Author: Friends of Socialist China

Western tales about China are just tales – review of ‘The East is Still Red’

In the following review of The East is Still Red – Chinese Socialism in the 21st Century, Roger Stoll provides a detailed summary of the text, including some key facts and figures about life in China today, China’s development strategy, China’s global leadership on renewable energy, China’s trade and investment relationships with the Global South, slanders about human rights in Xinjiang, the New Cold War, and more.

Roger concludes: “For those of us overwhelmed and frightened by the West’s prolific fictions about China and who wish to share a more accurate picture of the country with friends, families and fellow activists, in the hope of stopping the war before it starts, we might give them this book.”

The review has appeared in Popular Resistance, Dissident Voice, Internationalist 360 and Orinoco Tribune, and an abridged version has been published in Chinese on China.com.cn.

Roger Stoll lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and has published articles, book reviews and political poetry in Black Agenda Report, Counterpunch, Dissident Voice, Internationalist 360, Jewschool, Marxism-Leninism Today, MintPress News, MRonline, New Verse News, Orinoco Tribune, Popular Resistance, Resumen Latinoamericano, San Francisco Examiner, and ZNet.

The East is Still Red can be purchased in paperback and digital formats from Praxis Press.

Introduction

Western media never stop warning us of China: it menaces Taiwan, threatens its neighbors and shipping lanes in the South China Sea, and sticks military bases on Cuba. China, we are told, spies on us by the most devious means, through TikTok, Huawei 5G, and weather balloons. And China, say our media, ensnares Africa with debt traps. Meanwhile, the US government and its media-echo decry China’s abuses of its own people. China, the US says, has committed “cultural” and literal genocide against Uyghur muslims in Xinjiang. As for the Covid-19 pandemic, the West with whiplash-inducing self-contradiction accuses China of mishandling the crisis by imposing both draconian lockdowns and lockdowns that were too lax, as well as premature reopenings and reopenings that were too-long delayed.

Meanwhile, the liberal and left-liberal West shakes its ideological finger at China, declaring it to practice an idiosyncratic communism-capitalism that sometimes features the worst of both worlds. 

In the western imagination, China’s citizens are feared for their abject discipline and uncanny competence. Yet the West pities them too, thinking they are ruled by communist overlords in a dictatorship devoid of individual liberties.

In short, to the western world, China is an iconic picture of tyranny, malevolence, and exploitation. Still, China is not unique in its status as a US bogeyman. Whenever the West targets a country militarily or economically, the press always turns the country into a cartoon, invariably the same cartoon: authoritarian, autocratic, led by an evil/mad dictator, e.g., Cuba, Iran, Nicaragua, Russia, Syria, Venezuela, etc.

Which is why we should be grateful for the picture of China drawn in this elegantly concise and easily read book, The East Is Still Red: Chinese Socialism in the 21st Century, by Carlos Martinez (Praxis Press, 2023, 210 pp.). Of its 210 pages, nearly 60 are taken up with source citations, a 5-page index, reading recommendations, and photographs.

Despite its brevity, the book expertly refutes the West’s blizzard of charges against China. It also sketches China’s 20th century history, its economics and political system, and the ideology that accompanied the Chinese people’s astonishing advance. Martinez analyzes and answers two questions preoccupying many on the political left: Is China socialist? Is it imperialist? (Martinez argues Yes, and No, respectively.)

Continue reading Western tales about China are just tales – review of ‘The East is Still Red’

The new cold war is being fought at the planet’s expense

The following editorial from the Morning Star addresses recent absurd claims by British politicians and journalists that Chinese electric vehicles are being (or may be) used to spy on Britain. The author points out that this laughable notion is in fact part of “a weird trade protectionism operated on behalf of a foreign government (the United States)”, itself a component of a broader campaign of China containment.

The editorial observes that “major problems facing humanity require international co-operation — and China’s leading position in green technology makes co-operation in this field essential.” Given that China is home to nearly half of all electric vehicles and two-thirds of high-speed rail worldwide, and given that it “installed more renewable energy last year alone than the US has in its whole history”, coordination with China on environmental issues is a matter of urgent and obvious interest to the people of Britain and indeed the rest of the world. And yet the imperialist ruling classes continue to adhere to their Cold War slogan of better dead than red.

THE summer parliamentary recess once meant “silly season” for the newspapers because there was no politics to report.

Today it is politicians themselves publicising nonsense. MPs’ scaremongering that importing electric vehicle technology from China will allow our cars to spy on us is laughable.

The gaggle of ministers and backbenchers running to the Telegraph with their national security concerns do not, of course, suggest that China’s dominant position in the renewables industry says anything positive about it.

China might be home to nearly half of all electric vehicles worldwide, two-thirds of high-speed rail, and have installed more renewable energy last year alone than the United States has done in its whole history. It might account for 60 per cent of wind power manufacturing and 75 per cent of solar.

Anything to learn from this? The advantages of economic planning? Of targeted public investment in strategic sectors?

No, the MPs show no concern with investing in the British renewables sector. Their priority is to keep China out — even if it means ditching green tech.

Rules suggesting car-dealers hit a minimum quota of 22 per cent of sales being of electric vehicles by next year should be scrapped, they say.

Mournfully they hint that perhaps even the plan to ban sales of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030 must be cast aside, in case it proves a Trojan horse for Beijing.

The most reactionary wing of the Conservative Party has scented an opportunity since their Uxbridge by-election victory — assigned by both Tories and Labour to the unpopularity of London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s ultra-low emissions zone.

The PM quickly painted himself as the champion of motorists. He trumpeted daily reliance on cars by a majority of British households as evidence that cars are fantastic, not that something needs to be done about our public transport system. Advocates of buses, trains or bicycles are ivory-tower dwelling elitists, says a man who criss-crosses England by private jet.

By the end of July the Express was reporting plans of a “major rebellion” by Tories against any phase-out for petrol and diesel cars. Back-bench MP Nick Fletcher calls low-traffic neighbourhoods a “socialist plot” — if electric cars can be depicted as a communist conspiracy, so much the better for Big Oil.

Of course, MPs are not just hyping the China threat to protect fossil fuel interests.

The new cold war is a much wider phenomenon. This is not the first time Britain has shot itself in the foot in order to “decouple” from China: in 2020 the government scrapped its agreement with Huawei to deliver 5G, a move former business secretary Vince Cable pointed out was not based on security concerns but blind obedience to the United States.

But major problems facing humanity require international co-operation — and China’s leading position in green technology makes co-operation in this field essential.

Sanctions applied to Chinese solar panel exports based on US allegations of forced labour slowed commissioning of new solar energy plants in the US by an estimated 25 per cent last year.

We are hobbling emissions reduction based on rumours — nothing more. Even the much-vaunted “spy balloon” shot down by the US earlier this year never did any spying, Washington quietly admitted a few weeks later.

In the process, we are shoring up US dominance of high-tech and digital platforms — with the transatlantic furore against TikTok being used to drive out a rare non-US-owned digital player and entrench the position of companies like Apple, Google and Facebook, which are repeatedly caught spying on their users.

The new cold war is becoming a vehicle for the right to secure liberal consent to greater censorship, a weird trade protectionism operated on behalf of a foreign government (the United States) and abandonment of environmental targets.

The left should not fall into the same trap.

China supports Caribbean countries pursuing development and strength through unity

President Mohamed Irfaan Ali of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana was one of a number of international leaders to combine an official visit to China with attending the opening ceremony of the 31st summer edition of the FISU World University Games, held from late July in the Sichuan provincial capital of Chengdu.

President Ali met with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Chengdu on July 28.

Xi Jinping pointed out that China and Guyana, though far apart, have enjoyed a time-honored friendship. Guyana was the earliest country in the [English-speaking] Caribbean region to recognize the one-China principle and establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China. Last year, the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Guyana was celebrated. China and Guyana should be good friends who trust and count on each other, and both countries should share opportunities, meet challenges, seek cooperation and advance development together, so as to promote the building of a more close-knit China-Guyana community with a shared future, the Chinese President said, adding that China is ready to enhance synergy between the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy 2030, and to elevate the level of high-quality BRI cooperation between the two countries.

Xi Jinping also congratulated Guyana on being elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2024-2025 term. China supports Guyana in playing a greater role in international and regional affairs, and is ready to work together to practice true multilateralism, safeguard the common interests of the numerous developing countries, jointly tackle global challenges, including climate change, food security and energy security, and build a human community with a shared future together.

Xi Jinping added that during his first visit to the Caribbean region in 2013, he joined leaders of nine [English-speaking] Caribbean countries having established diplomatic relations with China in establishing a comprehensive cooperative partnership between China and the Caribbean countries. China, he said, has always supported the Caribbean countries in seeking strength through unity, and pursuing development and prosperity, and is ready to work with the Caribbean countries to build an even closer community with a shared future. He expressed the hope that Guyana will continue to play an active role in promoting the development of relations between China and the Caribbean countries.

