Author: Friends of Socialist China

Miguel Díaz-Canel signs the book of condolence for Jiang Zemin

The following report was published in Spanish on 9 December 2022, on the website of the Communist Party of Cuba. It has been translated into English by Friends of Socialist China.

At midday on Friday, during a break in the work session of the Fifth Plenary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, First Secretary and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, arrived at the embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Cuba to sign the book of condolence opened there following the death of Jiang Zemin on 30 November.

“In the name of the Cuban people, Party and Government, we express our heart-felt condolences on the death of former General Secretary and former President Jiang Zemin,” wrote the Cuban dignitary, who on December 1 had decreed an official mourning in the country on the occasion of the death of the Chinese party leader.

He added: “We deeply lament the physical departure of a dear friend of Cuba, a prominent statesman, an outstanding communist and defender of the socialist cause in China and worldwide, whose exceptional political and humanist principles we will never forget.”

“With all respect and admiration,” President Díaz-Canel closed his message; that same respect and admiration manifested for years towards the leader of that friendly nation and which is recognized by generations of Cubans.

Continue reading Miguel Díaz-Canel signs the book of condolence for Jiang Zemin

Book review: The Governance of China, Volume 4

We are pleased to republish the below review of the fourth volume of President Xi Jinping’s ‘The Governance of China’, written by the distinguished British sociologist Professor Martin Albrow and originally carried in China Daily. Professor Albrow notes that: “One of the greatest strengths in Xi’s thought is how he combines the wisdom and depth of experience of China, going back millennia, with the Marxist ideas that developed in the West under the impact of modernity. This is a dynamic view of the relation of ideas to reality, schooled in an understanding of the past, and then applied with the message that Marxism itself has to keep up to date with the changing times.”

He outlines President Xi’s concept of ‘whole process people’s democracy’, contrasting with what, he reminds us, Deng Xiaoping called the ‘democracy of monopoly capitalism’. Professor Albrow observes that, “for Western observers, the frequent allusions to spirit in Xi’s speeches and generally in Chinese public discourse are striking for a country that follows Marxism. But Marx never denounced spirit, only its distortion in oppressive religious doctrines.”

He concludes that whilst Xi’s articles and speeches contained in this volume are directed to the people of China, “such is their historical and recent achievements that the rest of the world should regard it as an example of what is possible.”

With the fourth volume of President Xi Jinping’s The Governance of China, the regular appearance of Xi’s speeches has established itself as a world publishing event. As his stature as a thinker has grown in parallel with his influence on world affairs, the attention of all serious political thinkers will focus on the intellectual contributions he is making to the theory of the modern state in a globalized world.

I have enjoyed the privilege of reviewing the three previous volumes. In the past, I have stated that Xi has breathed new life into the concept of governance by exploring the whole range of concepts that underpin a healthy society, to enable its people to pursue their values and share their aspirations for peace and security.

At the same time, he has placed ever increasing emphasis on the contribution that China is making to safeguard the future of human beings on a planet they have endangered through their own actions. Ecological civilization is the Chinese concept that makes sustainable development a realizable project. Creating a balance between humanity and nature is a concept with deep roots in Chinese culture, and Xi offers the practical example for today in the Yangtze River Economic Belt.

Continue reading Book review: The Governance of China, Volume 4

Book launch: Sanctions – A Wrecking Ball in a Global Economy (10 December)

Sanctions, the illegal unilateral coercive measures imposed on a third of humanity by the US and its allies, are a form of warfare and an ever more contested means of enforcing the dominance of the west on the majority of the world’s peoples. In fact, sanctions are boomeranging on the US bloc with inflation causing hardship at home and US dollar dominance being challenged. However, by far the greatest burden so is borne by some 40 countries targeted by the lethal sanctions, with the impacts ever more punishing.

We are proud to co-sponsor this webinar launching the new SanctionsKill book Sanctions: A Wrecking Ball in a Global Economy (to which we have contributed a chapter: Sanctions in the New Cold War on China).

  • DATE: Saturday 10 December 2022
  • TIME: 1pm US Eastern / 10am US Pacific / 6pm Britain

Speakers include:

  • Sara Flounders, International Action Center
  • Ajamu Baraka, Black Alliance for Peace
  • Carlos Martinez, International Manifesto Group
  • Lee Siu Hin, China-US Solidarity Network
  • Judy Bello, United National Antiwar Coalition, Syria Solidarity Movement
  • Erica Jung, Nodutdol Korean Community Development
  • Ann Garrison, Pacifica Radio Reporter and Black Agenda Report
  • Rick Sterling, Task Force on the Americas
Register on Zoom

Xi Jinping’s speech at memorial meeting for Comrade Jiang Zemin

China paid its last farewell to former leader Jiang Zemin with a solemn memorial meeting in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People on Tuesday December 6, at which President Xi Jinping delivered the eulogy.

President Xi said: “We hold Comrade Jiang Zemin in high esteem and cherish the memory of Comrade Jiang Zemin because he devoted his life to the Chinese people and worked tirelessly throughout his life to contribute to the cause of national independence and the liberation of the people, and to the prosperity of our country and the well-being of our people.”

He noted that: “At the time when Comrade Jiang Zemin assumed principal leading posts in the Party and the military, China was at a critical moment, facing both pressure from abroad and difficulties at home. Comrade Jiang Zemin took charge at a challenging time. ‘For the cause of the Party and the people, I would give my best, give my all, till my heart ceases to beat,’ Comrade Jiang Zemin had said with a strong resolve…

“Between the late 1980s and early 1990s, political disturbances erupted in the international arena and in China. World socialism experienced serious twists and turns. Some Western countries imposed so-called ‘sanctions’ on China. The development of China’s socialist cause faced unprecedented difficulties and pressures. At this historical juncture critical to the future and destiny of the Party and the state, Comrade Jiang Zemin led the central collective leadership of the CPC – which firmly relied on the whole Party, the entire military and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups – in unswervingly taking economic development as the central task, unequivocally upholding the Four Cardinal Principles, adhering to reform and opening-up, resolutely carrying out rectifications and strengthening ideological work in all respects. He also led the leadership in furthering the efforts to improve Party conduct, build clean government and fight corruption, in strengthening the Party’s ties with the masses, and in actively carrying out diplomatic struggles and resolutely safeguarding national independence, dignity, security and stability. All these safeguarded the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics. After painstaking efforts, the Party and the people successfully stabilized the general situation of reform and development, laying a solid foundation for our country’s development…

“Comrade Jiang Zemin engaged in forward-looking strategic thinking on building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and attaining the third-step strategic objectives for the modernization drive. He pointed out that efforts should be concentrated on fully building a moderately prosperous society of a higher standard for the benefit of well over one billion people in the first two decades of the 21st century.”

Touching on international issues, Xi noted that Jiang Zemin had, “actively promoted the building of a multipolar world, pushed for greater democracy in international relations, respected the diversity of the world, pushed for the establishment of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and led us in breaking new ground on the diplomatic front…

“China cannot develop without the rest of the world, and the world needs China for prosperity. Comrade Jiang Zemin stressed that we must adjust ourselves to the historical trends, promote the establishment of a new international political and economic order that is just and reasonable, strive for a long-term peaceful international environment, comprehensively safeguard our national security and interests, and constantly make new and greater contributions to the noble cause of humankind’s peace and development. On the new journey, we must always keep global well-being in mind, holding high the banner of peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit and promoting the common values shared by humankind. Efforts should be made to jointly advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, facilitate the establishment of a new type of international relations, push forward the building of a community of shared future for humankind, and join hands and press ahead with all the progressive forces in the world.”

The following is the full text of Comrade Xi Jinping’s eulogy. It is reprinted from the Xinhua News Agency.

Comrades and friends,

Today, with profound grief, we hold a memorial meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing to mourn our beloved Comrade Jiang Zemin.

At this moment, the people in Party and government organs, business and public institutions, the countryside, schools, military units, and urban neighborhoods across the country, staff with Chinese embassies and consulates as well as institutions stationed abroad, compatriots in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), the Macao SAR and Taiwan, and overseas Chinese, are together with us to cherish the memories of Comrade Jiang Zemin’s extraordinary achievements and outstanding qualities and to express our grief.

The whole Party, the entire military and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups are in profound grief for the loss of a great man in the passing of Comrade Jiang Zemin. People all over the world, leaders of other countries and international friends in various fields have also expressed their heartfelt condolences.

Comrade Jiang Zemin was an outstanding leader enjoying high prestige acknowledged by the whole Party, the entire military and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups, a great Marxist, a great proletarian revolutionary, statesman, military strategist and diplomat, a long-tested communist fighter, and an outstanding leader of the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics. He was the core of the Party’s third generation of central collective leadership and the principal founder of the Theory of Three Represents.

Continue reading Xi Jinping’s speech at memorial meeting for Comrade Jiang Zemin

Xi Jinping holds talks with Lao and Mongolian presidents

In the last week of November, Chinese leader Xi Jinping hosted his counterparts from two of China’s friendly neighbors.

