liberation, Author of multiple books on China
Radhika Desai – Convenor, International Manifesto Group
Charles Xu – Qiao Collective
Mushahid Hussain – Senator and Chair, Pakistan – China Institute
Michael Wong – Veterans for Peace Nat’l Board, VFP China Working Group
KJ Noh – Journalist and Analyst of the geopolitics of the Asia Pacific region
Sara Flounders – International Action Center, Friends of Socialist China
Dee Knight – DSA International Committee’s China/Asia Subcommittee
Sharon Black – East Coast Co-Coordinator of Struggle/La Lucha
Bahman Azad – President, US Peace Council
Creighton Ward – Qiao Collective
Julie Tang – “Comfort Women” Justice Coalition, Co-Founder of Pivot to Peace
Ju-Hyun Park – Nodutdol for Korean Community Development
Arjae Red – Union Organizer – Visit to Xinjiang
Arnold August – Journalist and Author, Visitor to Xizang (Tibet)
Monica Moorehead, Managing Editor,Workers World newspaper
The video stream of the event is embedded below the report.
October 1, 2024, marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, when Mao Zedong declared that “the Chinese people have stood up.” The Friends of Socialist China organized events in London on Sept. 28 – and, along with Workers World Party, in New York City, on Sept. 29, to celebrate the enormous role China plays in the world today and its contributions to the global struggle.
Speakers addressed the growing danger from U.S. threats, military encirclement and hostile anti-China propaganda that are escalating daily and the need for progressive forces to join together to explain and defend China. Other remarks emphasized China’s important role in providing support for developing countries in Africa and the Global South, including the significance of the recent Africa Summit held in Beijing in early September.
Other speakers addressed China’s contribution with the Beijing Declaration, jointly issued by the Palestinian resistance organizations, on ending divisions and strengthening solidarity to fight against the U.S./Israeli genocidal wars in West Asia.
The program, held at the Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Education Center in New York City, opened with the reading of solidarity messages to the people of Palestine and Lebanon in recognition of the horrific escalation of the genocidal bombing, causing the deaths of tens of thousands of people and the murder of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah.
Two representatives from the Chinese Consulate in New York were welcomed. Program Chairperson Sara Flounders introduced a new book to check out: “People’s China at 75,” by Keith Bennett and Carlos Martinez.
The program included the opening session and four panels in a Mass Assembly for Peace and Solidarity. The panels’ themes included: “Exposing Imperialist Propaganda”; the “Impact of the New Cold War”; “China and the Global South”; and the “Hybrid War on China,” with speakers either addressing the event from the podium or via pre-recorded messages.
Organizers of the New York City event include Friends of Socialist China and Workers World Party in coordination with sponsors Black Agenda Report, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Qiao Collective and the International Manifesto Group.
Over 100 people packed the hall. Around 300 more, including 80 from 25 countries outside the U.S., viewed the program by Zoom.
Chinese Foreign Ministry Wang Yi, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, visited New York from September 22-28 to attend the United Nations (UN) Summit of the Future and the general debate of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly as the special representative of President Xi Jinping.
During that week, in a hectic program, Wang Yi also attended a number of events hosted by China, including to promote the Global Development Initiative and to enhance international cooperation on AI, as well as multilateral events, including the Security Council High Level Open Debate, the BRICS foreign ministers’ meeting and the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting. He also met with the UN Secretary-General, the President of the 79th session of the General Assembly, and with leaders and foreign ministers of numerous countries.
On September 28, Wang Yi addressed the General Assembly, taking as his theme, ‘Building on Past Achievements and Forging Ahead Together Toward a Community with a Shared Future for Humanity’. He stated that:
This institution, the United Nations, embodies the aspirations of people across the world for lasting peace and common prosperity, and bears witness to the glorious journey of the international community coming together in pursuit of progress. President Xi Jinping stressed on multiple occasions that the role of the UN should be strengthened, not weakened.
He went on to note that, in today’s world:
The security of all countries is tied together. In the face of various kinds of global challenges and risks, no one can stay immune or enjoy security alone. Countries need to be guided by a vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security. We should respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, take the legitimate security concerns of others seriously, and resolve disputes and differences through dialogue and consultation.