President Ali said that the past 50 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Guyana and China have been years of friendship, cooperation, and mutual support. Guyana firmly abides by the one-China principle, highly admires President Xi Jinping’s outstanding leadership, and highly values China’s international influence. China, the Guyanese President said, has played an important role in the economic and social development of Guyana and the Caribbean region, not only by sharing its experience, but also by providing valuable assistance for Guyana and other regional countries, including in developing infrastructure, connectivity, medicine and health.  Guyana hopes to carry out close cooperation with China to better address global challenges such as energy, climate change and food security.

The Guyanese head of state also met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing on July 30. 

Li said that since the establishment of diplomatic ties more than five decades ago, China and Guyana have always treated each other with mutual respect and equality. The political mutual trust between the two sides has become even firmer as time goes by, he said, adding that their practical cooperation has achieved fruitful results, setting an example of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation between countries with different social systems, histories and cultures. China stands ready to work with Guyana to promote relations between China and Caribbean countries, meet global challenges together, safeguard the common interests of developing countries, and improve international fairness and justice.

Reporting on the visit, the Hong Kong newspaper, South China Morning Post, said that China and Guyana had agreed to strengthen their cooperation in agriculture, energy and mining, as well as in education and culture. Under an agreement signed last September, Sinopharm International was building six new regional hospitals in different parts of Guyana and China had also built roads, hotels and airports in the country.

Among the other foreign leaders who attended the opening ceremony of the World University Games, alongside President Xi Jinping, were the Presidents of Indonesia, Mauritania and Burundi, as well as the Prime Minister of Georgia.

The following articles were first carried on the websites of the Chinese Foreign Ministry and the Xinhua News Agency.

Xi Jinping Meets with Guyanese President Mohamed Irfaan Ali

On the morning of July 28, 2023, President Xi Jinping met in Chengdu with Guyanese President Mohamed Irfaan Ali who is in China to attend the opening ceremony of the 31st summer edition of the FISU World University Games and pay a visit to the country.

Xi Jinping pointed out that China and Guyana, though far apart, have enjoyed a time-honored friendship. Guyana was the earliest country in the Caribbean region to recognize the one-China principle and establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China. Last year, the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Guyana was celebrated. In recent years, Guyana has witnessed rapid economic and national development, and China is advancing Chinese modernization on all fronts through high-quality development. China and Guyana should be good friends who trust and count on each other, and both countries should share opportunities, meet challenges, seek cooperation and advance development together, so as to promote the building of a more close-knit China-Guyana community with a shared future.

Continue reading China supports Caribbean countries pursuing development and strength through unity

BRICS Summit heralds the emergence of a more democratic, multipolar world

In the following article, which was originally published in China Daily, Michael Dunford, Emeritus Professor at Sussex University and currently Visiting Professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, as well as a member of our advisory group, previews the BRICS Summit, which will be held in South Africa, August 22-24.

Michael notes that it is, “expected to mark a major step forward in its [BRICS’] development and global impact.” Although originally inspired by a formulation coined by then Goldman Sachs Chief Economist Jim O’Neill, Michael notes that the impetus for its formation was also, “a reflection of the reluctance of Western powers to increase the role of emerging powers in the architecture of global governance.”

He further identifies landmarks in its development as the 2014 establishment of the New Development Bank and of a Contingent Reserve Arrangement to address balance-of-payment difficulties and short-term liquidity problems in the face of financial liberalisation and quantitative easing.

As a measure of progress, in 2022, he notes, “the combined economic output of the five BRICS members, measured in purchasing power parity, exceeded for the first time that of the US-led G7.”

Drawing attention to the prospects for BRICS to begin a process of enlargement at the upcoming summit – more than 40 countries have expressed an interest in joining and it is understood that more than 20 of those have submitted formal applications – Michael concludes that the coming summit, may, “signify the coming to an end of an era lasting more than 500 years in which Western nations have dominated world affairs and the emergence of a new multipolar world characterised by more equitable and democratic rules and a stronger quest to seek collective solutions to global problems.”

The next BRICS Summit, to take place in Johannesburg, South Africa, from Aug 22 to 24, is expected to mark a major step forward in its development and global impact.

The group was established in 2010 by four countries, Brazil, Russia, India and China, which were important economic and political powers in regional integration groups. South Africa was added in 2011.

The establishment of BRICS alongside a number of other important new international institutions in the new millennium and especially after the North Atlantic financial crisis of 2007-09 was a reflection of the reluctance of Western powers to increase the role of emerging powers in the architecture of global governance, including the Bretton Woods institutions and the World Trade Organization, the need to compensate for the lack of momentum and the unjust conditionalities of existing multilateral institutions and the need to give an impetus to South-South economic integration and better serve the needs of the Global South.

Until recently, BRICS had maintained a relatively low profile on the world stage. It was conceived as a dialogue and cooperation platform for a group of large emerging economies with shared values in relation to the international system (mutual respect and understanding, equality, solidarity, openness, inclusiveness and consensus).

A very important development that took place in 2014 was the establishment of the New Development Bank to mobilize resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging and developing countries. Diplomatically, it was said to “supplement” what was, in fact, insufficient provision of patient international development finance by existing multilateral and regional financial institutions and global capital markets.

Continue reading BRICS Summit heralds the emergence of a more democratic, multipolar world

Activists demand Biden and Congress end war on Korea

In the following article, which was originally published by Workers World, Joe Piette reports on the broad-based National Mobilization to End the Korean War, that was held in Washington DC, July 27-28, coinciding with the 70th anniversary of the signing of the armistice agreement that ended three years of bitter fighting on the Korean peninsula.

Events included a press conference in front of the US Capitol, a rally in front of the White House, and a conference at George Washington University, where the keynote speaker was the renowned progressive scholar, Professor Bruce Cumings.

Joe also points out that the current US war drive against China is once again increasing the threat to the Korean people, too. “To stop this campaign,” Joe writes, “peace-loving people must organize resistance. This effort must include self-education to undermine mass media misinformation against China. Recommended reading should include The East is Still Red, by Carlos Martinez [co-editor of this website].”

July 27 was the 70th anniversary of the 1953 armistice that ended combat in the Korean War. That agreement — among the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in the north, the People’s Republic of China and the United States — to suspend fighting was expected to be temporary, in anticipation of negotiations for a peace treaty after three months. The Republic of Korea (ROK) in the south was not a signatory of the truce.

Since then, however, the U.S. has stationed tens of thousands of troops in South Korea, tensions remain high, and to this day a peace agreement has never been reached.

The 70 years of U.S. (and more recently, U.N.) sanctions, isolation and military threats have denied the DPRK’s population the necessities of life, prevented the reunification of Korea and prolonged the state of war. It is time to end the Korean War and reunite Korean families, demilitarize the Korean Peninsula and reduce the risk of nuclear war in northeast Asia.

The stated goal of the Korea Peace Action Coalition organizers is to urge “President Biden and Congress to support a formal end to the Korean War. In Congress, we’re asking for the support of H.R.1369, the Peace on the Korean Peninsula Act, which calls for diplomacy with North Korea to formally end the Korean War, a comprehensive review of travel restrictions to North Korea, and the establishment of liaison offices in the U.S. and North Korea.”

End the Korean War now!

A news conference on July 27 in front of the U.S. Capitol featured a broad array of activists and organizations: Christine Ahn, Women Cross DMZ; Joy Gebhard, Divided Family Member; Rick Downes, Coalition of Families of Korean & Cold War POW/MIAs; Lt. General (Retired) Daniel P. Leaf, U.S. Air Force; Joyce Ajlouny, American Friends Service Committee; Hana Marie Kim, 30 Under 30 activist and high school student; and Barbara Lee, U.S. Congress member from California.

Following the press event, an emotional Han ceremony at the Foundry United Methodist Church gave the many participants of Korean ancestry an opportunity to express and manage the complex emotions of sorrow, resentment, grief, sadness and hope that afflict many members of families separated during the Korean War and the following seven decades of a divided Korea.

Later, a rally in front of the White House featured Echo Hyunsook Cho, Women Cross DMZ; Medea Benjamin, Code Pink; internet personality Nick Cho, “Your Korean Dad”; and other speakers. It was followed by a spirited mile-long march past the Korean War Veterans Monument to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, where an interfaith vigil was held.

Continue reading Activists demand Biden and Congress end war on Korea

DPRK expresses full solidarity with China in light of US provocations

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has expressed its full solidarity with its socialist neighbour and ally after the United States recently declared its intention to provide the Chinese renegade province of Taiwan with a further 345 million dollars’ worth of weapons.

In a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on August 4, Maeng Yong Rim, director general of the Department of Chinese Affairs in the DPRK’s Foreign Ministry, noted that the US action, “constitutes a flagrant violation of the one China principle, which the US committed itself to before the Chinese government and people, and of the spirit of the three China-US joint communiqués. It is also an interference in the internal affairs of China and a grave encroachment on China’s sovereignty and security.”