Thongloun Sisoulith, General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) Central Committee and President of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (LPDR), became the third leader of a socialist country to visit China since the Communist Party of China’s 20th National Congress in October, following visits by the leaders of Vietnam and Cuba. 

Meeting Thongloun on November 30, Xi Jinping informed his guest of the passing away of former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin. Thongloun expressed deep condolences, saying that this is a huge loss for the CPC and the Chinese people, and that the LPRP and the Lao people feel the sorrow in the same way. Comrade Jiang Zemin was a close friend of the LPRP and the Lao people. During his visit to Laos in 2000, Jiang Zemin proposed the principle of “long-term stability, good-neighborly friendship, mutual trust and all-round cooperation”, which has played a guiding role in the development of Laos-China relations.

Xi Jinping briefed his Laotian counterpart on the 20th Congress of the CPC and also said that since the LPRP held its 11th National Congress it had focused its efforts on improving itself, pursued a socialist path in line with the country’s own characteristics, striven to maintain political and social stability and sustained economic development. At the same time, it has contributed to maintaining regional peace and stability and safeguarding the common interests of developing countries.

The Laotian leader said that at a time when the world is undergoing complex changes, China is a pillar of safeguarding world peace and stability and is committed to promoting the common development of humanity and building a human community with a shared future.

Two days previously, on November 8, President Ji met with President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh of Mongolia. Xi pointed out that the two presidents meeting again after two months as promised fully reflects the high level of China-Mongolia relations. In September, the Chinese and Mongolian leaders had met in the Uzbek city of Samarkand, including at the sixth tripartite meeting also attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Xi said that following the principle of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness, China pursues friendship and partnership with its neighboring countries. It attaches great importance to growing the friendship, mutual trust and common interests with Mongolia. Outlining the five principles of Chinese-style modernization, he added that China will not only realize its own prosperity but also contribute to its neighborhood and beyond through its own development. On economic matters, he said that the two countries would actively advance the China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor as well as the section of the China-Russia natural gas pipeline in Mongolia. China applauds Mongolia’s “Billion Trees” initiative and is ready to discuss with Mongolia the establishment of a cooperation center to combat desertification. 

President Khurelsukh said that as permanent neighbors connected by mountains and rivers, Mongolia and China are good neighbors, good friends and good partners. The two sides have rendered each other support and assistance during the pandemic and jointly responded to global challenges, a vivid example of “a friend in need is a friend indeed”. China, he added, is a peace-loving country that has never invaded other countries in its history but has sincerely helped others develop. China’s Global Development Initiative and Global Security Initiative are for humanity’s peace and development. Mongolia fully supports them.

The following articles were originally carried on the website of the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Xi Jinping Holds Talks with General Secretary of the LPRP Central Committee and Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith

On November 30, 2022, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and President Xi Jinping held talks with General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) Central Committee and Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith at the Great Hall of the People. The two sides stressed the need to uphold the principle of “long-term stability, good-neighborly friendship, mutual trust and all-round cooperation” and the spirit of “good neighbors, good friends, good comrades and good partners”, respect and trust each other politically, benefit each other economically, foster mutual understanding and affinity through people-to-people and cultural exchanges, constantly advance the building of a China-Laos community with a shared future, and make positive efforts and contribute to the building of a human community with a shared future.

At the beginning of the talks, Xi Jinping said that Comrade Jiang Zemin passed away on Wednesday in Shanghai due to illness after all medical treatments had failed. Comrade Jiang Zemin was an outstanding leader enjoying high prestige acknowledged by the whole Party, the entire military and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups, a great Marxist, a great proletarian revolutionary, statesman, military strategist and diplomat, a long-tested communist fighter, an outstanding leader of the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the core of the CPC’s third generation of central collective leadership, and the principal founder of the Theory of Three Represents. Xi Jinping said that Chinese people profoundly mourn Comrade Jiang Zemin and will turn grief into strength to strive in solidarity to build a modern socialist country in all respects and advance the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts in accordance with the plan of the 20th CPC National Congress.

Continue reading Xi Jinping holds talks with Lao and Mongolian presidents

China’s Covid policy

This short but informative article by British economist Michael Roberts addresses the current wave of media claims that China is heading into a major Covid-19 surge as a result of the recent slight relaxation of its dynamic Zero Covid policy (ironically, the same media outlets have been demanding China drop this “authoritarian” policy for the last three years).

Michael observes that case numbers, while high relative to a few weeks ago, are still very low compared to other countries in the region; “the current number of serious cases (requiring ICU intervention) – 108 in total – is tiny”; and there have only been seven Covid deaths in China in the last six months.

China is evolving its strategy in line with its hard-won experience tackling the virus over the last three years, as well as the relatively lower severity of the Omicron variant and China’s vaccination rate (around 90 percent).

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning summed it up well recently: “What has happened in the past few years shows that China’s COVID policy has provided maximum protection to people’s lives and health, minimized COVID’s impact on socioeconomic development, and bought precious time for understanding the virus on the basis of science, for research and development of vaccines and therapeutics, and for vaccinating more people across the country. China has the lowest COVID infection rate and death toll among all major countries. We have achieved the most effective results at minimum cost. As has been proven by facts, China’s approach to COVID response over the past few years has been right, science-based and effective.”

Is China heading for an uncontrolled COVID infection surge as it relaxes its strict lockdown policy, as is claimed by the Western media here?

SOME FACTS: China is going through its third major wave of infections, with around 4,000 new (symptomatic) cases a day of late.

But relative to its huge population this is nothing like what’s being experienced elsewhere in north Asia.

Crucially, the current number of serious cases (requiring ICU intervention) in China — 108 in total — is tiny; as elsewhere, that’s around 90% below the peak of previous waves. And only 7 people have died from (with?) the disease in China in the last 6 months.

While global fatalities have dropped to around 1,500 a day (again, 90% below the peak), it’s ironic that those countries with the highest vaccination rates are currently reporting the highest fatality levels. China’s vaccination rates, for what it’s worth, are in the middle of the pack.

Since the start of the pandemic overall Covid-19 fatalities relative to population barely register for China — the US has had almost a thousand times more.

And China’s Covid-19 fatality rate, now falling fast, is in line with other large EMs:

So while there are the usual caveats about the quality/reliability of the data, at the moment there’s no indication that, epidemiologically at least, things are out of control. If we start to see infection rates accelerate exponentially (Chinese New Year seems to be an obvious risk) the story might change. But at the moment rates are fairly steady.

International condolences for Jiang Zemin

As a veteran statesman, late Chinese leader Jiang Zemin has been widely mourned not only in his own country, but also throughout the world. Naturally, his loss has been particularly felt in fraternal socialist and other anti-imperialist and progressive countries, something that is reflected in the four brief reports which we reproduce below from the Xinhua News Agency.

Comrade Thongloun Sisoulith, General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) Central Committee and Lao President, described the former Chinese president as a close friend to the LPRP and the Lao people and said he had played a significant role in guiding the development of Laos-China relations. Comrade Jiang Zemin visited Laos in 2000.

According to Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and Cuban President, Jiang was an outstanding statesman and communist leader, as well as a close friend of the Cuban Revolution.  Jiang Zemin visited Cuba in 1993 and 2001. He was the only head of state to visit the socialist island during the worst days of the ‘special period’.  Cuba declared a period of official mourning for Jiang on December 1st.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Jiang had led the Chinese people to achieve prosperity and strength. Jiang Zemin visited Belarus in 2001.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he and the Palestinian people will always remember such an outstanding leader who was a supporter of the Palestinian people and their cause and legal rights, as well as a promoter of Palestine-China relations. Jiang Zemin visited Palestine in 2000. 

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega said the spiritual and cultural legacy left by Jiang is guiding and will continue to guide the Chinese people towards greater development.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said Jiang had forged a profound friendship with the people of Latin America and Venezuela. Jiang Zemin visited Venezuela in 2001.

According to Comrade Kim Jong Un, leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), Jiang devoted all his life to the development and growth of the Communist Party of China and the country, as well as to the happiness of the Chinese people. Kim added that Jiang extended sincere support for and solidarity with the socialist cause of the DPRK people, and actively committed himself to consolidating and developing the traditional friendship between the DPRK and China. Jiang visited the DPRK in 2001 and also hosted the final overseas visit of the DPRK’s founding leader Kim Il Sung.

Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni said Jiang was an outstanding representative of the Chinese people and a great friend of the Kingdom of Cambodia and the Cambodian people and made great contributions to the restoration of peace and stability in Cambodia, to the country’s national unity as well as to closer brotherhood, stronger solidarity and deeper cooperation between Cambodia and China. Jiang Zemin visited Cambodia in 2000 and the Cambodian royal family, which has always stood on the side of anti-imperialist independence, has enjoyed an extraordinary friendship with socialist China ever since the present king’s father Samdech Norodom Sihanouk first met with Premier Zhou Enlai at the 1955 Bandung Afro-Asian Conference.

Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said China, under the leadership of Jiang, had made remarkable achievements in development and lifting people out of poverty.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong and other top Vietnamese leaders sad that Jiang was an outstanding leader of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the country, who had made distinguished contributions to the cause of building socialism with Chinese characteristics.

The principles of “long-term stability, future orientation, good-neighborly friendship and all-round cooperation” and the spirit of “good neighbor, good friend, good comrade and good partner” were developed by Jiang together with his Vietnamese counterparts.  Jiang Zemin visited Vietnam in 2002.

Nepali President Bidya Devi Bhandari, a veteran leader of Nepal’s communist movement, said that her country will always remember Jiang’s contribution to fostering and consolidating the good-neighborly relations between Nepal and China. Jiang visited Nepal in 1996.

Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki observed that Jiang was full of foresight and wisdom and made great contributions to China’s rapid economic growth and the remarkable improvement of its international status in the past decades. 

Namibian President Hage Geingob said he appreciated Jiang’s indelible contributions to Namibia’s independence and soci-economic development.

World leaders mourn passing of former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin

Xinhua, 2 December 2022

Leaders of many countries and international organizations have expressed their deep condolences by phone, letter and other means to Chinese President Xi Jinping over the passing of former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin.

Underscoring Jiang’s important dedication to the economic and social development of contemporary China and the country’s rise in international standing, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Jiang was an old friend of Russia, who had made great contributions to elevating the Russia-China relationship to a strategic partnership of coordination.

He will always remember such a statesman with lofty prestige and tremendous personal charisma, Putin said, expressing his sincere sympathy to Jiang’s family and all the friendly Chinese people.

Jiang had made important contributions to the socialist cause with Chinese characteristics, said Thongloun Sisoulith, general secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) Central Committee and Lao president.

The former Chinese president, a close friend to the LPRP and the Lao people, had played a significant role in guiding the development of Laos-China relations, Thongloun added.

Jiang was an outstanding statesman and communist leader, as well as a close friend of the Cuban Revolution, said Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and Cuban president, adding that Cuba expressed its deepest condolences to the Communist Party of China (CPC), the Chinese government and people.

Jiang had made considerable contributions to improving the living standard of the Chinese people and leading the drive to grow China into a stable and prosperous economy, said Brunei’s Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, adding that Brunei highly appreciates Jiang’s efforts in deepening the long-standing ties between the two countries.

Jiang had led China on a period of rapid growth and development through sustained economic reforms, said Singaporean President Halimah Yacob, adding that their thoughts are with the people of China during this moment of grief.

Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih said that Jiang had promoted the rapid development of the Chinese economy and society, and strengthened China’s role as an important contributor on the global stage, adding that Jiang will be remembered as a farsighted leader.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said Jiang was dedicated to promoting China’s development and prosperity, and enhancing its international influence.

The former Chinese leader had made great contributions to strengthening friendship between Kazakhstan and China, and would be remembered forever by people of the two countries, he added.

Tajik President Emomali Rahmon spoke highly of the great contributions Jiang had made to the development of China and to Tajikistan-China relations, saying that his passing is a major loss.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Jiang had led the Chinese people to achieve prosperity and strength. Calling Jiang a founder of Belarus-China relations, he said Jiang had made positive contributions to developing and cementing relations between the two countries.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he and the Palestinian people will always remember such an outstanding leader who is a supporter of the Palestinian people and their cause and legal rights, a promoter of Palestine-China relations and an eyewitness to the establishment of the diplomatic relations between Palestine and China.

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan extended her deep sympathy to the CPC, the Chinese people and Jiang’s family.

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega said the spiritual and cultural legacy left by Jiang is guiding and will continue to guide the Chinese people for greater development.

President Xi, with his unquestionable leadership and rich experience, will surely lead the Chinese people forward to success along the road of socialism with Chinese characteristics, he added.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said Jiang had forged a profound friendship with the people of Latin America and Venezuela, and the Venezuelan side expressed deep condolences over his passing.

Czech President Milos Zeman said Jiang had achieved a great success in promoting China’s economic reform and his achievements will be recorded in Chinese history, adding that he highly appreciates Jiang’s ability to promote China’s economic development and stability.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Jiang had promoted China’s reform and opening-up, made contributions to China’s development and played an important role in promoting the development of Japan-China relations.

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Jiang had led China in promoting the reform and opening-up, guided the path for China to integrate into the global economy and play an important role on the world stage, and made important contributions to expanding Singapore-China relations. Singapore will always and deeply remember this respected friend.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif said Jiang had made valuable contributions to strengthening Pakistan-China relations and Pakistan will always remember this great friend.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that Jiang had firmly advocated China’s international engagement, promoted China’s great economic progress and its successful entry into the World Trade Organization, and led China in hosting the landmark Fourth World Conference on Women. On behalf of the United Nations, he offered sincere condolences to Jiang’s family and to the Chinese government and the Chinese people.

Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen and President of the European Council Charles Michel also mourned the passing of Jiang.

More world leaders mourn passing of former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin

Xinhua, 3 December 2022

Leaders of many countries and international organizations continued to express their deep condolences by phone, letter and other means to Chinese President Xi Jinping over the passing of former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin.

Jiang devoted all his life to the development and growth of the Communist Party of China and the country, as well as to the happiness of the Chinese people, said Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea and chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

He put forward the Theory of Three Represents, and made important contributions to the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, said Kim.

Jiang extended sincere support for and solidarity with the socialist cause of the DPRK people, and actively committed himself to consolidating and developing the traditional friendship between the DPRK and China, Kim said, adding that Jiang’s legacy endures.

Jiang was an outstanding representative of the Chinese people and a great friend of the Kingdom of Cambodia and the Cambodian people, and made great contributions to the restoration of peace and stability in Cambodia, to the country’s national unity as well as to closer brotherhood, stronger solidarity and deeper cooperation between Cambodia and China, said Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni, noting that Jiang will be remembered forever.

Recognizing Jiang as a great leader who had led China to prosperity and development, and a good friend of South Korea and its people, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said on behalf of the government and people of South Korea, he extended deep condolences to the bereaved family and the Chinese people.

Kyrgyzstan speaks highly of Jiang’s historic contributions to China’s national construction and the development of Kyrgyzstan-China relations, said Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov.

The former Chinese leader made great achievements in promoting China’s economic and social development, and greatly enhanced China’s international prestige, said Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, adding that Jiang’s accomplishments will go down in history.

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said Jiang made significant contributions to developing the Uzbekistan-China partnership and promoting bilateral cooperation in politics, trade and economy, humanity and other areas, which the Uzbek side will always remember.

Jiang made outstanding contributions to laying a solid foundation for Azerbaijan-China friendly relations and practical cooperation, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said, extending the deepest condolences to all Chinese people.

Jiang led China in pushing forward the reform and opening-up and embarking on the path of economic development, showing to the entire world that a country can realize economic development through self-reliance, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said.

His leadership achievements in economy have far-reaching impacts and will always be remembered by the people of the world, Buhari said.

As an outstanding politician, Jiang devoted himself to strengthening the foundation of economic prosperity and safeguarding world peace, said Kenyan President William Ruto, extending sincere sympathy to Jiang’s relatives, friends and the Chinese people.

Senegalese President Macky Sall said he, in deep remembrance of Jiang, paid tribute to the glorious cause he had made, and extended sincere condolences to the friendly Chinese people.

Jiang’s pragmatic quality, innovative spirit, outstanding talents and great foresight will always be remembered by the whole world, said Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh.

Jiang has fulfilled his commitment to China and the Chinese people with concrete actions, Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou said, adding that as a statesman, Jiang’s fine moral character will be a valuable asset to future generations.

Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said China, under the leadership of Jiang, had made remarkable achievements in development and lifted hundreds of thousands of people out of poverty.

Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said Jiang was an outstanding Chinese statesman and his remarkable leadership not only inspired the Chinese people, but also won the respect of the international community.

On behalf of the Bangladeshi people and government, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed her deepest condolences and heartfelt sympathy and said that the friendship between Bangladesh and China was greatly strengthened during Jiang’s tenure.

Jiang was a great supporter of international cooperation, said Csaba Korosi, president of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly, noting that Jiang led China to success and played a prominent role in the United Nations.

Jiang was an outstanding figure in China’s and even the global political circles, and his death is a big loss to China and its friends around the world, said Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission.

Faki, on behalf of the AU Commission, extended sincere sympathy to the Chinese government, the Chinese people and Jiang’s family.

Jiang was an outstanding leader enjoying high prestige, said Zhang Ming, secretary-general of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), noting that Jiang was the main founder of the SCO, and made indelible historical contributions to the SCO’s establishment, development and growth.

More world leaders mourn former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin

Xinhua, 4 December 2022

Leaders of many countries and international organizations continued to express their deep condolences by phone, letter and other means to Chinese President Xi Jinping over the passing of former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin.

Jiang was an outstanding leader of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the country, who had made distinguished contributions to the cause of building socialism with Chinese characteristics, said General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong, Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue.