The development of all countries is deeply integrated. If the rich get richer while the poor remain poor, then “everyone is born equal” would become an empty slogan, and fairness and justice would be even more elusive. Achieving modernisation is a legitimate right of the people of all countries, not a prerogative of a few.
Each civilisation has its own strengths. President Xi Jinping pointed out that there is no such thing as a superior or inferior civilisation, and civilisations are different only in identity and location. We should respect the diversity of civilisations and strive to replace estrangement and clash of civilisations with exchanges and mutual learning.
Countries should all enjoy sovereign equality. As a large number of Global South nations are growing with a strong momentum, gone are the days when one or two major powers call the shots on everything. We should advocate an equal and orderly multipolar world, and see that all countries, regardless of their size, have their own place and role in the multipolar system.
Prior to addressing a number of the acute areas of conflict and tension at present, the Chinese Foreign Minister noted that:
Peace is the most precious thing in our world today. You may wonder if there is a path leading to peace. In fact, peace is the path. Without peace, development will not sustain; without peace, cooperation cannot happen. For the sake of peace, a single ray of hope is reason enough not to give up; the slightest chance deserves a hundredfold effort.
Besides outlining China’s positions on Ukraine and Afghanistan, Wang said:
The question of Palestine is the biggest wound to human conscience. As we speak, the conflict in Gaza is still going on, causing more civilian casualties with each passing day. Fighting has spread to Lebanon; might must not take the place of justice. Palestine’s long-held aspiration to establish an independent state should not be shunned anymore, and the historical injustice suffered by the Palestinian people should not be ignored any longer.
China, he added, has always been a staunch supporter of the just cause of the Palestinian people to regain their legitimate national rights, and a staunch supporter of Palestine’s full UN membership. We have recently helped to bring about breakthroughs in intra-Palestine reconciliation and will continue to work in concert with like-minded countries for a comprehensive and just settlement of the question of Palestine and durable peace and security in the Middle East.
The Korean peninsula, he stressed, should not experience war again. The important thing is to make persistent effort for de-escalation, commit to seeking solutions through dialogue and consultation, realise a transition from the armistice to a peace mechanism, and safeguard peace and stability on the peninsula.
China, once a victim of foreign power bullying, knows full well the value of peace and the hard-won gains of development. In fact, China is the only major country that has written peaceful development into its constitution, and the only country among the five nuclear-weapon states [recognised by the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)] to pledge no-first-use of nuclear weapons.
Wang further noted that:
In the face of unilateral, bullying acts such as sanctions and blockade, China firmly supports countries in defending their legitimate rights, upholding the equity and openness of the international system, making global development more coordinated and beneficial for all, and jointly opposing technology blockade and rejecting decoupling or severing supply chains. Sanctions and pressure will not bring monopolistic advantages. Suppressing and containing others will not solve problems at home. The right of people of all countries to pursue a better life should not be taken away. Here, we once again urge the United States to completely lift its blockade, sanctions and terrorism-related designation against Cuba.
In the face of aggravating ecological challenges, he said that China is firmly committed to a path of green, low-carbon and sustainable development. We will move from carbon peaking to carbon neutrality in the shortest time span in world history, contributing China’s efforts to harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature.
In conclusion, Wang Yi stated that:
Next year will mark the 80th anniversary of the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War and the founding of this very organisation. China stands ready to work with all countries to renew the founding purposes and mission of the UN, reaffirm our steadfast commitment to the UN Charter, advocate and practice true multilateralism, build a community with a shared future for humanity, and jointly usher in a better world.
The following is the full text of the Chinese Foreign Minister’s speech. It was originally published on the website of the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
We are very pleased to publish below the text of the speech given by Her Excellency Ismara M. Vargas Walter, Cuban Ambassador to the UK, at the conference held in London on Saturday 28 September to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
Comrade Vargas Walter gave an overview of the history of solidarity between China and Cuba, noting that, in 1960, Cuba became the first country in Latin America to recognise the People’s Republic of China. In recent times, “China’s support for Cuba in overcoming the devastating effects of the US blockade has been invaluable”, while “Cuba has stood with China in international forums, defending its sovereignty and promoting the vision of a multipolar world in which the nations of the global South can thrive free from the chains of imperialism”.
Vargas Walter went on to describe the emerging multipolar world order, of which China is a powerful advocate. “The struggle for multipolarity is the struggle for a world in which no single nation or bloc of nations can dictate the fate of others”.