According to the DPRK official:

“While talking about the improvement of relations with China, the present US administration is clinging to the Taiwan issue, the most important core interests of China. Its intention is clear.

“It is the sinister intention of the US to turn Taiwan into an unsinkable advanced base against China and the first-line trench for carrying out its strategy for deterring China and thus secure its hegemonic position in the Asia-Pacific region.

“But the US ambition for hegemony can never work on the strength of the powerful Chinese people.”

Maeng Yong Rim went on to warn: “Independent and sovereign states in the Asia-Pacific region have the strength and will to firmly defend their sovereignty and core interests from the US high-handed and arbitrary practices.”

His statement concluded: “The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea will fully support any measure of the People’s Republic of China to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country and achieve the sacred cause of the unification of the Chinese nation.”

The following article was originally carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Maeng Yong Rim, director general of the Department of Chinese Affairs of the Foreign Ministry of the DPRK, issued the following press statement on August 3:

Recently, the U.S. made public “Weapons Aid Package” for providing Taiwan with weapons worth 345 million U.S. dollars, thus driving the military tensions in the Asia-Pacific region to another ignition point of war.

In less than three years since the present U.S. administration came into power, it provided military aid to Taiwan as times as the preceding administration had done.

The U.S. is planning to provide Taiwan with military aid worth 10 billion U.S. dollars for the coming five years and emergency defense aid worth a billion U.S. dollars every year.

This constitutes a flagrant violation of the one China principle, which the U.S. committed itself before the Chinese government and people, and of the spirit of the three China-U.S. joint communiqués. It is also an interference in internal affairs of China and a grave encroachment on China’s sovereignty and security.

The U.S. says in public that it abides by the principle of one China but instigates in the rear the “independence” of Taiwan, inseparable part of China. Such shameless duality and double-dealing of the U.S. are a dangerous political and military provocation totally destroying the stability of the regional situation and an anti-peace reckless act which must be condemned by the world people.

Continue reading DPRK expresses full solidarity with China in light of US provocations

Celebrating the first decade of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor

As the tenth anniversary of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s first speeches proposing the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) approaches, China and Pakistan have celebrated the first decade of what is widely considered its flagship project, namely the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which links the port of Gwadar, in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, with Kashgar in China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and which highlights energy, transport and industrial cooperation, in particular.

In a July 31 letter to a celebration event held in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, President Xi said that China will work with Pakistan to aim for high-standard, sustainable, and livelihood-enhancing outcomes and further build CPEC into an exemplary project of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.

CPEC, he continued, has added new impetus to the economic and social development of Pakistan and laid a good foundation for regional connectivity and integration, adding that it is a vivid testament to the all-weather friendship between China and Pakistan, and provides an important underpinning for building an even closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era.

Stressing that China and Pakistan will continue to improve overall planning and expand and deepen cooperation, Xi said that no matter how the international landscape may change, China will always stand firmly with Pakistan.

Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng participated in the Islamabad celebration, held on August 1, as Xi’s special representative. As well as reading the Chinese President’s letter, he delivered a speech, calling for an upgrading of CPEC to better promote a closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future.

In his speech, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif said that the remarkable achievements of CPEC’s construction have profoundly transformed Pakistan’s economic and social landscape. Pakistan is willing to learn from China’s development experience, deepen cooperation with China in various fields, and pursue a path of self-reliance and strength, so as to better benefit the peoples of both countries.

Meanwhile, in an August 4 telephone conversation between the two countries’ foreign ministers, Wang Yi said that, no matter how the international situation and Pakistan’s domestic situation change, China will, as always, firmly support Pakistan in defending national sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, firmly support Pakistan in maintaining unity and stability, in realizing revitalization and development, and will firmly support Pakistan to play a bigger and more active role in international and regional affairs.

His Pakistani counterpart, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that the Pakistan-China friendship has been passed down from generation to generation and is unshakable and full of vitality.

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

Xi says China to work with Pakistan to build CPEC into exemplary project of high-quality B&R cooperation

BEIJING, July 31 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Xi Jinping said Monday China will work with Pakistan to aim for high-standard, sustainable and livelihood-enhancing outcomes and further build the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) into an exemplary project of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.

Xi made the remarks in a congratulatory message to the Decade of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor celebration event held in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Xi pointed out that CPEC is an important pioneering project of the Belt and Road cooperation. Since its launch in 2013, China and Pakistan have been advancing CPEC under the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, and have achieved a number of early harvests.

Continue reading Celebrating the first decade of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor

‘The East Is Still Red’ a necessary read

In this review, first published in Workers World, John Catalinotto commends Carlos Martinez’s recently-released The East is Still Red as a valuable contribution to the discussion among Marxists regarding the class character of the People’s Republic of China. John considers that the book “arms anti-imperialists with the truth” about China, and convincingly argues the need for those in the West to resolutely struggle against the calamitous US-led New Cold War.

The East is Still Red can be purchased in paperback and digital formats from Praxis Press.

With his recently published book, “The East Is Still Red,” Carlos Martinez has clarified the role of the Chinese revolution in improving the lives of a fifth of humanity. The book is a contribution to the discussion among Marxists regarding the class character of the People’s Republic of China.

As the title implies, Martinez argues that the PRC is still socialist and that anti-imperialists worldwide should defend People’s China against U.S. and world imperialism.

The book’s six chapters are based on articles published in 2021 and 2022, organized into a succinct and well-sourced presentation of Martinez’s arguments.

Martinez shows the achievements of People’s China in the chapters, “China’s long war on poverty” and “China is building an ecological civilisation.” If it were just a problem of presenting facts, he would win by a landslide. His challenge is overcoming imperialism’s domination of the worldwide media and miseducation, aka, the Big Lie.

For example, Martinez quotes from international agencies to point out that China’s recent economic growth has moved hundreds of millions of people out of poverty into a stable and secure life: “To eradicate extreme poverty in a developing country of 1.4 billion people — which at the time of the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 was one of the poorest countries in the world, characterized by widespread malnutrition, illiteracy, foreign domination and technological backwardness — is without doubt ‘the greatest anti-poverty achievement in history,’ in the words of United Nations Secretary General António Guterres.” (un.org/press/en/2019/sgsm19779.doc.htm)

This should convince anyone. However, imperialism’s Big Lie condemns everything in China, twisting reality into its opposite and imposing a distorted version of the world. This skews perception among much of the population in the imperialist heartlands of North America, Europe, Japan and Australia.

In the chapter, “Manufacturing consent for the containment and encirclement of China,” the author describes how mind-bending weapons of the imperialist ruling class have waged a relentless ideological assault on People’s China, in preparation for war.

What makes the book important is that it arms anti-imperialists with the truth. They can learn from it and repeat this truth to all who will pay attention. This process is a first step to building solidarity with People’s China at a time when the U.S. government wages an economic war and sails warships near the Chinese coast.

Is China socialist?

The big question for those who consider themselves to be on the side of socialist revolution is: What is the class character of People’s China?

Martinez notes that, “[F]or many on the left (particularly in the West), 1978 marked a turning point in the wrong direction — away from socialism, away from the cause of the working class and peasantry. The introduction of private profit, the decollectivization of agriculture, the appearance of multinational companies and the rise of Western influence: these added up to a historic betrayal and an end to the Chinese Revolution [this part of the left argues].

“The consensus view within the Communist Party of China is that socialism with Chinese characteristics is a strategy aimed at strengthening socialism, improving the lives of the Chinese people, and consolidating China’s sovereignty.”

Martinez agrees with the CPC’s consensus. He spends a good part of the book presenting the Chinese experience since 1978. Nearly 100 million party members are defending socialist property rights, even though a capitalist class has grown — it includes billionaires — and great inequalities in wealth exist. Imperialist corporations are exploiting Chinese labor. The CPC’s success in continually improving the daily lives of all China’s inhabitants, he argues, has cemented the working class’s loyalty to the Beijing government and to the CPC. 

That China’s economy has weathered the 2008 capitalist crisis that brought capitalist finance to the brink of collapse is proof that the billionaires are not driving decisions, even though they were allowed to join the CPC. The party stayed in control and built “socialism with Chinese characteristics.”

That China came through the COVID-19 challenge, began a shift toward defending the environment and was able to plan industrial development instead of letting the hunt for profit distort its growth are themselves proof of this success. 

In the chapter, “Will China suffer the same fate as the Soviet Union?” Martinez presents in a positive light the CPC’s position of strength, and does it well. One point Workers World disagrees with, however, is attributing the Soviet failure to individual Soviet misleaders, Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin. These two were representatives of broad sectors within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and their decisions reflected a long process of deterioration of the CPSU, under relentless pressure from the world capitalist class. This point will require further analysis.

An important question worthy of further discussion is the possible consequence of limiting mass mobilizations in the long struggle for communist ideals — such as “from each according to their ability, to each according to their needs.” If sacrifices are necessary to defend the socialist state with Chinese characteristics, for example, from imperialist attack, how does the party fire up ideological commitment from its population without this mobilization? How will the CPC mobilize international support from the masses without an appeal to egalitarian ideals?