The principles of “long-term stability, future orientation, good-neighborly friendship and all-round cooperation” and the spirit of “good neighbor, good friend, good comrade and good partner” jointly established by Jiang and Vietnamese leaders have charted the course for the two parties and two countries to continuously develop relations and achieve important results, they said.

They believe that under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, the Chinese people will surely make new and greater achievements in building socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Recognizing Jiang as an outstanding leader and far-sighted statesman, Nepali President Bidya Devi Bhandari said the late Chinese leader has played an important role in enhancing China’s international status.

Bhandari added that her country will always remember Jiang’s contribution to fostering and consolidating the good-neighborly relations between Nepal and China.

King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia and the kingdom’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud expressed their deep condolences over the passing of Jiang, and extended sincere sympathies to the bereaved family and the Chinese people.

The late Chinese leader has laid a solid foundation for the vigorous development of China’s economy, said Israeli President Isaac Herzog, adding that the Israeli people will never forget Jiang’s important contribution to promoting the development of Israel-China relations.

President of Seychelles Wavel Ramkalawan said that Jiang successfully led China to achieve rapid economic growth and social transformation, and achieved remarkable achievements.

Jiang had laid a good foundation for today’s friendly and cooperative relations between Africa and China, Ramkalawan added.

Jiang was full of foresight and wisdom, and made great contributions to China’s rapid economic growth and remarkable improvement of its international status in the past decades, said Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki.

Jiang was an outstanding Chinese leader, said Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, adding that the government and the people of Solomon Islands join the Chinese people in mourning the passing of such a great leader.

Jiang made a profound impact on China during his tenure, and his name will always be associated with China’s economic take-off and accession to the World Trade Organization, said German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, adding that Jiang’s great efforts to promote the development of Germany-China relations will never be forgotten.

Jiang’s contribution to China’s development and reform and opening-up will always be remembered, said Polish President Andrzej Duda.

Those expressing condolences over Jiang’s passing to the bereaved family, the CPC, the Chinese government and the Chinese people also include:

Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Crown Prince of Kuwait Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah,

President of Cape Verde Jose Maria Neves,

Cameroonian President Paul Biya,

President of the Central African Republic Faustin-Archange Touadera,

Comorian President Azali Assoumani,

Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde,

President of Guinea-Bissau Umaro Sissoco Embalo,

Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi,

President of Niger Mohamed Bazoum,

Chairman of Sudan’s Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan,

King of Tonga Tupou VI,

President of the Swiss Confederation Ignazio Cassis,

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto,

Norwegian King Harald V,

Estonian President Alar Karis,

Nepali Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba,

Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne,

Secretary General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development Rebeca Grynspan,

International Telecommunication Union Secretary-General Zhao Houlin,

President of the Economic Community of West African States Commission Omar Alieu Touray.

More world leaders mourn former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin

Xinhua, 4 December 2022

Leaders of many countries and international organizations continued to express their deep condolences via the phone, letters and other means to Chinese President Xi Jinping over the passing of former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin.

Jiang was not only an internationally renowned Chinese leader, but also deeply respected by the Thai people, said Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn Phra Vajiraklaochaoyuhua.

The King said Jiang’s state visit to Thailand in 1999 had substantially advanced the development of bilateral relations.

Jiang had made remarkable contributions to promoting China’s development and improving China’s international status, said Morocco’s King Mohammed VI.

Namibian President Hage Geingob said he appreciated Jiang’s indelible contributions to Namibia’s aspirations for independence and socio-economic development.

Jiang’s passing is a loss for the Chinese people and the Communist Party of China, as well as Namibia, Geingob said.

The relationship between China and Brazil was elevated to a strategic partnership when Jiang was Chinese president and Brazil became the first developing country to establish a strategic partnership with China, said Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. He extended his sincerest sympathy to the Chinese government and people.

Those expressing condolences over Jiang’s passing to the bereaved family, the Chinese government and the Chinese people also include:

President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan,

Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani,

Sultan of Oman Haitham bin Tarik,

King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa,

President of the Presidential Leadership Council of Yemen Rashad Mohammed Al-Alimi,

Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera,

President of Guinea Mamady Doumbouya,

Kiribati President Taneti Maamau,

UAE Vice President and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum,

Qatari Deputy Emir Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Thani,

Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani,

Lao Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh,

Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth.

On the revolutionary life of Jiang Zemin

We republish below a profile of the late Chinese leader Comrade Jiang Zemin, originally issued by the Xinhua News Agency, which illustrates and explains the deep respect and affection that the Chinese people hold for this outstanding communist, patriot and internationalist, whose revolutionary career spanned very nearly eight decades. 

Much of the information contained here was already covered in the official Chinese letter announcing Comrade Jiang’s passing, which we have already reported. However, there is also much new material, some of which has never appeared in English before.

The article notes a young Jiang Zemin’s contribution to the war to resist US aggression and aid Korea:

“To boost efforts to resist US aggression and aid Korea, Jiang organized the production of canned food specially provided for the Chinese People’s Volunteers. He also oversaw the design of the first homegrown turbo-generator in New China.”

Highlighting his creative application and development of Marxism-Leninism in the evolving situation in China and the world, it states:

“On learning lessons from the demise of the Soviet Union and the drastic changes in Eastern European countries, and the Cultural Revolution in China, Jiang stressed the importance of adhering to socialism, and carrying out socialist reform to explore a path of socialist development that suits China’s actual conditions.”

The now rapidly developing and expanding Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) was to a great extent a creation of Jiang:

“Jiang promoted the establishment of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the first regional cooperation organization set up with China’s participation and named after a Chinese city. The Shanghai Spirit championed by the SCO – mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diverse civilizations and pursuit of common development – has exerted an important influence on contemporary international relations.”

And he stayed true to some of the finest traditions of the Chinese revolution:

“He said the biggest danger for the Party when it becomes the ruling party is its detachment from the masses and that resolutely opposing and preventing corruption is a major political task for the whole Party. Underscoring the importance of adhering to the Party’s mass line, he demanded the Party do everything for the people while relying on the people in every task. He asked officials at all levels to bear in mind the purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly and doing practical and good things for them.”

One thing not covered in this article, which we would like to reference, is Jiang Zemin’s relationship to Ireland and Ireland’s special contribution to China’s development. The Shannon Free Zone, established in 1959, was the world’s first free trade zone. In 1980, Jiang Zemin led a Chinese government delegation to study and learn from its experience and, in many respects, it was used as a model for China’s early development of special economic zones, which have played such a crucial role in the country’s development. Shannon has continued to be visited by senior Chinese delegations over the years.

Jiang Zemin was an outstanding leader enjoying high prestige acknowledged by the whole Communist Party of China (CPC), the entire military and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups.

He was a great Marxist and a great proletarian revolutionary, statesman, military strategist and diplomat. He was a long-tested communist fighter and an outstanding leader of the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics. He was the core of the third generation of the Party’s central collective leadership and the principal founder of the Theory of Three Represents.

Jiang’s life was a glorious and fighting one. During his revolutionary career of more than 70 years, he remained unswervingly firm in communist ideals, utterly loyal to the Party and the people, and resolutely committed to the cause of the Party and the people.

After the fourth plenary session of the 13th CPC Central Committee, faced with the complexity of the domestic and international situations and the grave challenges posed by the serious twists and turns world socialism had experienced, Jiang led the Party’s central collective leadership — firmly relying on the whole Party, the entire military and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups — in safeguarding the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics and successfully advancing the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics into the 21st century.

He made indelible achievements and won the heartfelt love of the whole Party, the entire military and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups, as well as the wide acclaim of the international community.

Continue reading On the revolutionary life of Jiang Zemin

Join hands in building global mass opposition to the New Cold War

On 22 October 2022, Friends of Socialist China co-editor Carlos Martinez spoke at a teach-in organised by Hamilton Coalition to Stop War on the theme ‘Geopolitical Conflict and the Prospect for Peace’. Carlos’s remarks focused specifically on US-China relations and the various twists and turns they’ve gone through since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. Carlos describes the nature of, reasons behind and dangers associated with the escalating US-led New Cold War on China, and concludes by urging “progressive and peace-loving people the world over join hands in building global mass opposition to this insanity.”

We embed the video of Carlos’s speech below, along with the text.

I’d like to talk about the journey that US-China relations have taken over the years.

We talk about there being a New Cold War, but China was also one of the key targets of the original Cold War.

In terms of the rise of McCarthyism, the extreme militant anti-communism of the Truman administration, the genocidal war against Korea: a great deal of this was connected to the whole “loss of China” discourse. How could US imperialism just helplessly allow the most populous country in the world, of massive historical and strategic importance, to have a communist revolution, to join the socialist camp, to enter into an alliance with the Soviet Union?

One of the early acts of the Cold War was to prevent The People’s Republic of China from taking up its rightful place at the United Nations. Between 1949 and 1971, it was the so-called Republic of China – that is to say, the breakaway capitalist dictatorship in Taiwan – that represented China on the Security Council and in the General Assembly.