She concluded her remarks with a powerful call for revolutionary internationalism:
The friendship between our nations is a testament to what can be achieved when we stand together in solidarity. It is a reminder that internationalism is our greatest strength, no matter how small or isolated a country may seem. Let’s continue to deepen our ties, strengthen our solidarity and continue the struggle for a world free of exploitation and imperialism.
Comrades and friends,
It is a great honour to stand before you today as we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. We commemorate not only the rise of a great nation but also the enduring legacy of socialist internationalism of which Cuba and China have been proud torchbearers for decades.
When the People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949, it marked the triumph of the indomitable spirit of the Chinese people in their struggle for sovereignty, dignity and a future free from colonialism and imperialist domination. This victory impacted far beyond China’s borders, inspiring revolutionary movements in Asia, Africa, Latin America and beyond. It was a beacon of hope for the oppressed, demonstrating that unity, determination and a shared socialist vision can change the course of history.
In 1959, ten years after China’s victory, the Cuban Revolution triumphed under the leadership of our Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro. Our revolution was a direct challenge to U.S. imperialism in the heart of Latin America. In 1960, Cuba became the first country in Latin America to recognize the People’s Republic of China, cementing a partnership based on revolutionary solidarity. Despite our geographical distance, Cuba and China were united in a common struggle – the struggle against exploitation, foreign domination and the capitalist system that seeks to divide and subjugate the people of the global South.
Our two nations, one in the Caribbean and the other in East Asia have shown that internationalism is not just an ideal – it is a necessity. In the face of endless provocations, economic blockades and attempts to isolate our revolutions, both Cuba and China have stood tall, defending the dignity of our people and advancing on the road to socialism.
The bonds between Cuba and China have grown stronger over the decades, nourished by mutual respect, and shared principles. Since the early days of our revolutions, China has extended a hand of friendship to Cuba. China’s support for Cuba in overcoming the devastating effects of the U.S. blockade has been invaluable. Cuba has stood with China in international forums, defending its sovereignty and promoting the vision of a multipolar world in which the nations of the global South can thrive free from the chains of imperialism.
However, despite the indomitable spirit of our people, we continue to face unjust actions aimed at undermining our sovereignty. Cuba continues to be arbitrarily listed as a state sponsor of terrorism, a designation that is not only baseless but deeply unfair. This false narrative is part of the broader strategy of imperialist aggression aimed at destabilizing and suffocating our economy. The real intention behind this label is to cause extraordinary damage to Cuba’s development, just as the criminal blockade has done for more than six decades. To be clear, this label has nothing to do with terrorism and everything to do with punishing Cuba for daring to build socialism on its own terms.
China has been a determined force in promoting global solidarity. From its Belt and Road Initiative, which strengthens economic ties and infrastructure development in the Global South, to its investments in sustainable development, China has shown that internationalism is not a relic of the past, but a living principle shaping the future.
At the heart of the struggle for a more just and equitable world is the rise of the Global South. Countries like Cuba, Venezuela and China, along with many others in Latin America, Africa, and Asia, are asserting their right to determine their own future, free from the grip of foreign interference. The struggle for multipolarity is the struggle for a world in which no single nation or bloc of nations can dictate the fate of others.
And China has been a powerful advocate of this new multipolar world order. Its policy of peaceful development and win-win cooperation stands in sharp contrast to the coercion and militarism that define imperialist relations. China’s partnerships with nations in the Global South are based on the principles of mutual respect, non-interference and solidarity – principles that Cuba wholeheartedly embraces.
As we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, we must remember that our struggle is far from over. The forces of imperialism are relentless, but so too is our determination to defend the sovereignty of our nations, the dignity of our peoples and the road to socialism that we have chosen.
The friendship between our nations is a testament to what can be achieved when we stand together in solidarity. It is a reminder that internationalism is our greatest strength, no matter how small or isolated a country may seem. Let’s continue to deepen our ties, strengthen our solidarity and continue the struggle for a world free of exploitation and imperialism.
At our London conference marking the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, held on 28 September 2024, we launched a new book: People’s China at 75 – The Flag Stays Red. Edited by Friends of Socialist China co-editors Keith Bennett and Carlos Martinez, and published by Praxis Press, the book brings together different perspectives and understandings of the trajectory of Chinese socialism over the past 75 years, with the aim of presenting China’s achievements and challenging popular misconceptions.