Defend People’s China

Martinez convinces the reader in the chapter, “The left must resolutely oppose the U.S.-led New Cold War on China,” of the necessity of this task. In doing this, he performs a service to the worldwide movement for socialism.

The Chinese need to stay poor because the US has done so much to destroy the planet

In this insightful article on the Real-World Economics Review Blog, Dean Baker deconstructs the standard anti-China narrative in relation to climate change.

Firstly, he deals with the idea that, when comparing countries’ greenhouse gas emissions, population size is of no importance; what matters is absolute emissions. Baker points out that this logic could easily be applied to justify obscenely high emissions levels for any country with a relatively small population – but if all small countries were to consume such a quota, the climate crisis would be a great deal worse that it is now. The only reason US politicians insist on talking about absolute rather than per capita emissions is that, “measured in per capita terms, the United States is among the worst emitters on the planet.”

Baker also discusses the implications that “historic emissions somehow entitle a country to future emissions.” Pointing out that historical greenhouse gas emissions correlate closely with economic development, the author reiterates the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities: that the advanced, wealthy countries must take the lead when it comes to reducing emissions and developing green technology. Towards this end, the US could and should “adopt a policy of making all the technology that it develops fully open-source, so that everyone in the world could take advantage of it, without concerns about patent monopolies or other protections. That would help to speed the process of diffusion so that clean technologies could be adopted more quickly around the world.”

In reality, the US ruling class shows no sign of taking such a measure. Thankfully, as Baker points out, China has taken the lead on renewable energy, electric vehicles, green public transport, forestation and biodiversity protection. “The Chinese government apparently has far more concern for the future of the planet than its critics in the United States.”

That line is effectively the conventional wisdom among people in policy circles. If that seems absurd, then you need to think more about how many politicians and intellectual types are approaching climate change.

Just this week, John Kerry, President Biden’s climate envoy, was in China. He was asking the Chinese government to move more quickly in reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. President Xi told Kerry that China was not going to move forward its current target, which is to start reducing emissions by 2030.

I know from Twitter that many people think that Kerry’s request was reasonable and that Xi is jeopardizing the planet with his refusal to move forward China’s schedule for emission reductions. This is in spite of the fact that China is by far the world leader in wind energy, solar energy, and electric cars and that all three are growing at double-digit annual rates.

Continue reading The Chinese need to stay poor because the US has done so much to destroy the planet

Liu Jianchao: BRICS countries have become an important force for peace and development

Liu Jianchao, Minister of the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (IDCPC) recently visited South Africa to attend the BRICS Political Parties Plus Dialogue, which was organised by the African National Congress (ANC) of South Africa under the theme of ‘BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development, and Inclusive Multilateralism’. This was one of the preparatory international gatherings being held in South Africa as it prepares to host the BRICS Summit later in August. Reflecting the trend of more countries seeking to join BRCS, the meeting was attended by leading members of 41 political parties.

Addressing the meeting, which was held on July 18, Liu said, in the past 17 years, the BRICS countries have turned many seemingly impossible things into reality step by step, becoming an important force for maintaining world peace and stability, revitalising the cause of global development, and promoting the progress of human civilisation. He added that the the Chinese side firmly supports the deepening and expansion of the “BRICS+” cooperation mode, and supports the efforts to advance the BRICS expansion process, and to enhance the representativeness and influence of the BRICS, so as to gather more strength for maintaining world peace and promoting common development.

The previous day, Liu had met with Fikile Mbalula, Secretary-General of the ANC. Liu said that, since the establishment of the relationship between the CPC and the ANC 40 years ago, both parties have always supported each other, laying an important political foundation for the development of relations between the two countries. It should be noted that, whilst the formal relations between the ANC and CPC were established 40 years ago, the relations between the ANC and China date back to at least 1954, when Nelson Mandela sent Walter Sisulu to the country to seek China’s support for the anti-apartheid struggle. However, at that time, and for years to come, the IDCPC maintained a formal position of only establishing party-to-party relations with fellow communist parties and organisations, so the ties were previously handled by other departments.

Mbalula said, the ANC thanked the Chinese side for its strong support for the Former Liberation Movements of Southern Africa during the construction of the Mwalimu Julius Nyerere Leadership School in Tanzania. He hoped to make good use of this platform, enhance governing capabilities and better build his country. The South African side supports a series of important global initiatives put forward by President Xi Jinping, and is willing to strengthen coordination and cooperation with the Chinese side in BRICS and other multilateral mechanisms to build a better world.

On July 18, Liu met with Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the ANC and of the Republic of South Africa. Ramaphosa stated that China is an important strategic partner for South Africa and expressed gratitude to the Chinese side for its valuable support in South Africa’s struggle for national independence, liberation, and economic development, as well as its support for hosting the BRICS Summit. The ANC regards the CPC as a trustworthy friend and appreciates the assistance provided by the CPC in areas such as official training.

Liu also met with Solly Afrika Mapaila, Secretary-General of the South African Communist Party (SACP). Liu stated that the CPC and the SACP are both Marxist political parties and good comrades and brothers. The Chinese side is willing to strengthen exchanges and mutual learning with the SACP, promote theoretical innovation in Marxism based on practice, provide scientific theoretical guidance for the development of undertakings of our respective countries, and work together to promote unity and cooperation among progressive forces in China and Africa, as well as the development of the international socialist movement.

Recalling his recent visit to China, Mapaila said the SACP attaches great importance to its relationship with the CPC and hopes to further strengthen friendly exchanges between the two parties, learn from the CPC’s experience in party building and state governance, and promote the national democratic revolution in South Africa.
Liu also met with political party leaders from other countries in the margins of the conference. Meeting with Roque Silva Samuel, Secretary-General of the Mozambique Liberation Front (FRELIMO), Liu said that China and Mozambique are good friends, partners, and brothers sharing weal and woe. In recent years, President Xi Jinping and President Filipe Nyusi have maintained close exchanges, charting the course for the development of bilateral relations. The CPC and FRELIMO have a long-standing friendship, he noted.

Silva also said that the people of Mozambique and China have a long-standing friendship and expressed gratitude for China’s strong support to Mozambique’s efforts in struggling for national independence and national development, and maintaining national stability. FRELIMO cherishes the brotherly friendship with the CPC and hopes to strengthen all-round exchanges and cooperation, and push bilateral relations forward.

Following his stay in South Africa, Minister Liu visited Madagascar and Mauritius, two important island countries in Africa. On July 21, he met with Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina, who said that China is a good friend and trustworthy partner of his country and thanked the Chinese side for providing valuable assistance for Madagascar’s economic and social development and for improving the lives of the Madagascan people over a long period of time. The Madagascan side admires the CPC for leading the Chinese people to achieve great development achievements and become the world’s second largest economy. This has set an example for developing countries including Madagascar, and strengthened Madagascar’s confidence in realising its own development and its determination to reinforce cooperation with China. The ruling parties of Madagascar and China have similar philosophies, he said, adding that Madagascar has always stood with China, firmly supported China’s position in international affairs, supported China-proposed major global initiatives, and is willing to be a window and platform to promote Africa-China cooperation.

Whilst in Madagascar, Liu also met with the Foreign Minister and the Presidents of the National Assembly and the Senate.

On July 24, Liu met with Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, Leader of the Militant Socialist Movement (MSM) and Prime Minister of Mauritius, in the capital, Port Louis. Jugnauth recalled that he had met with President Xi Jinping twice in 2018, something which is still fresh in his memory. The friendship between Mauritius and China has a long history, he noted, with the governments and political parties of the two sides maintaining friendly exchanges and numerous cultural exchanges.

Liu also met with Maneesh Gobin, General Secretary of the MSM, together with a number of government ministers. Liu said that China and Mauritius share extensive common interests in safeguarding the rights and interests of developing countries and addressing global challenges such as climate change. The Chinese side supports Mauritius in playing a role in international and regional affairs, and is willing to strengthen international cooperation, jointly oppose hegemonism and power politics, and benefit the people of China and Africa.

General Secretary Gobin said he believed that China had not only achieved its own prosperity and development, but also benefited Africa and the world at large through its development. He added that, since the MSM established relations with the CPC, the two parties have maintained friendly relations and regular exchanges. The Chinese side has given huge support to the MSM and the people of Mauritius in project exchanges, skills training, and facility funds. The Mauritian side particularly thanked China for the vaccines and other support offered during the COVID-19 pandemic, which helped Mauritius successfully control it. Mauritius is the first African country to sign a free trade agreement with China, he observed. It is hoped that the two sides will expand cooperation in trade, finance, education, science, technology, and media, strengthen infrastructure construction, and treat Mauritius as a bridge to develop business with Africa.

Minister Liu also met with a number of other ministers, including the Foreign Minister and leader of the Patriotic Movement of Mauritius, in the course of his visit.