And for those two decades, relations between the US and China were characterised by outright hostility and an attempt by the US to blockade China – militarily, economically and diplomatically.

Then in the early 1970s, strategists in the US decided on a path of engaging with China – for a variety of reasons, including that its policy of non-recognition simply wasn’t viable, especially given the support China enjoyed among the newly-liberated countries of Africa and elsewhere. But the most important reason was almost certainly that the US thought it could strengthen its position vis-a-vis the Soviet Union, which by this point was involved in a bitter ideological split with China that lasted from the early 1960s until the late 1980s.

Continue reading Join hands in building global mass opposition to the New Cold War

People’s diplomacy: extending solidarity and addressing the common tasks facing humanity

On November 15, the China NGO Network for International Exchanges (CNIE), which works under the guidance of the International Department of the Communist Party of China (IDCPC), organised an online and offline international seminar on the theme, ‘Enhancing International Civil Society Solidarity and Cooperation to Build a Better World for All’.

The seminar aimed to enable international civil society to have a better understanding of the CPC’s 20th National Congress and to contribute to the building of a community with a shared future for humanity.

FoSC Co-Editor Keith Bennett was invited to deliver a speech. In his contribution, Keith stressed that a key theme of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s report to the party congress was the need for a people-centred approach. He linked this to the concept of people-to-people diplomacy put forward by late Premier Zhou Enlai and how this related to our tasks today.

We publish Keith’s speech below. The other speakers were:

  • Chen Zhou, Vice-Minister of the IDCPC
  • Hassan Ghafourifard, Former Vice President of Iran and Chairman of the Foundation for Islamic Development
  • Ek Sam Ol, Member of the Standing Committee of the Cambodian People’s Party and President of the Cambodia-China Friendship Association
  • Zuo Peng, Dean of the Marxist Theory Research Institute, Central Institute of Socialism
  • Ms. Zuliyati Simayi, Delegate to the 20th CPC National Congress, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Kashi University Committee, and Vice President of Kashi University
  • Yu Ruofei, Delegate to the 20th CPC National Congress, Leader of the Gansu Blue Sky Rescue Team
  • Dr. Ezzat Saad, Director of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs
  • Zivadin Jovanovic, President of the Belgrade Forum for a World of Equals
  • Kassem Tofaili, President of the Arab Chinese Cooperation & Development Association
  • Russell Chia, President of the Malaysia Organization for International Exchange

Comrades and Friends

I would like to begin by congratulating the China NGO Network for International Exchanges (CNIE) for their initiative in organizing this timely meeting and thank them for inviting me to join all today’s excellent speakers in saying a few words.

It is very appropriate that we hold this event in the immediate aftermath of the Twentieth National Congress of the Communist Party of China. In an article I wrote on the eve of the Congress, I noted that, “considering China’s weight and role in the world, whether in economy, geopolitics or climate change, its decisions will impact in some way on every human being on Earth.”

I would like to highlight three quotations from the Report to the Congress presented by General Secretary Xi Jinping, which I believe set the context for our deliberations today:

“We have promoted the development of a human community with a shared future and stood firm in protecting international fairness and justice.”

“This country is its people; the people are the country.”

And: “Today, our world, our times, and history are changing in ways like never before. The historical trends of peace, development, cooperation, and mutual benefit are unstoppable. The will of the people and the general trends of our day will eventually lead to a bright future for humanity. And yet, the hegemonic, high-handed, and bullying acts of using strength to intimidate the weak, taking from others by force and subterfuge, and playing zero-sum games are exerting grave harm. The deficit in peace, development, security, and governance is growing. All of this is posing unprecedented challenges for human society. The world has once again reached a crossroads in history, and its future course will be decided by all the world’s peoples.”

There is one clear conception at the heart of all this, namely the people. And as Comrade Mao Zedong enjoined us: “The people, and the people alone, are the motive force in the making of world history.”

Continue reading People’s diplomacy: extending solidarity and addressing the common tasks facing humanity

Zero Covid and the protests in China

The following Morning Star editorial takes a look at the recent protests in various Chinese cities calling for an end to Covid lockdowns. The author correctly frames the discussion on China’s dynamic Zero Covid strategy in terms of its actual public health outcomes, in particular its effectiveness in preventing death. “British citizens have been 257 times more likely to die from Covid than Chinese. The fact that this disparity is treated as irrelevant by most commentators says something unpleasant about how little our society values the lives of vulnerable and elderly people.”

Clearly, China’s management of the pandemic has saved millions of lives, and yet, “to an excitable Western commentariat loyally plugging the new cold war line set in Washington, Beijing’s zero-Covid policy is evidence of its paranoid authoritarianism.” Ironically, this “authoritarian” government seems to be responding to rising popular sentiment in favour of loosening Covid restrictions by, well, loosening Covid restrictions. Readers in the West may wish their governments were so responsive to popular opposition to austerity and war.

Establishment media have seized on protests over Covid lockdowns to rehearse their favourite anti-China narratives.

Ever since the world’s first Covid outbreak in Wuhan, the virus has been used as a stick to beat China.

Donald Trump cynically portrayed the pandemic as a Chinese weapon — “the worst attack we’ve ever had on our country … worse than Pearl Harbour.”

Trump’s ravings were seldom taken seriously even by US allies. But the resurrection of the “lab leak” conspiracy theory by the Joe Biden administration made it respectable, and the judgement of a World Health Organisation scientific team, that the virus likely evolved in bats and was “extremely unlikely” to have originated in a laboratory, was howled down.

As one British member of the team complained, “it’s disappointing to spend time with journalists explaining key findings … to see our colleagues selectively misquoted to fit a narrative that was prescribed before the work began.”

Since Western governments have moved on from Covid, the focus has shifted from trying to blame China for the virus to attacking its zero-Covid policy.

Clearly resumed lockdowns are causing genuine anger in some places. The Chinese government has recognised the problems caused by a “one size fits all” approach: reminding authorities in Henan’s capital Zhengzhou for example of the exceptions that need to be made to stay-home orders and rebuking police in Anhui for over-strict enforcement of quarantine.

Continue reading Zero Covid and the protests in China

Covid, cold war and Chinese socialism debated at Marx Memorial Library

We republish below a report by Roger McKenzie for the Morning Star of the dialogue we recently co-organised on the evolving significance of the Chinese Revolution. Roger also moderated the event.

The video stream is embedded below the article.

Activists held a packed meeting at the Marx Memorial Library on Monday night to consider the “evolving significance of the Chinese revolution.”

The meeting, jointly organised by the historic library, the Friends of Socialist China and the Morning Star, heard from Ken Hammond, an activist and professor of east Asian history at New Mexico State University.

Prof Hammond said: “The Chinese revolution didn’t just flip over into some utopia of the working class. It’s a struggle. It’s going to take a long time.

“Only 6,000 people in China have died from Covid, as compared to more than a million in the US, because they have prioritised saving lives.

“The US put economic interests first and decided to let more than a million people die — because that was more profitable.”

“In China, they prioritised saving lives,” he added.

“There is no doubt that living with the lockdowns is certainly going to be frustrating for people.

“Some people will undoubtedly reach a point of frustration that they are going to take that outside in protest just at a time when the government has taken steps to ease the restrictions.”

The second speaker was writer and former Stop the War Coalition chairman Andrew Murray, who is also a Morning Star columnist.

He said: “Since the fall of the Soviet Union, we have seen China’s rise in the world.

“That rise is ending two centuries of hegemony of European and North American powers.

“China is being attacked because it threatens the unipolar world order.

“Its strength and power gives other countries choices they might not otherwise have.

“It creates the possibility of a more equal world between countries.”

A key theme of the meeting was the question of whether China is socialist or capitalist.

Mr Murray said: “These are concepts that are universal and emerged in the 19th-century industrial revolution.

“It cannot be expected that these concepts would remain the same once they were globalised and once they encountered other civilisations and cultures.

“They can only be modified to some degree or another through that process.

“If China is a capitalist country, it is not like any we have seen in the past. If it is a socialist country, neither does it correspond to what we saw during the 20th century.”

He concluded: “China is not necessarily a model for the rest of the world, but it is a new perspective on socialism.”

Jiang Zemin: upholder of socialism

Following our initial post yesterday regarding the passing away of Comrade Jiang Zemin, the Xinhua News Agency has now released a much more detailed summary of the official letter released by the leading party, government and military bodies of China, which we reprint below.

The letter notes that: “Ever since his adolescent years, Jiang had been a diligent learner and seeker of truth enlightened by patriotism and the ideas of the democratic revolution. Through active participation in patriotic anti-Japanese movements during his college years, he developed a Marxist worldview, made his life choice and established his lifelong ideal and belief of working for national liberation and the people’s well-being.”

Referring to the period when he assumed the leadership of the party and the country, it stated: “Between the late 1980s and early 1990s, severe political disturbances erupted in the international arena and in China. World socialism experienced serious twists and turns. The development of China’s socialist cause faced unprecedented difficulties and pressures.