The book can be purchased on the Praxis Press website in paperback and digital formats.
Synopsis
When the People’s Republic of China was proclaimed on 1 October 1949, China was one of the poorest and most wretched societies on earth. Illiteracy was as high as life expectancy was low but as Chinese leader Mao Zedong had remarked even before the formal announcement of the creation of the PRC, “The Chinese people have stood up.”
Today’s China is at the forefront of the world economy, it has eliminated absolute poverty and is leading the world in tackling climate change, and the development of new, high quality productive forces, essentially conforming to the fifth industrial revolution.
China has achieved this unprecedented development in less than a century, yet these achievements are frequently misinterpreted or distorted. People’s China at 75 – The Flag Stays Red, organised by the co-editors of Friends of Socialist China, aims to challenge these misconceptions and provide the political, historical and economic context that best explains China’s astonishing rise.
Chapters
Keith Bennett and Carlos Martinez: Understanding socialism with Chinese characteristics
Ken Hammond: Building socialism with Chinese characteristics
Jenny Clegg: China’s transition to socialism: 1949-1956
Andrew Murray: Standing up, living long, opposing hegemony
Cheng Enfu and Chen Jian: The significance of China’s fulfilment of its Second Centenary Goal by 2049
Kenny Coyle: The ‘primary stage of socialism’ in historical context
Roland Boer: China’s socialist democracy
Mick Dunford: Common Prosperity
J Sykes: Mao, China, and the development of Marxism-Leninism
Efe Can Gürcan: Building socialism, building the ecological civilisation
Radhika Desai: Patient finance: Beijing’s core challenge to the Washington Consensus
Carlos Martinez: How China survived the end of history
About the authors
Keith Bennett is a Co-editor of Friends of Socialist China. He studied Chinese History and Politics at SOAS University of London and, on graduating, began a lifetime of working with China at the Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding (SACU) in 1979. He has visited China regularly since 1981 and is also Deputy Chairman of the 48 Group Club, whose July 1953 ‘Icebreaker Mission’ was the first western trade delegation to the People’s Republic.
Professor Cheng Enfu is the former President of the Academy of Marxism, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Principal Professor at the University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, President of the World Association for Political Economy, Editor-in-Chief of the World Review of Political Economy, Editor-in-Chief of the World Marxism Review, and Honorary Editor-in-Chief of International Critical Thought. His research mainly focuses on Marxist political economy.
Dr Jenny Clegg is an independent writer and researcher, specialising in China’s development and international role; and a former Senior Lecturer/Course Leader in Asia Pacific Studies at the University of Central Lancashire, Preston, UK. Her works include: China’s Global Strategy: towards a multipolar world (Pluto Press,2009); Storming the Heavens – Peasants and Revolution in China, 1925-1949: a Marxist perspective (Manifesto Press, forthcoming).
Kenny Coyle is a writer, editor and publisher. He is the director of Praxis Press and is a regular contributor to the Morning Star. He has lived and worked in various parts of Asia since 2000.
Professor Michael Dunford is Emeritus Professor at the School of Global Studies, University of Sussex, and Affiliate Scholar at the Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research (IGSNRR), Chinese Academy of Sciences.
ProfessorRadhika Desai is Professor at the Department of Political Studies, Director, Geopolitical Economy Research Group, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada and Convenor of the International Manifesto Group. Her Geopolitical Economy: After US Hegemony, Globalization and Empire (2013) proposed geopolitical economy as the proper Marxist anti-imperialist framework for understanding world affairs in the capitalist era. She hosts a fortnightly show, Geopolitical Economy Hour on the Geopolitical Economy Report website. Her most recent book is Capitalism, Coronavirus and War: A Geopolitical Economy (2022, Open Access).
Professor Efe Can Gürcan is an Associate Professor who currently serves as a Visiting Senior Fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Additionally, he holds the positions of Research Associate at the Geopolitical Economy Research Group, based at the “University of Manitoba, Visiting Scholar at the Shanghai University Institute of Global Studies, and Senior Research Fellow at Hainan CGE Peace Development Foundation. Gürcan has authored seven books and over 30 articles and book chapters on international development, international political economy, and political sociology. His latest co-authored book is China on the Rise: The Transformation of Structural Power in the Era of Multipolarity (Routledge, 2024).