The following reports were originally published on the website of the IDCPC.

Liu Jianchao Attends BRICS Political Parties Plus Dialogue

Johannesburg, July 18th—The BRICS Political Parties Plus Dialogue was held here today by the African National Congress (ANC) of South Africa under the theme of BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development, and Inclusive Multilateralism. Paul Mashatile, Deputy President of the ANC and Deputy President of South Africa attended and addressed the function. Liu Jianchao, Minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, attended the dialogue and delivered a speech. About 400 participants were present, including representatives of political parties of BRICS such as Fikile Mbalula, Secretary-General of the ANC, political heavyweights from 41 political parties, such as former South African presidents Thabo Mbeki and Kgalema Motlanthe, and Olusegun Obasanjo, the former Nigerian president, as well as representatives from international organizations.

Liu said, in the past 17 years, the BRICS countries have turned many seemingly impossible things into reality step by step, becoming an important force for maintaining world peace and stability, revitalizing the cause of global development, and promoting the progress of human civilization. The BRICS have adhered to the value of development and sharing, and continuously injected strong impetus into the development of the global economy; adhered to the value of building security together, and have successfully blazed a path of security featuring dialogue rather than confrontation, consultation rather than coercion, and partnership rather than alliance, and adhered to the value of co-existence among civilizations to enhance mutual understanding among people.

Liu said, political parties are the source of policies of countries, representatives of people’s interests, and an important force that determines the domestic and foreign affairs of a country. Every gathering of the BRICS political parties is not only a summary of cooperation experience, but also shows our commitment to cooperation, and an exploration of the future of cooperation. The CPC is willing to work with political parties of other countries to build and make good use of the BRICS Political Parties Plus Dialogue platform. We should focus on coordinated development and be a contributor to global development; strengthen solidarity and coordination to be a builder of world peace; promote exchanges and mutual learning and be a promoter of civilizations; improve global governance and be a defender of international order.

Liu said, the Chinese side firmly supports the deepening and expansion of the “BRICS+” cooperation mode, and supports the efforts to advance the BRICS expansion process, and enhance the representativeness and influence of the BRICS, so as to gather more strength for maintaining world peace and promoting common development. BRICS and Africa should forge a partnership that promotes global development causes, maintains world peace and security, carries out exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, and practices true multilateralism. Both sides should jointly implement the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and Global Civilization Initiative, and make the development of the international order more just and equitable.

Representatives of political parties from all countries present said in their speeches that major changes have taken place in the geopolitical landscape of the world today, and the role of the BRICS has become increasingly prominent. The BRICS countries should work with other countries to promote the construction of a mechanism featuring inclusiveness and development that meets the needs of mankind. As an important force in the political life of each country, political parties should shoulder the political responsibilities of leading the way, building consensus, promoting development, strengthening cooperation, and improving governance, and actively explore modernization paths that suit their own national conditions.

Representatives from all countries voiced support for the strengthening of cooperation between BRICS countries and Africa, to accelerate economic growth in Africa and the world. They stressed their support for the central role of the United Nations in international affairs, upholding true multilateralism, and safeguarding international fairness and justice. As an important part of the BRICS mechanism, the BRICS Political Parties Plus Dialogue plays an important role in building consensus among political parties and promoting BRICS cooperation. Therefore the dialogue should be made a institutionalized one to strive for more practical results.

Continue reading Liu Jianchao: BRICS countries have become an important force for peace and development

The struggle against the New Cold War is an indispensable component of the struggle for socialism

The Communist Party USA held its second International Conference on 29 July 2023. Below is the video and text of the presentation delivered by Carlos Martinez on behalf of Friends of Socialist China. Carlos describes the escalating US-led New Cold War against China and warns of its dangers, concluding: “The struggle against imperialism, against hegemony and against Cold War is not a ‘nice to have’ for our movement; it’s an indispensable component of our work, of our struggle for socialism and a brighter future for humanity.”

The conference also featured contributions by representatives of the governing communist parties of China, Vietnam and Cuba, alongside speeches by numerous other organizations and individuals. The full event is can be viewed on YouTube.

Greetings on behalf of Friends of Socialist China to the CPUSA International Conference 2023. It’s an honour to be invited to participate in this event; to join you in struggle against an imperialist system that’s destroying the planet, whilst spreading war, chaos, poverty, inequality and misery.

As you know well, the United States is leading a multifaceted campaign of containing and encircling China. This escalating Cold War has multiple components: sanctions; a trade war; a propaganda war; the undermining of the One China Policy; the arming of Taiwan province; so-called Freedom of Navigation Assertions in the South China Sea; the formation of AUKUS – a trilateral nuclear pact with Australia and Britain, which is in clear violation of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty; the encouraging of Japanese re-armament; the attempt to stop China developing advanced semiconductor technology; the attacks on Huawei and TikTok. The list goes on.

It’s a Cold War in the sense that it doesn’t currently involve direct military engagement between the main protagonists, but that may well not permanently be the case, given the levels of recklessness and stupidity prevailing in Washington DC and elsewhere in the imperialist camp.

What’s the purpose of this New Cold War? It’s not only about suppressing China, or rolling back the Chinese Revolution. Just as the original Cold War was fought not exclusively against the Soviet Union but against the very notion that the nations of the world could exercise sovereignty and independence; so is this Second Cold War about preventing humanity’s trajectory towards a multipolar system of international relations, about preserving, defending and consolidating US hegemony – or as Truman called it, “a world environment in which the American system can flourish.”

China is the primary target – because it’s become a major power; because it’s become the economic centre of gravity for the Global South; because it’s become a science and technology powerhouse; because its people live increasingly well; because its extraordinary successes in tackling poverty, improving its people’s living standards, developing green energy systems, fighting the pandemic and more provide material proof that Francis Fukuyama’s “end of history” was a mirage, that neoliberal capitalism is not the final stage of human development.

There’s a great deal at stake in today’s epic struggle between the forces of imperialism and the forces of multipolarity and socialism.

Continue reading The struggle against the New Cold War is an indispensable component of the struggle for socialism

Wang Yi trip serves to strengthen bonds of Global South solidarity

China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, visited South Africa in mid-July to attend the 13th Meeting of BRICS National Security Advisers and High Representatives on National Security, which was held in Johannesburg. This was one of the important political gatherings to be held in South Africa in the run up to the country hosting the main BRICS Summit later in August. It was also attended by representatives from a number of other countries seeking to adhere to the BRICS mechanism. Wang Yi also visited Kenya and Türkiye on the same trip.

First making a stopover in Ethiopia, Wang Yi held talks with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Demeke Mekonnen Hassen in Addis Ababa.

Wang Yi said that China and Ethiopia are good brothers sharing weal and woe, good friends supporting each other, and good partners pursuing common development. China has stood with the Ethiopian people at a critical time when Ethiopia safeguards national peace and stability and will continue to stand with the Ethiopian people as the country enters a new stage of restoration of peace and national reconstruction.

Demeke said Ethiopia-China relations enjoy a long history, and Ethiopia is firmly committed to strengthening cooperation with China at the bilateral, regional and multilateral levels. Ethiopia thanks China for providing assistance to the country’s efforts to safeguard national security and stability, expects China to support Ethiopia in consolidating peace, conducting reconstruction and revitalizing the economy, and supports the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative proposed by China.

Wang Yi met with Kenyan President William Ruto on July 22 in Nairobi.

Noting that Kenya-China relations have been developing smoothly since the establishment of diplomatic ties 60 years ago, Ruto said strengthening friendly cooperation with China has become a consensus shared by all sectors in the country.

Ruto highly praised China’s efforts in growing relations with Kenya based on the principle of mutual respect. Kenya is firmly committed to deepening the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership with China, and is willing to strengthen inter-party exchanges, deepen cooperation in such fields as railway, highway, water conservancy, aviation, and renewable energy under the frameworks of Belt and Road cooperation and the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, in order to promote connectivity and regional integration in Africa and achieve win-win results, Ruto said.

Wang Yi said that China approaches relations with Kenya from a strategic perspective, and is willing to work with Kenya to take the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations as a new starting point to align their strategies for revitalization with a focus on development and cooperation, and push their comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership to a new level in the new era.

Continue reading Wang Yi trip serves to strengthen bonds of Global South solidarity

China and DPRK mark 70th anniversary of historic victory over US imperialism

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) organized a number of grand celebrations to mark the 70th anniversary of the signing of the armistice agreement, on July 27 1953, that ended just over three years of bitter fighting in the Korean War. Known as the Fatherland Liberation War in the DPRK and as the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea in China, July 27 is considered in both countries as a triumphant day when the two fledgling socialist states scored a historic victory over US imperialism and its satellite forces. 

A high-level Chinese party and government delegation, led by Li Hongzhong, a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and Vice-Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), attended the celebrations at the invitation of the Korean side, between July 26-30.