“At this critical historical juncture that determined the future and destiny of the Party and the state, Jiang led the central collective leadership of the CPC and firmly relied on the whole Party, the entire military and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups to unequivocally uphold the Four Cardinal Principles, and safeguard national independence, dignity, security and stability. He also unswervingly took economic development as the central task, adhered to reform and opening-up, defended the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and broke new ground in China’s reform and opening-up as well as socialist modernization.”

Summarizing his character, it added: “Jiang was firm in his convictions and decisive in actions. He always put the Party and the people first, and unswervingly adhered to the ideals and beliefs of communists. At critical moments, Jiang had the great courage to make resolute decisions and theoretical innovation…

“Jiang respected and cared for the people, always paying attention to their security and well-being, and assessing and advancing work based on the fundamental interests of the greatest possible majority of the Chinese people.”

It has further been announced that a memorial meeting for Comrade Jiang Zemin will be held in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People on Tuesday December 6th.

Jiang Zemin passed away due to leukemia and multiple organ failure in Shanghai at 12:13 p.m. on Nov. 30, 2022, at the age of 96, it was announced on Wednesday.

The announcement was made by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the State Council of the PRC, the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and the Central Military Commissions (CMC) of the CPC and the PRC.

It was announced in a letter addressing the whole Party, the entire military and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups.

The letter says they proclaim with profound grief to the whole Party, the entire military and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups that our beloved Comrade Jiang Zemin died of leukemia and multiple organ failure after all medical treatments had failed.

The letter says that Comrade Jiang Zemin was an outstanding leader enjoying high prestige acknowledged by the whole Party, the entire military and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups, a great Marxist, a great proletarian revolutionary, statesman, military strategist and diplomat, a long-tested communist fighter, and an outstanding leader of the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics. He was the core of the CPC’s third generation of central collective leadership and the principal founder of the Theory of Three Represents.

Continue reading Jiang Zemin: upholder of socialism

Lao president’s visit to China expected to deepen political mutual trust, inject new momentum to economic ties

Comrade Thongloun Sisoulith, General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) and President of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (LPDR), is currently on a visit to China at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, becoming the third leader of a socialist country to visit Beijing, following the visits of the Vietnamese and Cuban leaders, since the Communist Party of China held its 20th National Congress in October.

This is Thongloun’s first visit to China after taking office as General Secretary in January in 2021 and becoming state President of March the same year. However, he has previously visited China many times, the first occasion being in 1970, five years before his country’s liberation, testifying to the long and intimate ties between the Chinese and Laotian revolutions. 

The following article, reprinted from Global Times, outlines the background and context to his current visit.

The top leader of Laos is paying a visit to China from Tuesday to Thursday in a trip that is believed to highlight the positive interactions between the two socialist countries, enhance their political trust and bring new economic opportunities to both sides. 

Thongloun Sisoulith, general secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party Central Committee and Lao president, is paying the three-day visit at the invitation of Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Chinese president.

This is Thongloun’s first visit to China after taking office as general secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party Central Committee in January in 2021, and assuming office as president of Laos in March the same year.

As close neighbors and socialist countries, China and Laos have constantly deepened their trade and economic ties in recent years. According to the Xinhua News Agency, China has become the second-largest trading partner and the country with the largest foreign direct investment in Laos.

Thongloun has visited China many times since he first visited Nanning, South China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, in 1970. “Laos and China have helped each other in various periods of history, and in modern times they supported each other when fighting against foreign aggression. In particular, the Communist Party of China, the army and the people of China have provided timely and effective assistance to the cause of national salvation of Laos without any strings attached,” Thongloun described China-Laos relations in a previous interview with China Central Television (CCTV) News.

Continue reading Lao president’s visit to China expected to deepen political mutual trust, inject new momentum to economic ties

China and Cuba: an exemplar of solidarity and cooperation between socialist countries

The recent state visit to China by Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermudez was significant on a number of levels.

It was the first state visit from Latin America and the Caribbean following the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, highlighting the special importance of relations between socialist countries. An article in the Global Times pointedly remarked: “China-Cuba relations have become a model of socialist countries to unite and cooperate and of developing countries to sincerely assist each other. This is beyond the comprehension of the arrogant and narrow-minded US and Western elites.” It is notable in this regard that the first national leader to visit China after the 20th Congress was Nguyen Phu Trong, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

Xi Jinping classified the relations between Cuba and China as being “an exemplar of solidarity and cooperation between socialist countries,” adding:

No matter how the international situation may change, China’s commitment to long-term friendship with Cuba will not change. China’s determination to support Cuba in pursuing socialism will not change. China’s will to work with Cuba to safeguard international fairness and justice and oppose hegemony and power politics will not change.

Congratulating the CPC on the successful conclusion of its 20th Congress, Díaz-Canel stated that he greatly appreciates “the theoretical and practical contributions made by Xi Jinping’s leadership in the construction of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, which we Cubans consider a true stimulus for all progressive forces.”

The relationship between the two countries goes back a long way. Xi Jinping observed that Cuba was the first country in the Western hemisphere to establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China, shortly after the victory of the Cuban Revolution. A report from Granma – the official organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba – notes that, a few months later, in November 1960, “a Cuban delegation, headed by Ernesto Che Guevara, visited the Asian giant, and from that moment economic, scientific and technological cooperation agreements, and bilateral trade agreements were born.”

Díaz-Canel’s visit had a specific importance in light of the economic difficulties Cuba is currently experiencing – the product of the tightening of the US’s criminal blockade on the island, compounded by the impact of Covid-19 (and consequent reduction in tourism income) and a sequence of natural disasters and accidents. The numerous investment agreements signed, the renegotiation and restructuring of Cuba’s debt to China, and the donation by China of 100 million US dollars will serve to create much-needed breathing space for the Cuban economy.

Xi Jinping commented: “Currently, comrades in Cuba are confronted with great challenges. But the cause of socialism always advances through surmounting difficulties. China firmly believes that comrades in Cuba will overcome all difficulties, and China will do its best to provide support and assistance.”

China also took the opportunity to reiterate its whole-hearted opposition to the US blockade on Cuba:

China firmly supports the just struggle of the Cuban people to defend their national sovereignty and oppose foreign interference and blockade. The erroneous practice of a small number of countries indiscriminately imposing unilateral sanctions, cutting off development assistance, and freezing legal assets of other countries must be corrected. 

We are pleased to reproduce below the Joint Statement between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Cuba on Deepening China-Cuba Relations in the New Era, along with a selection of articles from Chinese and Cuban media.

Joint Statement between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Cuba on Deepening China-Cuba Relations in the New Era

Foreign Ministry of the People’s Republic of China (machine-translated from Chinese)

At the invitation of General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and President Xi Jinping, Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party and President of Cuba, addressed the Chinese people from November 24 to 26, 2022 on a state visit.

During the visit, General Secretary Xi Jinping held cordial talks with First Secretary and President Díaz-Canel, reflecting the close friendship between the two parties, governments and peoples. Premier Li Keqiang and Chairman Li Zhanshu met with Diaz-Canel respectively.

Comrade Diaz-Canel conveyed the greetings and congratulations of General Raúl Castro to Comrade Xi Jinping. Comrade Xi Jinping expressed his gratitude and asked him to convey his regards to General Raul Castro. The two heads of state spoke highly of the traditional friendship between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Cuba (hereinafter referred to as “both parties”). The China-Cuba friendship was forged by the older generations of leaders of the two countries represented by Mao Zedong and Fidel Castro. Cuba established diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China in 1960, becoming the first country in the Western Hemisphere to establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China. The two heads of state expressed satisfaction with the development of China-Cuba relations and the fruitful results of bilateral cooperation in various fields since the establishment of diplomatic relations 62 years ago. China-Cuba relations have become a model of solidarity and cooperation among socialist countries and sincere mutual assistance among developing countries.

The two heads of state emphasized that both China and Cuba are socialist countries, and both firmly uphold sovereignty, independence, national unity and national dignity, have always adhered to the socialist road with their own characteristics, and have made major achievements.

The two heads of state exchanged in-depth views on the relationship between the two parties and the two countries and international and regional issues of common concern. They expressed that they will continue to promote the implementation of the important consensus reached. Visits and political dialogues, promote exchanges at all levels and cooperation in various fields, make good use of various cooperation mechanisms, continue to deepen the special friendly relationship between China and Cuba in the new era, and join hands in building a community with a shared future for mankind in the process of promoting the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind.

1. The Cuban side warmly congratulates the complete success of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. The First Secretary of Diaz-Canel and the President warmly congratulated Comrade Xi Jinping on his election as General Secretary of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. The Cuban side believes that the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China is of great historical significance to the development of the Communist Party of China and China, and the results of the congress will become a new driving force for all progressive forces in the world to move forward. Gu Fang believes that Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era is a milestone in the modernization of Marxism in China, and firmly believes that under the leadership of General Secretary Xi Jinping, the Communist Party of China and the Chinese people will continue to achieve new greatness in the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era Achievement.