Professor Ken Hammond is professor of East Asian and Global History at New Mexico State University. He has been a socialist activist since his student days at Kent State University in the late 1960s-early ‘70s. He lived and worked in China from 1982-87 and has traveled and taught there over the past 42 years. He currently works with Pivot to Peace and is a member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation. He is the author of China’s Revolution and the Quest for a Socialist Future and China and the World, 1949-2024.
Carlos Martinez is a researcher and political activist from London, Britain. His first book, The End of the Beginning: Lessons of the Soviet Collapse, was published in 2019 by LeftWord Books. His most recent book, The East Is Still Red – Chinese Socialism in the 21st Century, was published in 2023 by Praxis Press. He is a co-editor of Friends of Socialist China.
Andrew Murray is political correspondent of the Morning Star for the second time, the first being from 1978 to 1984. In between he has been Chair of the Stop the War Coalition, Chief of Staff at Unite the union, and an adviser to Jeremy Corbyn when he was Leader of the Labour Party. He has written many books including The Fall and Rise of the British Left and Is Socialism Possible in Britain?
J. Sykes is a member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization and the author of The Revolutionary Science of Marxism-Leninism.
1 October 2024 marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, when Mao Zedong declared that “the Chinese people have stood up”.
Friends of Socialist China celebrated the extraordinary achievements of the past 75 years with two conferences, in London and New York City. Attendees at the London conference each received a copy of the Morning Star – the only English-language socialist daily newspaper in the world – with a special Friends of Socialist China supplement featuring articles from Zhang Zeguang (China’s ambassador to the UK), Keith Bennett, Rob Griffiths, Andrew Murray, Jenny Clegg, Carlos Martinez, Roger McKenzie, Micaela Tracey-Ramos and Kenny Coyle.
We republish below the contribution by Friends of Socialist China co-editor Keith Bennett. This article presents a broad overview of China’s socialist development, contextualising it in the overall history of the exercise of state power by the working class and its allies and the original road taken by the Chinese communists led by Mao Zedong, which represents a major contribution to the theory and practice of revolution.
The article highlights China’s transformation from poverty to moderate prosperity, examining three major phases of its development: the early period of socialist construction; the era of reform and opening up from 1978; and the new era, starting with the commencement of Xi Jinping’s leadership, characterised by the rapid development of new, high quality productive forces; a strong focus on environmental protection; a merciless campaign against corruption; much improved healthcare and pensions; and a program of common prosperity, ensuring that all sectors of the economy work in the overall interests of the people and of the pursuit of socialism.
Keith concludes: “Whilst China remains, in its own words, in the primary stage of socialism, the overall goal is now to build a modern socialist country in all respects by 2049, when the People’s Republic will celebrate its 100th anniversary. This is truly something that will change the world.”
The PDF of the full Morning Star supplement can be downloaded here.
Although China was the world’s biggest economy for most of the last two millennia, since Britain launched the first Opium War in 1839, the country was reduced to a semi-colonial, semi-feudal society. Not for nothing is the ensuing period known by the Chinese as the “century of humiliation,” marked by unequal treaties, foreign aggression, civil wars and ultimately a victorious revolution.
When the People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949, China was one of the poorest societies on Earth. Illiteracy was as high as life expectancy was low.
The subsequent political trajectory of the People’s Republic essentially falls into two distinct phases, the second commencing with the launch of the policy known as “reform and opening up” from the end of 1978.
The first period is often described as one of following the Soviet model.
There is some truth to this, just as contemporary China still draws on it to some extent, but it is far from the whole story.
For example, even in its most radical phases, the Chinese revolution never completely rejected a role for the national bourgeoisie.
This in turn meant that rather than a single party system, as in the Soviet Union, China retained, and retains, a multi-party, consultative system, based on acknowledging and upholding the leading role of the Communist Party.
Significantly, the peasantry (with some deviation during the period known as the Great Leap Forward, 1958-62), was not taken as a source of what might be termed “socialist primitive accumulation” to benefit the cities and the promotion of heavy industry.
Rather, policies tended to reflect the fact that the peasantry constituted the majority of the population and, even more that, they were the bedrock of the revolution.