The only other foreign delegation to participate was led by Sergei Shoigu, Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation. The former Soviet Union provided crucial assistance to the Korean and Chinese peoples during the war, most notably through the deployment on active service in Korean skies of its air force fighter pilots.

These were the first foreign delegations to visit the DPRK since the country closed its borders as a preventive measure against the spread of the Covid-19 virus at the start of the pandemic.

Top leader of the DPRK, Kim Jong Un gave a reception for the Chinese delegation on July 28.

Repeatedly expressing gratitude to the respected Comrade Xi Jinping for having dispatched a party and government delegation to the significant celebrations of the victory common to the DPRK and China and sending his personal letter with best wishes, he extended heartfelt thanks to the Communist Party of China, the PRC government and all the Chinese people that helped the DPRK’s revolutionary war at the cost of their blood and have invariably supported the just cause of the WPK [Workers’ Party of Korea] and the people of the DPRK.

He said that the Korean people would always remember and praise the militant feats and historic contribution of the service personnel of the Chinese People’s Volunteers who provided the excellent tradition of winning victory in the staunch anti-imperialist revolutionary spirit and with the revolutionary unity while heroically fighting in the same trench with the Korean army in the most difficult period of the DPRK.

Being very rejoiced over the fact that the Chinese party and government have made world-startling achievements in the new course of comprehensively building a modern socialist country with Chinese characteristics and the international position of the PRC is growing higher with each passing day, he expressed conviction that the fraternal Chinese party and people would surely realize the Chinese nation’s dream of great prosperity under the wise leadership of Xi Jinping.

Earlier, Comrade Kim Jong Un had met the Chinese delegation just prior to a concert held in the early hours of July 27. 

There, Li Hongzhong handed Kim Jong Un the personal letter from Xi Jinping, in which the Chinese leader pointed out that 70 years ago, the Chinese People’s Volunteers (CPV), together with the people and army of the DPRK, achieved a great victory in resisting US aggression and aiding Korea, and forged a great friendship bound by blood. No matter how the international situation may change, it is always the unswerving policy of the CPC and the Chinese government to maintain, consolidate and develop China-DPRK relations, Xi Jinping wrote.

Expressing his thanks, Kim Jong Un told Li Hongzhong that the significance of July 27, the war victory day common to the Korean and Chinese peoples, was further highlighted as they were present together to celebrate it. Noting that Xi Jinping dispatched a party and government delegation to the DPRK in the current crucial period, he said that it showed the general secretary’s will to attach great importance to the DPRK-China friendship.

Saying the Korean people will never forget the fact that the brave soldiers of the Chinese People’s Volunteers shed blood to bring about the war victory and their noble spirit and soul, though many years have passed and that generation has been replaced with a new one, he affirmed that the WPK and the DPRK government will as ever strive to further strengthen the friendship and solidarity with the fraternal Chinese people and always advance hand in hand with the Chinese people in the struggle for socialism.

Previously, on the day of their arrival, the Central Committee of the WPK and the government of the DPRK had invited the Chinese delegation to a welcome reception at which Kim Song Nam, head of the WPK’s international department, made a speech.

Referring to the fact that the CPV made a historic contribution to bringing about the war victory, an unprecedented event in history, through militant unity and comradely cooperation, he said that the Korean people would never forget the heroic feats and merits of the brave soldiers who recorded a brilliant page in the history of the great victory in the Fatherland Liberation War and the history of DPRK-China friendship.

The Korean people are rejoiced over the achievements made by the Chinese people in building a modern socialist state with Chinese characteristics in the new era, he said, expressing conviction that the Chinese nation’s dream of great prosperity will surely come true, thanks to the steadfast leadership of the Communist Party of China with General Secretary Xi Jinping as its core and the devoted efforts of the Chinese people rallied around the Party.

Replying, Li Hongzhong said that China is very rejoiced over the fact that the socialist cause of the DPRK has steadily gained momentum with each passing day through thorough implementation of the resolutions made at the 8th Congress of the WPK and the plenary meetings of the Party Central Committee. He hoped that the Korean people would continue to achieve fresh successes by promoting the cause of socialism under the leadership of the WPK headed by General Secretary Kim Jong Un.

During their stay, the Chinese delegation also attended the huge military parade held in Pyongyang’s Kim Il Sung Square, met with other senior leaders of the DPRK party and state, and visited the birthplace of the DPRK’s founding leader Kim Il Sung, the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum, the Martyrs Cemetery of the Chinese People’s Volunteers, which includes the grave of Comrade Mao Zedong’s son, Mao Anying, and the Friendship Tower, which honors the fallen Chinese internationalist fighters.

In the days leading up to the anniversary, Kim Jong Un also visited the Chinese People’s Volunteers cemetery. The DPRK leader said that the noble soul and spirit of sons and daughters of the Chinese people who supported the Korean people in the sacred anti-imperialist, anti-US struggle with their heroic sacrifice, and made an important contribution to the war victory, are obviously recorded in history as a foundation and model of the DPRK-China friendship to be immortal along with the socialist ideal.

Noting that the hard-fought Fatherland Liberation War was a war of justice to defend their dignity, honor and sovereignty as well as the world peace and security and an acute political and military confrontation with the imperialist dominationist forces which was staged on behalf of the peace-loving forces and progressive humanity, he stressed that the great victory won by the peoples of the DPRK and China at the cost of their blood is invariably displaying its great vitality still now, century after century.

Also, at the end of June a remodeling of the interior of the Friendship Tower was unveiled. Speaking at the ceremony, the DPRK’s Minister of Urban Management, Im Kyong Jae, said that the  militant unity and comradely cooperation between the DPRK and Chinese peoples, displayed in the joint struggle against the US-led imperialist allied forces, set a living example of internationalism, and the historic contributions made by the officers and men of the Chinese People’s Volunteers, who rendered assistance to the just cause of the Korean people at the cost of their lives will always remain in the hearts of the peoples of the two countries. He noted that Kim Jong Un personally initiated the work for remodeling the interior of the Friendship Tower on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the war victory and gave detailed instructions on its layout, new art pieces and exhibits and guided the work for successfully completing the project.

Chinese Ambassador Wang Yajun expressed sincere thanks on behalf of the Chinese party and government to the Korean party and government and people over the fact that the interior of the Friendship Tower was excellently remodeled under the personal attention and guidance of General Secretary Kim Jong Un.

The Chinese party and government will remain unchanged in their firm stand to successfully defend, consolidate and develop the China-DPRK relations no matter how the international and regional situations may change, the ambassador said, adding that the Chinese side is willing to thoroughly adhere to the common understanding reached by the top leaders of the two parties and the two countries and thus provide the peoples of China and the DPRK with better happiness and make new and bigger contributions to the regional and global peace, stability and prosperity, together with the DPRK side.

In an article carried on China Daily, Liu Qiang, a prominent Chinese academic, wrote that fighting aggression and assisting the DPRK had been the right decision. He noted:”Some people have questioned China’s decision to aid the DPRK and resist US aggression, and have questioned whether the cost in lives was worth it. It is not difficult to answer these questions if we consider the situation at that time.

“Although it was at the request of the DPRK that China’s leadership decided to send the Chinese People’s Volunteers force to the peninsula, China also had to safeguard its own national security… As the US bombed border cities and towns on the border between China and the DPRK, it posed a threat to China’s national security, with some in the US calling for the war to be extended into China.

“Since the expansion of the war into China would have had severe consequences for the newly founded People’s Republic, Chairman Mao Zedong announced that China needed to restore peace on the Korean peninsula.”

He added: “Some people think the hostilities ended in a stalemate because after the signing of an armistice, the two sides returned to their respective pre-war positions separated by the 38th Parallel. But the fact that the ill-equipped Chinese People’s Volunteers force, who made huge sacrifice during the war, did not retreat in face of the US-led forces, which had the most advanced weapons and equipment, shows that the Chinese side was the victor in the war.”

Pointing out that, by fighting the war, China minimized the risk of a direct military attack on China at the height of the Cold War, Liu Qiang concluded:

“Some countries led by the US are hyping up the ‘China threat’ theory nowadays as part of their strategy to contain China. China is not a threat to any country, it pursues a defensive defense policy. However, should its sovereignty, national security and development interests be threatened, the spirit of the Chinese People’s Volunteers force will inspire the people to firmly defend the motherland.”

A similar tone was struck in an editorial carried by the Chinese newspaper Global Times, which noted that, prior to the 70th anniversary, “a US nuclear ballistic missile submarine visited Busan, South Korea, the first visit by a US submarine since 1981. Some US congressmen have openly claimed that this move is not only a warning to North Korea but also a deterrent against China.”

The paper observed that: “The Korean War is one of the most profound regional conflicts following World War II, and it is regarded as the ‘biggest defeat in the history of the US Army.'”

However, “some American political elites have drawn completely wrong lessons from the Korean War, using them to misguide the US’ foreign policy today, leading the country to proactively incite and provoke crises, and even wars.”