Continue reading China and Cuba: an exemplar of solidarity and cooperation between socialist countries

Jiang Zemin passes away

Comrade Jiang Zemin, who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1989-2002, passed away on November 30th, 2022, at the age of 96. 

He was born on August 17th, 1926 in Yangzhou (Jiangsu province). He hailed from a communist family and one of his uncles laid down his life for the revolution in 1939.  Comrade Jiang Zemin first became active in the communist movement in 1943 and was admitted to membership of the Communist Party in 1946. Prior to liberation he worked underground in Shanghai in dangerous conditions of white terror. 

Following liberation, in 1955-56, he worked and studied at the Stalin Automobile Works in Moscow. He also served as a diplomat in socialist Romania. 

Comrade Jiang Zemin rose to lead the country at a critical time both for China and the socialist cause more generally. Under his leadership, despite inevitable problems, China experienced almost miraculous growth, with the economy more than tripling in size. Determined to create the best possible conditions for China’s development, Jiang devoted considerable efforts to maintaining and improving relations with the United States and other major powers. But he never hesitated or wavered when China’s security, dignity or vital national interests were challenged by imperialism, as seen in the 1995 crisis in the Taiwan Straits, the flagrant NATO bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, when three Chinese journalists were killed in 1999, and in the 2001 Hainan spy plane incident. He devoted very considerable efforts to developing friendship, solidarity and unity with the other socialist countries – DPR Korea, Cuba, Vietnam and Laos – and also oversaw the end of colonial rule and the return of Hong Kong and Macao to the motherland.

Jiang Zemin led China to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO) at the end of 2001. Defying the critics and doubters, this bold move has served to promote China’s development, enhance its role in international economic governance and promote the general interests of the developing countries, such that the imperialist powers now increasingly seek to cast this body aside. 

An erudite communist theoretician, in putting forward the Theory of Three Represents, Jiang Zemin skilfully enhanced the Communist Party’s ability to unite, organise and mobilise all sections of the Chinese people under current conditions. In announcing his death, China rightly acclaimed him as a great Marxist, a great proletarian revolutionary and a long-tested communist fighter.

Friends of Socialist China extends its deep condolences to the party, government and people of China, and to the family of Comrade Jiang Zemin, on the loss of this outstanding leader and fighter for communism.

We reprint below the official announcement released by the Xinhua News Agency. We also carry the remarks of Comrade Fidel Castro on presenting Jiang Zemin with the José Martí Order during the Chinese leader’s visit to Havana in 1993. (Note: This is an unofficial translation by the US Foreign Broadcast Information Service [FBIS].)

Jiang Zemin passes away

Jiang Zemin passed away due to leukemia and multiple organ failure in Shanghai at 12:13 p.m. on Nov. 30, 2022, at the age of 96, it was announced on Wednesday.

The announcement was made by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the State Council of the PRC, the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and the Central Military Commissions of the CPC and the PRC.

It was announced in a letter addressing the whole Party, the entire military and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups.

The letter says they proclaim with profound grief to the whole Party, the entire military and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups that our beloved Comrade Jiang Zemin died of leukemia and multiple organ failure after all medical treatments had failed.

The letter says that Comrade Jiang Zemin was an outstanding leader enjoying high prestige acknowledged by the whole Party, the entire military and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups, a great Marxist, a great proletarian revolutionary, statesman, military strategist and diplomat, a long-tested communist fighter, and an outstanding leader of the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics. He was the core of the CPC’s third generation of central collective leadership and the principal founder of the Theory of Three Represents.

Castro Presents Jose Marti Order to Jiang Zemin

Dear Comrade Jiang Zemin, president of the People’s Republic of China, distinguished members of the Chinese delegation, guests:

China is a country with a very ancient culture. No other civilization in the world has lasted so long on the same soil. China’s contributions to knowledge and human history have been extraordinary.

Just because it is ancient, however, does not mean that China is declining. On the contrary, China is being reborn. China is beginning anew, and with greater vigor than ever in history, as an eternal China.

The most remarkable thing in that long history is the fact that China is no longer the China of the feudal lords, nor the constant victim of the aggressions of colonial and imperial powers. Henceforth, no one will be able to scorn and humiliate China.

This is the new China that emerges with the victorious national liberation struggles and the socialist revolution. Everything was forged through feats of heroism and long marches, which were exploits unsurpassable in human history. Everything was carried out under the immortal ideas of Marxism-Leninism and their wise application [words indistinct] of China.

Eternal glory to the Communist Party, to its founders and leaders, and to the heroic population capable of such a feat. Glory and honor, too, and most rightfully so, to the great revolutionary strategist, Mao Zedong.

The path China has had to travel following liberation has been long, difficult, and risky in a world where imperialism exercised and still exercises power and hegemonic influence. The Chinese Communists, as they themselves admit, also had to struggle against their own mistakes. It is up to them, not us, to judge that. What is an unquestionable and certain fact is that the Chinese people are indissolubly united around their revolutionary vanguard today. Colossal successes have been attained.

The era of disasters and famines has been left behind. Only socialism could have been capable of the miracle of feeding; clothing; providing with footwear, jobs, education, and healthcare; raising life expectancy to 70; and providing decorous shelter for more than 1 billion human beings in a minute portion of the planet’s arable land.

Thanks to such a feat at this difficult and critical time [words indistinct] for the world’s peoples, in China over one-fifth of humanity remains under the banner of socialism. China claims, and most rightfully, its right to build a socialism with Chinese peculiarities, and aspires to seeing the peaceful return of its territories of Macao, Hong Kong, and Taiwan to the nation, in compliance with international agreements, norms, and rights, adopting the intelligent and realistic principle of one nation/two systems. China is resolutely opposed to any meddling whatsoever in its internal affairs or those of any other country.

China considers itself — and this honors us — a Third World country, and is interested in the development of that Third World, as being an element essential to the progress, stability, and peace of the world of the future. These just aspirations have our full support. China is moving forward and making solid progress. This satisfies and encourages us all.

It is a great honor, Comrade Jiang Zemin, to have the friendship of the Chinese people. Your visit, which will undoubtedly go down in history as an incomparable gesture of friendship and brotherhood, is a great honor. For this reason, and for your services and faithfulness to the cause of socialism — a cause to which you devoted your life from a very early age, when the struggle against foreign occupation was still underway — our people have wished, and our Council of State has decided, to present to you our revolutionary fatherland’s highest decoration, the order that bears the beloved and immortal name of Jose Marti. Please receive it as one more proof of the feelings of admiration and affection of the Cuban people toward China, its beautiful history, and its heroic people.

Thank you very much.

Video: On the evolving significance of the Chinese Revolution, with Andrew Murray and Ken Hammond

On 28 November 2022, Friends of Socialist China organised, jointly with the Morning Star and Marx Memorial Library, a dialogue between Andrew Murray and Ken Hammond on the evolving significance of the Chinese Revolution. The event, conducted both in-person at the Marx Library and online via Zoom and YouTube, was very interesting and useful, with both panelists making highly insightful remarks, and a lively discussion following the panelist introductions.

About the participants

Andrew Murray is vice-president and founding chair of Stop the War Coalition, a longstanding trade unionist, peace campaigner, and one of the leading thinkers of the British left. He has written a number of books, including most recently ‘Is Socialism Possible in Britain?’, reflecting on his time serving as a political advisor to Jeremy Corbyn. Andrew has maintained an active interest in China for several decades, and has been vocal in his opposition to the New Cold War.

Ken Hammond is a professor of East Asian and Global History at New Mexico State University. He was a student organiser at Kent State University at the time of the shocking incident of 4 May 1970, when the Ohio Army National Guard shot and killed four students peacefully protesting the invasion of Cambodia when Nixon escalated the Vietnam War, and was indicted as one of the ‘Kent 25’. Ken lived and worked in Beijing between 1982 and 1987 managing activities for American educational delegations.

Ken earned his PhD in History and East Asian Languages from Harvard University in 1994, and has worked in support of friendly US-China relations for many decades. He is a founder of the US-based movement Pivot to Peace, set up in 2020 in response to the escalating anti-China rhetoric emanating from US politicians and media. He is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Chinese History, published by Cambridge University Press, and the author of several books, including From Yao to Mao: 5,000 Years of Chinese History. Over the years he has taught at universities in Beijing, Shanghai and Shijiazhuang.

The dialogue was moderated by Roger McKenzie, International Editor of the Morning Star, and introduced by Iris Yau.

Miguel Diaz-Canel’s strategic visit enhances China-Cuba ties

The following article, written for CGTN by Friends of Socialist China advisory group member Elias Jabbour, summarizes the results of the recent visit by Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel to Beijing. Elias notes that the two sides reaffirmed their strong commitment to and respect for one another’s socialist path, citing President Xi Jinping: “No matter how the international situation may change, China’s commitment to long-term friendship with Cuba will not change. China’s determination to support Cuba in pursuing socialism will not change.”