The achievements of the Mao era should not be underestimated or denigrated. They were among the most stupendous in human history.
Despite the terrible years of 1958-62, and the chaos of the Cultural Revolution, life expectancy in China grew by one year for every year that Mao was in power.
From being practically the poorest country on Earth, Mao’s China solved the basic problems of feeding, clothing, housing and educating almost a quarter of the world’s population, provided basic medical care to the whole population, brought literacy to the overwhelming majority, massively improved the social position and role of women, and so on.
Why then was it necessary to make such a radical turn in 1978?
For all its progress, China remained at the time of Mao’s death in 1976 a very poor country, although the basic necessities of life were more or less guaranteed.
Whilst famine had been eliminated, food was still strictly rationed. Xi Jinping, when recalling his young days working with farmers in an old revolutionary base area, has often said that his dream was that one day the villagers would be able to eat meat and eat it often.
Although disparities and inequalities remained, China under Mao may be considered to have been one of the most equal societies on Earth, but to a considerable extent, it was a “socialism of shared poverty.”
On Saturday 28 September, Friends of Socialist China – with the support of the Communist Party of Britain (CPB) and the Morning Star – hosted a conference in Bolívar Hall, London, to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. The event was attended by over a hundred people, making it the largest event in Britain in solidarity with People’s China in several decades, and an important milestone for Friends of Socialist China.
Opening the event, Carlos Martinez noted that the fact we have been able to organise such an event now, in spite of the relentless propaganda campaign against China in the West, points to a number of factors.
First and foremost, China’s role in the world increasingly speaks for itself, and stands in stark contrast with the foreign policy of Britain, the United States and the European Union. Looking at the wildly varying policies of China and the West in response to the genocide in Gaza, the US’s proxy war in Ukraine, the attempted electoral coup in Venezuela, the blockade of Cuba, the climate crisis and more, it’s increasingly clear that China is a force for peace and progress, whereas the West is a force for war and reaction. Meanwhile, while ordinary people in the West face a cost of living crisis, China is eradicating poverty, building infrastructure, and raising living standards.
Carlos observed that there is also a subjective factor involved: in its three and a half years of existence, Friends of Socialist China has been playing a valuable role presenting the reality of Chinese socialism to a progressive audience in the West, and the Morning Star, CPB and other groups have also been doing important work along those lines.
Lasting all day, the conference featured a range of speakers from different backgrounds, including academics, trade unionists, journalists, and diplomats. We will be publishing videos and texts from the event in the coming days.
The opening rally was addressed by Venezuelan ambassador to the UK Félix Plasencia, Cuban ambassador to the UK Ismara Vargas Walter, Minister Zhao Fei from the Chinese Embassy, First Secretary of the embassy of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic Phonesy Boulom, and RMT president Alex Gordon. Indian Workers Association (GB) vice-president Harsev Bains introduced a minute of silence in honour of the veteran Indian communist and longstanding friend of China Sitaram Yechury.
The first panel, on China, multipolarity and the rise of the Global South, was chaired by Myriam Kane, and featured contributions from Senator Mushahid Hussain (video), Murad Qureshi, Jenny Clegg, Francisco Domínguez, Ali Al Assam, and Roger McKenzie (video). Myriam also read out messages of solidarity from the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Patriotic Party of Türkiye.
The second panel, on China’s road to socialism, was chaired by Fiona Sim, and featured contributions from Keith Bennett, Andrew Murray, Pawel Wargan (video) and Eben Williams. Unfortunately due to technical reasons, the pre-recorded video by World Association of Political Economy president Cheng Enfu could not be shown, but we will be publishing the text soon.
The final panel, on Standing up against the New Cold War, was chaired by David Peat, and featured contributions from Chen Weihua (video), Liz Payne, Ben Chacko, and Kevan Nelson.
The closing rally was chaired by Micaela Tracey-Ramos, and featured contributions from George Galloway (video), Zhang Weiwei (video), and Robert Griffiths.
We would like to thank all the speakers, chairs, and attendees for making the event such a success, and we look forward to building on the momentum generated.
The conference was also used to launch the new Praxis Press volume People’s China at 75 – The Flag Stays Red, edited by Carlos Martinez and Keith Bennett, and featuring contributions from Ken Hammond, Jenny Clegg, Andrew Murray, Cheng Enfu, Kenny Coyle, Roland Boer, Mick Dunford, Josh Sykes, Efe Can Gürcan, Radhika Desai, Keith Bennett and Carlos Martinez.