In this regard, the paper critiqued an article entitled ‘Why America forgets – and China remembers – the Korean War’, written by Mike Gallagher, Chairman of the recently established neo-McCarthyite “House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party”, and carried in the current issue of Foreign Affairs, the house journal of the US foreign policy establishment.

Global Times writes: “His arrogance and madness are comparable to that of Douglas MacArthur.” (MacArthur was the US commander in Korea, who even the US administration felt constrained to dismiss following his advocacy of the mass use of nuclear weapons not only in Korea, but also against the major cities of both China and the Soviet Union.)

Global Times issued a serious warning to the United States, writing:

“The US should never underestimate China’s determination and ability to defend its homeland. Disregarding these… lessons happens to be the prominent characteristic of current American hegemonism. The Korean War inflicted a painful price on the US, but if the US fails to learn from it, it will make even greater mistakes in the future.”

Before China decided to resist the US aggression and aid North Korea during the Korean War, it had repeatedly sent stern warnings that if US forces crossed the 38th parallel China would not sit idle. However, the US did not take it seriously, thinking that China was only making empty threats and would not take action. As a result, they were caught off guard when they encountered the Chinese People’s Volunteers Army on the battlefield. Today, a similar major misjudgment toward China is occurring in Washington. The biggest difference between now and the Korean War era is that China’s strength has greatly increased. The consequences of infringing upon China’s security interests and national sovereignty will undoubtedly be much more severe… it must be clear that if there is another strategic misjudgment this time, the price it will pay will surely be much higher than 70 years ago.”

The following articles were originally carried on the websites of the Xinhua News Agency, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), China Daily and Global Times.

Continue reading China and DPRK mark 70th anniversary of historic victory over US imperialism

Book review: IF Stone – The Hidden History of the Korean War

Written to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the Korean Armistice Agreement, this book review by Carlos Martinez of IF Stone’s recently re-issued The Hidden History of the Korean War seeks to identify the lessons to be learnt from the so-called “forgotten war”, and to draw out parallels between the original Cold War in the Pacific and the New Cold War in the Pacific.

A shorter version of this review was published in the Morning Star.

The 27th of July 2023 marks 70 years since the signing of the armistice agreement at Panmunjom, finally bringing about a cessation of hostilities in a war that was extraordinarily destructive but which has been largely ignored.

As Bruce Cumings writes in his preface to I.F. Stone’s classic The Hidden History of the Korean War – first published in 1952 and recently reissued by Monthly Review Press – the Korean War is a forgotten war, “remembered mainly as an odd conflict sandwiched between the good war (World War 2) and the bad war (Vietnam).”

For those seeking to build a peaceful and prosperous future for humanity, the lessons of the Korean War must not be forgotten. Indeed re-reading The Hidden History it becomes clear that there are several crucial parallels with today’s world.

Stone’s meticulous investigation provides abundant proof that most of the key players in the US government and military actively wanted the Korean War; that it was the right war, in the right place and the right time in terms of US imperialist interests.

Top US generals have since admitted that their “police action” in Korea gave them just the excuse they needed to construct the military infrastructure of Cold War in the Pacific: a vast network of overseas bases; large-scale, long-term deployments of US troops in Korea and Japan; and the permanent stationing of nuclear warheads in the region.

The Korean War set the whole military-industrial complex in motion. It created the national security state. It was the first major test case for the Truman Doctrine of “support for democracies against authoritarian threats” and helped establish the US in its self-assumed role of global policeman. By forcing through a United Nations endorsement of its invasion, the US was able to establish its dominance of the UN-based international system.

Reading Izzy Stone’s reporting today, it’s striking the extent to which these mechanisms of Cold War still exist and are being used to wage a New Cold War. The military bases, the troop deployments, the nuclear threats that aimed to contain socialism and prevent the emergence of a multipolar world in the 1950s continue to serve the same purposes in 2023.

Stone’s book emphasises that peace was very much an option in 1950.

The Soviet Union of course wanted peace; having lost 27 million lives and sustained incredible damage to its infrastructure in the course of saving the world from Nazism, the Soviets needed space to rebuild. The People’s Republic of China also wanted peace; having only been founded in October 1949 after long years of civil war and struggle against Japanese occupation, the last thing the new state needed was to become embroiled in another war. (In the event, nearly 400,000 Chinese volunteers gave their lives fighting in Korea).

Continue reading Book review: IF Stone – The Hidden History of the Korean War

Arming Taiwan is an insane provocation

In this incisive article written for AntiWar.com, John V Walsh exposes the utter recklessness of the US’s policy of increasing arms supplies to Taiwan.

Walsh describes the US’s longstanding First Island Chain strategy – a collection of military bases, weapons and troops deployed specifically in order to project US power and to contain and encircle the People’s Republic of China – and notes that Taiwan is at the center of this strategy. Indeed Taiwan is considered by Washington’s hawks as “America’s unsinkable aircraft carrier”.

Walsh observes that while the US officially adheres to the One China Policy, which recognizes that Taiwan is part of China, it has been arming Taiwan for decades and is increasingly flagrant in its encouragement of secessionist forces. For obvious reasons, this is a red line for Beijing. “A secessionist Taiwan, as an armed ally of the US, represents to China a return to the Century of Humiliation at the hands of the colonial West.”

The US should adhere to international law and stop interfering in China’s internal affairs. “Taiwan and Beijing can settle their disagreements by themselves. Frankly put, disagreements between the two are none of America’s business.” Furthermore, the US should put an end to provocations and militarism in the region, and take China up on its oft-repeated offer of mutually-beneficial cooperation between the two economies.

Those in the West who are concerned with building a lasting peace should pressure their governments to stop interfering in China’s internal affairs, and to stop arming Taiwan.

The Island of Taiwan has been turned into a “powder keg” by the infusion of U.S. weaponry, pushing the Taiwanese people into the “abyss of disaster.”  These are the words of the Chinese Defense Ministry in reaction to the recent $440 million sale of U.S. arms to the island. And now the U.S. is also giving, not selling, arms to Taiwan, courtesy of the U.S. taxpayer.

The “First Island Chain” Strategy of the U.S.

Taiwan is but one in a series of islands along the Chinese coast, often called “The First Island Chain,” which now bristles with advanced U.S. weapons. These are accompanied by tens of thousands of supporting U.S. military personnel and combat troops.  The “First Island Chain” extends from Japan in the north southward through Japan’s Ryukyu islands which include Okinawa, to Taiwan and on to the northern Philippines. (U.S. ally, South Korea, with a military of 500,000 active duty personnel and 3 million reserves is a powerful adjunct to this chain.) In U.S. military doctrine the First Island Chain is a base to “project power” and restrict sea access to China.

Taiwan is at the center this string of islands and is considered the focal point of The First Island Chain strategy. When the fiercely hawkish Cold Warrior, Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, conceived the strategy in 1951, he dubbed Taiwan America’s “unsinkable aircraft carrier.”

Taiwan is now one source of contention between the U.S. and China. As is often said but rarely done, the pursuit of peace demands that we understand the point of view of those who are marked as our adversaries. And, in China’s eyes, Taiwan and the rest of these armed isles look like both chain and noose.

Continue reading Arming Taiwan is an insane provocation

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

Date Sunday 13 August
Time4pm Britain / 11am US Eastern / 8am US Pacific / 11pm China
Register on eventbrite

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

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

On Sunday 13 August 2023 (11am US Eastern / 4pm Britain / 8am US Pacific / 11pm China), there will be an online book launch, jointly organized by Friends of Socialist China, International Manifesto Group, Critical Theory Workshop and Midwestern Marx.

Speakers

Carlos Martinez is an independent researcher and political activist from London, Britain. He is the author of The East is Still Red: Chinese Socialism in the 21st Century (2023), No Great Wall: On the Continuities of the Chinese Revolution (2022), and The End of the Beginning: Lessons of the Soviet Collapse (2019). He is a co-editor of Friends of Socialist China and has blogged for many years at Invent the Future.

Dan Kovalik graduated from Columbia Law School in 1993, and currently teaches International Human Rights at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. He is the author of NICARAGUA: A History of US Intervention and Resistance (2023) and The Plot to Overthrow Venezuela: How the US Is Orchestrating a Coup for Oil (2019), which includes a Foreward by Oliver Stone. He served as in-house counsel for the United Steelworkers for 26 years. Kovalik has been traveling to Nicaragua since 1987 and has been a friend of Nicaragua and the Sandinista Revolution since that time. He has written extensively on the issue of international human rights and U.S. foreign policy for the Huffington Post, Counterpunch and RT News, and has lectured throughout the world on these subjects.

Sara Flounders is a longstanding political activist and author based in New York City. She is a Contributing Editor of Workers World Newspaper and a leader of the United National Antiwar Coalition, the International Action Center and the SanctionsKill Campaign. She is the co-author and editor of numerous books, including Capitalism on a Ventilator: The Impact of COVID-19 in China and the US (co-authored with Lee SiuHin) and recently released: SANCTIONS – A Wrecking Ball in a Global Economy.