The author describes the current economic difficulties Cuba faces, a product primarily of the vicious economic blockade to which it is subjected by the US. The investment agreements signed during Díaz-Canel’s trip, the renegotiation and restructuring of Cuba’s debt to China, and the donation of China of 100 million US dollars will all contribute to helping the island overcome its current crisis.

The state visit by Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel to China, is a strategic, constructive visit with important signs. Here is a summary of the results of the meeting between the presidents of Cuba and China on November 25. As the two nations adhere to the socialist path, China and Cuba have had robust ties since diplomatic relations were established in 1960.

This visit, at the invitation of the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and President Xi Jinping, was part of an international tour by the Cuban head of state to other countries that included Algeria, Turkey and Russia.

Xi Jinping said, “No matter how the international situation may change, China will not change its policy of long-term friendship with Cuba,” and “its determination to support Cuba in pursuing the path of socialism, or its commitment to promoting practical cooperation with Cuba.” Diaz-Canel conveyed to Xi “the cordial greetings of General of the Army Raul Castro (first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba’s Central Committee)” and recalled that Fidel Castro highlighted “the capacity and firmness” of the current Chinese President, precisely on the day that marks the sixth anniversary of the death of former Cuban leader. Diaz-Canel also assured that he values “in a very positive way” the “theoretical and practical contributions to the construction of socialism” of Xi Jinping at the head of the Communist Party of China.

Everyone who follows the international dynamics is aware that the Cuban economy is going through an unprecedented crisis due to the economic blockade imposed by the United States on the island. Former President Donald Trump’s administration has crushed the Cuban economy with more economic, financial and trade sanctions. The policy has not changed under Joe Biden, although Obama has started a process of rapprochement between the two countries. The COVID-19 pandemic was another element that deepened the crisis on the island with the drop in tourist arrivals in the country. Tourism is a major source of foreign exchange for the country.

Cubans seek two-way solutions. Economic reforms aimed at activating the country’s private sector, as well as foreign direct investment. Additionally, Cuba is imposing itself in the international division of labor as a major exporter of biotechnological products and medicine. On the other hand, strengthening partnerships with countries such as China and Russia has been part of this policy. Neither China nor Russia are interested in a weakened Cuba in the face of the blockade and imperialist violence. Both countries know how strategic it is to have a friend like Cuba.

Cuba’s potential is not something minor. Its geographic location and mirror of a policy of intimidation and blockade called by U.S. scholar Noam Chomsky as “sadistic” by the United States is a fundamental part of showing the world the destabilizing power of imperialism both in Latin America and in the world, but also of the capacity to a people to fight and survive against all odds.

On account of the bilateral agreements and renegotiation of Cuba’s debt with China, China has donated around $100 million to Cuba. Cuban Economy Minister, Alejandro Gil, said that this donation will be destined to “priorities” of the island’s economy, which is facing its worst economic crisis in three decades, due to the reinforcement of the United States embargo, in effect since 1962, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cuba-China relations are part of an internationalist tradition of the international communist movement, which culminated in relations of affection and friendship. A good relationship developed between Fidel and Xi Jinping. Concrete results were extracted from this visit. Cuba can count on a political change of air in Latin America with the recent victories of progressive governments in Latin America and the return of Venezuela to the world stage.

Apart from the strategic relations between China and Cuba, the election of Lula da Silva in Brazil is strategic in this context, given the priority that the Brazilian government will give to the reconstruction of its ties with Latin America. The solution to Cuba’s economic problems has not only involved reforms in its economic structure, but mainly by new and superior regional integration schemes in Latin America.

Circuits of War: on Biden’s technological offensive against China

This article by Italian social theorist Marco d’Eramo, which originally appeared in Sidecar (a blog published by New Left Review), provides a detailed and insightful analysis of the “chip war” being waged by the US as part of its broader New Cold War on China. D’Eramo explains the profound importance of the semiconductor industry to the overall trajectory of modern technology, and describes the extent to which semiconductor supply chains are today dominated by the US. While China uses more than 70 percent of the world’s semiconductor products, it only produces 15 percent – and these are not of the latest generation of chip design.

The Biden administration has announced wide-ranging and unprecedented restrictions on the export of semiconductors, with a view to protecting its dominance of the industry at all costs. D’Eramo quotes Martin Wolf in the Financial Times saying that the chip war launched by the Biden administration is “far more threatening to Beijing than anything Donald Trump did. The aim is clearly to slow China’s economic development. That is an act of economic warfare… It will have huge geopolitical consequences.”

The author however observes that Biden’s chip war will not be plain sailing, as it relies on the cooperation both of major US technology companies – which earn handsome profits from exporting to China – but also the US’s allies abroad, including for example Germany, which “has grounded its economic – and therefore political – fortunes in its relationship with China, its principal commercial partner (with $264 billion worth of annual trade).” In this context, Chancellor Scholz’s recent trip to Beijing “seems like a major act of insubordination.”

Another factor, not directly addressed by the article, is the record of Chinese socialism in overcoming this sort of difficulty. For example, very few would have thought that China could develop its own nuclear deterrent, carrying out its first successful test of an atomic bomb in 1964, at a time when it was still a poor and backward country, blockaded by the US and without the support of the Soviet Union, with which it was engaged in a bitter ideological dispute. Even with the seemingly unbreachable gap between the US and China in terms of semiconductor technology, the likely effect of these new US restrictions will be to accelerate China’s own research and investment in the sector. A decade ago, China wasn’t the global leader in renewable energy technology; today it is. We shouldn’t be surprised if China is able to catch up with the US in the coming years.

A world war was declared on 7 October. No news station reported on it, even though we will all have to suffer its effects. That day, the Biden administration launched a technological offensive against China, placing stringent limits and extensive controls on the export not only of integrated circuits, but also their designs, the machines used to ‘write’ them on silicon and the tools these machines produce. Henceforth, if a Chinese factory requires any of these components to produce goods – like Apple’s mobile phones, or GM’s cars – other firms must request a special licence to export them.

Why has the US implemented these sanctions? And why are they so severe? Because, as Chris Miller writes in his recent book Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology (2022), ‘the semiconductor industry produces more transistors every day than there are cells in the human body’. Integrated circuits (‘chips’) are part of every product we consume – that is to say, everything China makes – from cars to phones, washing machines, toasters, televisions and microwaves. That’s why China uses more than 70% of the world’s semiconductor products, although contrary to common perception it only produces 15%. In fact, this latter figure is misleading, as China doesn’t produce any of the latest chips, those used in artificial intelligence or advanced weapons systems.

Continue reading Circuits of War: on Biden’s technological offensive against China

The future of China-Cuba economic relations

In this interesting article for CGTN, Alessandro Golombiewski Teixeira (former special economic advisor to the president of Brazil during Dilma Rousseff’s administration) assesses the results of the recent state visit by Cuban president Miguel Díaz-Canel to China in terms of trade and investment.

Noting that revolutionary Cuba was the first government in Latin America to establish relations with the People’s Republic of China, Teixeira writes that “this visit carries more than a traditional friendship visit between two comrades and leaders of communist parties. The Cuba-China relationship goes beyond good friends and good comrades for they have been joining hands on the socialist path, supporting each other on core interests, coordinating closely on international and regional issues, setting a model of solidarity between socialist countries and cooperation between developing countries.”

The author observes that the two countries already have significant and growing economic relations, and that Cuba is China’s second-largest trading partner in the region (after Venezuela). With Cuba going through very difficult times as a result of the pandemic, the tightened US blockade, and a sequence of natural disasters and accidents, Díaz-Canel’s visit will set the scene for a deepening of trade, aid and investment, “helping Cuba to overcome the most difficult situation faced in recent history… Only with the help of friendly countries as China, Cuba has a chance to overcome the US embargo and prosper as a nation.”

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez has embarked on a two-day visit to China at the invitation of the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Diaz-Canel is the first head of state from Latin America and the Caribbean region to visit China after the 20th CPC National Congress. It’s important to highlight that this visit carries more than a traditional friendship visit between two comrades and leaders of the communist parties. The Cuba-China relationship goes beyond good friends and good comrades for they have been joining hands on the socialist path, supporting each other on core interests, coordinating closely on international and regional issues, setting a model of solidarity between socialist countries and cooperation between developing countries.

The origins of the bilateral relations have begun during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) when a representative was established in Havana while Cuba was still a colony of Spain in 1879. In 1902, the Qing Dynasty recognized the independence of the Republic of Cuba from the United States, which had taken it from Spain in 1898. On the other hand, in 1960, the new revolutionary government in Cuba established diplomatic relations with People’s Republic of China (PRC), but with the exception of Chile (1970), most other Latin American governments did not recognize the PRC until then U.S. President Richard Nixon’s 1972 visit to Beijing signaled that the world’s alliances were changing. Argentina and Mexico recognized the PRC that year, followed by Brazil in 1974 and Bolivia in 1985.

Continue reading The future of China-Cuba economic relations