The following day, on 29 September, comrades in the US organised a conference China at 75: Changes Unseen in a Century, featuring an array of great speakers including Gerald Horne, Margaret Kimberley, Qiao Collective, Danny Haiphong, Julie Tang, Ken Hammond, Bahman Azad and many more.
Below we republish a report of the London conference by Morning Star editor Ben Chacko, followed by an article about the event in China Daily.
‘A beacon of hope’ – 75 years of socialist China
SEVENTY-FIVE years after its communist revolution, China is still working to build “an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world of peace and shared prosperity,” minister of the Chinese embassy Zhao Fei told a celebratory anniversary meeting in central London at the weekend.
Friends of Socialist China hosted a day-long conference on China’s revolution in Bolivar Hall on Saturday with support from the Communist Party and Morning Star.
The packed meeting heard from Cuban, Venezuelan and Laotian diplomats, Chinese and British scholars, journalists, revolutionaries and anti-racist activists who discussed Chinese socialism, the new cold war and the rise of the global South.
Zhao told attendees that the Chinese Communist Party remained true to its founding principles, had won “the largest battle against poverty in history” and was determined to pursue a peaceful foreign policy in the face of provocations from the United States.
Internationally, it remained “a beacon of hope and a true friend for all countries still struggling for full independence,” Venezuela’s chargé d’affaires Felix Plasencia pointed out, noting its role in assisting countries suffering from unilateral US sanctions, particularly during the Covid pandemic when the US tried to block medicines from reaching Cuba, Venezuela and Iran.
Together with Cuban ambassador Ismara Vargas Walter, he stressed China’s work to usher in “a new era of international co-operation” in which domination by US imperialism, enforced by the threat of war, unequal trade treaties and punitive sanctions regimes, is replaced by respect for each country’s sovereignty — a model exemplified by the Belt & Road Initiative, which in contrast to loans from the IMF or World Bank provides development funds without political or economic-policy strings attached.
In future “no single nation or bloc of nations will be able to determine the fate of the others,” Walter said.
Sessions challenged common myths about the People’s Republic of China.
In a whistle-stop tour of its history, Friends of Socialist China’s Keith Bennett pointed out that Western perceptions of a contradiction between the revolutionary zeal of the Mao years and the “reform and opening up” period since 1978 were often misleading.
The Mao period was not a disaster for China — “life expectancy rose by a year for each year Mao was in power” and in providing education, basic healthcare and building up national infrastructure of road and rail had laid the groundwork for the spectacular economic growth that has taken place since, he pointed out.
If Mao’s China had been one of the most equal countries on Earth, “it was to a large extent an equality of shared poverty,” prompting the shift to market mechanisms under Deng Xiaoping. But the shift left under Xi Jinping — reflected in a mass social housing programme, stricter curbs on private business and stronger enforcement of workers’ rights — showed that China was now seeking to correct the social problems generated by pursuit of growth at all costs, including wealth inequality and environmental degradation.
Alex Gordon for the Communist Party of Britain looked at the successes of China’s planned economy, slamming Britain’s failed HS2 high-speed rail project, which over a decade provided profits for housing developers from inflated land prices but failed to build the high-speed rail links between Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester, London and continental Europe it was planned to do.
“In the decade it took to turn HS2 from a rail infrastructure project into luxury homes opportunities for billionaires, China developed a 40,000-kilometre publicly owned high-speed rail network … China’s latest Fuxing bullet train reaches speeds of 350kmh to slash travel times on the 818.9-mile Beijing-Shanghai route to just four hours,” he pointed out.
He challenged propaganda suggesting China did not respect workers’ rights, saluting the first national agreement on truckers’ terms and conditions in the country negotiated by the All-China Federation of Trade Unions with Logory Logistics this May, covering 3.8 million lorry drivers.
On that note Iraqi communist Ali al-Assam reported back from a summer tour of the Xinjiang Uighur autonomous region, confronting the lies of Western media about forced labour and religious persecution.
The packed mosques and calls to prayer of Urumqi and Kashgar reminded him of Iraq or Lebanon, he said, while the treasures of Islamic literature in the region’s public libraries showcased a rich and ancient culture.