Chen Weihua is the EU bureau chief of China Daily, having previously served as chief Washington correspondent and deputy editor of the US edition of China Daily.

Amanda Yee is the host of Radio Free Amanda, a podcast focused on politics and media criticism from an anti-imperialist perspective.

Ben Chacko is editor of the Morning Star, a post he has held since 2015. The Morning Star is the only English-language socialist daily newspaper in the world.

Qiao Collective is a Chinese diaspora media collective that aims to challenge rising U.S. aggression towards the People’s Republic of China and to equip the U.S. anti-war movement with the tools and analysis to better combat the stoking of a New Cold War conflict with China.

Moderator – Radhika Desai is Professor at the Department of Political Studies. She is the Director, Geopolitical Economy Research Group at the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada. She is the convenor of the International Manifesto Group. Her books include Capitalism, Coronavirus and War: A Geopolitical Economy (2023), Geopolitical Economy: After US Hegemony, Globalization and Empire (2013), Slouching Towards Ayodhya: From Congress to Hindutva in Indian Politics (2nd rev ed, 2004) and Intellectuals and Socialism: ‘Social Democrats’ and the Labour Party (1994), a New Statesman and Society Book of the Month.

How to understand Kissinger and China’s high-level diplomacy

In this article, which was originally published on CGTN, Friends of Socialist China co-editor Danny Haiphong explains the significance of the recent visit to China by veteran US statesman Dr. Henry Kissinger and assesses some reactions to it.

Kissinger, who recently celebrated his 100th birthday, and who has visited China more than 100 times, pioneered the establishment of ties between the People’s Republic of China and the USA, together with President Richard Nixon, Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai.

Danny points out that Kissinger’s latest visit comes at a watershed moment in the two countries’ relationship. And, whilst US officialdom sought to belittle the visit, at least publicly, sourly observing that someone who is now a private citizen enjoys better access to Chinese leaders than their US counterparts, whilst some others on the left imagine that Chinese leaders are unaware of Kissinger’s historical role regarding Vietnam, Laos, Chile and other countries, both of them fail to take account of the overriding importance of China/US relations, not only for the people of the two countries, but for all humanity.

Kissinger’s warm reception, Danny notes, sent a strong message that China is ready to engage in dialogue with the US so as to get relations back on the right track. Kissinger has recently warned of the dangers of US relations with both China and Russia degenerating into open conflict. Against this background, Danny notes: “The era of hegemony for any country is… coming to an end.  Kissinger’s visit placed a spotlight on the choices in front of the US elite.”

At the age of 100, former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger traveled to Beijing and met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other top officials on July 20, 2023, amid a watershed moment in China-U.S. relations.

The visit caused a great level of confusion among the Western media and members of the U.S. political class. Some outright dismissed the significance of the visit. Others expressed a “sour grapes” mentality. National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby demonstrated this reaction best in his claim that it was “unfortunate that a private citizen can meet with the defense minister and have a communication and the United States can’t.”

Outside of the political class, social media users in the U.S. have gone so far as to claim that China misunderstands Kissinger’s true role in the world. Critics remarked that while Kissinger played a major role in normalizing ties between China and the U.S., his tenure within the foreign policy establishment has also been characterized by aggressive U.S. interventions in Vietnam, Laos, Chile, and several other countries. Thus, few on the U.S. side have attempted to truly understand China’s side.

Kissinger’s visit marked an important opportunity not only for China but also humanity as a whole. China-U.S. relations are not simply bilateral in nature. The relationship between these massively influential countries makes an impact on everyone, and everything, living on this planet.

Continue reading How to understand Kissinger and China’s high-level diplomacy

Mia Mottley: China and Barbados share a commitment to putting people first

In this recent episode of the CGTN series Leaders Talk, Zou Yun interviews Mia Mottley, the first woman Prime Minister of Barbados, during her official visit to China in June.

Comparing what she has seen in China this time to her previous visits in 2004 and 2007, Prime Minister Mottley refers to the palpable changes in terms of China’s growth. This growth has continued to fuel the global economy despite recent challenges. She cites climate change as one of the challenges that “unite us in common purpose”. Small island developing states, the Barbadian PM notes, are on the frontline in the fight against climate change. They are the “canaries in the mine” and the world might have seen quicker action had people listened to their concerns.

Zou Yun notes that Mottley has a special bond with China in that she shares an October 1st birthday with the People’s Republic of China. Barbados, the Prime Minister notes, established diplomatic relations with China 46 years ago as an act of courage and on the premise that China and the Chinese culture and civilization are worthy of respect. Noting that a commitment to putting people first is a foundation of the two countries’ relationship, she praises China for its adherence to the principle of equality between big and small nations. An example was the response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Many countries had refused to provide vaccines to countries like Barbados on the grounds that their market share was too small, but China had provided her country with 30,000 doses of vaccine. She had personally gone to the airport to receive the first batch. 

When some countries had criticized Barbados’ strong relationship with China, she had retorted that since independence, her country had resolved, under successive governments, formed by different political parties, to be, “friends of all, satellites of none.” This had dictated Barbados’ recognition of China in 1977 and also its friendship with Cuba and Venezuela.

In 2021, Barbados had become the world’s newest republic, removing the late Queen Elizabeth II as head of state. Mia Mottley describes this as being about finishing the journey of independence – which started with the emancipation from slavery in 1838, continued with women gaining the vote in 1944, independence in 1966, and removing the UK’s Privy Council as the final court of appeal in 2005. A non-Barbadian head of state, she explained, was no longer acceptable to our people. This was about “the business of nation building” and overcoming the legacy of racism that was intrinsic to British colonialism.

Moving to the conclusion of the interview, Prime Minister Mottley described her mission as being to improve people’s lives and to fight injustice. It cannot just be that the market determines that the victors should live well. The levelling hand of the state is also needed to bring as many people as possible to development.

The full interview with the Barbados Prime Minister is embedded below.

China is the leading force for world peace

The Forum on Global Human Rights Governance, themed Equality, Cooperation and Development: The 30th Anniversary of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action and Global Human Rights Governance, was held in Beijing in mid-June 2023.

Jointly hosted by the Information Office of China’s State Council, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the China International Development Cooperation Agency, the forum attracted over 300 participants from nearly 100 countries and international organizations, including United Nations (UN) agencies.

In a congratulatory letter to the forum, Chinese President Xi Jinping “stressed the need to respect all countries’ sovereignty and territorial integrity, jointly follow the path of peaceful development, act on the Global Security Initiative, and create a secure and peaceful environment for realizing human rights.”

Friends of Socialist China co-editor Carlos Martinez attended the forum remotely, addressing a panel about the Global Security Initiative and human rights protection. We publish his remarks below.

A version of Carlos’s presentation has been published in Beijing Review.

A few weeks ago, US president Joe Biden called upon his fellow G7 leaders to stand against China’s “aggression”. A few days ago, Mike Turner, the chair of the US’s House Intelligence Committee, referenced “unbelievable aggression by China.”

Indeed, it is entirely normal in Western politics and media to hear China referred to as “aggressive”, “belligerent” and “expansionist”; as a country which is trying to impose its will on the world by means of force, by means of bullying.

Such an accusation, coming from the major imperialist powers, is nothing if not ironic.

After all, it’s well known that the US has been at war for 228 out of its 247 years of existence.

At this moment, there are nearly a thousand US troops in Syria, in violation of international law and Syrian sovereignty. This very year, the US has carried out several air strikes against Syrian government targets.

The US continues to be involved in the disastrous war in Yemen, which has created the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.

In recent memory, the US has waged brutal wars on Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Yugoslavia.

It has active duty military troops stationed in nearly 150 countries, and it maintains 800 overseas military bases.

Its military expenditure is approaching a trillion dollars a year – meaning that a country with 4 percent of the global population accounts for 39 percent of the world’s military spending.

In relation to the crisis in Ukraine, the US’s policy from the start – indeed, before the start – has been to pour fuel onto the fire and to provoke conflict.

Sixteen months into Russia’s special military operation, it’s patently obvious that the only path to peace in the region lies through dialogue, not through escalation. And yet the US continues to provide more and more sophisticated weaponry to Ukraine, whilst doing everything it can to sabotage substantive peace talks.

Besides military aggression, the US is also the pre-eminent world power in terms of economic coercion and unilateral sanctions. It currently imposes unilateral sanctions on China, the DPRK, Iran, Syria, Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Eritrea, Zimbabwe, and several other countries. Columbia University economist Jeffrey Sachs describes the US as “by far the world’s biggest deployer of unilateral coercive measures.”

Let’s compare all this with China’s record.

Since its founding in 1949, China has maintained an extraordinarily peaceful record.

Between 1950 and 1953, over a million Chinese volunteers fought in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. And between 1965 and 1969, hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops contributed to the defence of Vietnam.

Besides these wars, plus brief border disputes with India and Vietnam, China has been at peace.

Continue reading China is the leading force for world peace