Xinjiang was a high-tech hub for the Belt & Road Initiative and there was no trace of forced labour in its 90 per cent mechanised cotton sector — bar that of the robots.
All street signs in the major cities were first in Uighur and second in Chinese, he said, while Communist Party of Britain leader Robert Griffiths recalled his own trips to Xinjiang and the fact that leading Communist Party and municipal leaders were Uighur and addressed their meetings in the language.
Assam’s contribution highlighted China’s increasing scientific and technological lead over the West, something clear in its dominant role in renewable industries globally.
Above all, speakers urged a wider understanding of China’s positive international role, as the leading country in tackling climate change, demonstrating the benefits of a planned economy and in challenging US world hegemony.
The US drive to war with China, to which Britain is signed up, has to be opposed through confronting the lies about Chinese aggression and expansionism, multiple contributors stressed.
US military spending was three times higher than China’s — or 15 times higher per head of population — while Nato together amounted to 75 per cent of all world military spending. If there’s a new arms race, it was clear who was driving it.
China’s position as the only UN security council member with a no-first-use nuclear policy should be appreciated, attendees heard, while the US-British military build-up around China’s coasts should be seen as the aggressive provocation that it is.
Summing up, Griffiths quoted Chinese President Xi Jinping’s observation that “without China, socialism might have retreated to the margins” of world politics following the fall of the Soviet Union.
But instead, China was taking an ever more active role in the international communist movement and was the leading international force in trying to replace imperialism with a multipolar world.
It deserved far greater support across the British left — and the hundreds who attended were urged to do more to confront misinformation and anti-China propaganda designed to soften up the British people for world war.
Friends of Socialist China looks forward to organising more such events — and its anniversary conference was proof this relatively new group has an important role to play in the British left and peace movements.
Supporters of China celebrate 75th anniversary at London event
Friends of Socialist China, an online platform that promotes understanding of Chinese socialism, organized a conference in London on Saturday to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China on Oct 1.
Carlos Martinez, the co-founder of Friends of Socialist China, opened the conference in Bolivar Hall by saying China is “a force for peace and progress” amid the current military conflicts and climate crisis.
He cited China’s position in demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the Belt and Road initiative that provides development opportunities for the world, and the country’s advances in green technologies to tackle climate change as major achievements.
Zhao Fei, minister of China’s embassy in the United Kingdom, addressed the more than 100 attendees and reflected on the “two miracles of rapid economic development and long-term social stability” that China has achieved during the past 75 years with the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China.
“On our journey ahead, we will inevitably be confronted with problems, risks, and challenges,” Zhao said, adding that by upholding the fighting spirit, further deepening reform, and unleashing new productive forces, China will become a great modern socialist country in all respects by the middle of the century.
Cuba’s ambassador to the UK, Ismara Vargas Walter, said when the People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949, it marked the triumph of the indomitable spirit of the Chinese people in their struggle for sovereignty, dignity, and a future free from colonialism and imperialism.
Walter said China has been “a beacon of hope for the oppressed” because its policy of peaceful development, mutual respect, and win-win cooperation stand in sharp contrast to coercion and militarism.
Felix Plasencia, a former ambassador to China for Venezuela, and Phonesy Boulom, first secretary of Lao’s embassy in the UK, also spoke at the event, praising China’s role in championing cooperation with developing countries and opposing wars and unfair sanctions.
The conference was divided into three panels: China, multipolarity and the rise of the Global South, China’s road to socialism, and standing up against the New Cold War.
Around 20 speakers, including academics, trade unionists, and journalists, spoke in person or via video and shared their firsthand observations, longtime studies, and positive opinions about China.
The Praxis Press also launched a new collection of essays at the event that were edited by Carlos Martinez and Keith Bennett. Titled People’s China at 75 – The Flag Stays Red, the book features contributions from experts on China from around the world.
Hoy participamos, en nuestro Bolívar Hall en Londres, en un encuentro organizado por @socialist_china en el que celebramos el 75° aniversario de la República Popular China junto a colegas de la embajada de China en Londres y la hermana embajadora de Cuba, @IsmaraWalter,… pic.twitter.com/RR5nAxZgiU
— Embajada de Venezuela en el Reino Unido (@EmbaVenezUK) September 28, 2024
