History Archives - Friends of Socialist China

Film review: Sinking of the Lisbon Maru

The Chinese-made documentary film, The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru, had its UK premiere on Monday, March 17, 2025, at the Regent Street Cinema in London’s West End. The film recreates a true, but until now largely forgotten, piece of World War II history, where, on October 1, 1942, a Japanese cargo ship carrying over 1,800 British PoWs from Hong Kong to Japan was torpedoed by a US submarine off the coast of China. Left to drown by their captors, over 380 were to be rescued by Chinese fishermen.

In a review written for this website, Fiona Sim, a member of the FoSC Britain Committee, writes, with an eye to contemporary events, that “the documentary serves as an apt warning for how quickly history can be buried when it is not preserved… [it] highlights the importance of uncovering hidden histories and fighting against the censorship of world events as they happen.”

In a short review for the Morning Star, Jenny Clegg writes: “This is a people-centred film which does not allow the shocking brutality to overpower its human message. Why has this episode remained hidden for so long, and why is China’s role as ally absent from our history books? As historian Rana Mitter puts it, it all disappeared ‘down a hole created by the cold war.’”

The documentary includes testimonies from the last two surviving PoWs and the last surviving Chinese rescuer, all of whom have since died. More than 100 relatives of the PoWs attended the March 17 premiere.

Earlier, on February 22, many of them had gathered at a reception held by the Chinese Embassy in London to commemorate the tragic incident and heroic rescue.

The embassy has organised the commemorative event every year since 2023, and this year holds special significance, not only on account of the release of the film, but particularly as it marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.

Speaking at the reception, Chinese Ambassador Zheng Zeguang said: “The heroic rescue bears important witness to China and Britain fighting side-by-side as allies against fascist aggression and has left tales of the profound friendship between our two peoples. Such friendship forged during the Second World War will never fade and has become a valuable asset in our bilateral relations.”

China Daily reported that: “In Zhoushan [where the events occurred], local people have also been passing on this history, by holding commemorative services every year, and curating a dedicated section in the local museum about the incident. Last December, a memorial in remembrance of the fishermen’s rescue of British PoWs was completed, and an official unveiling ceremony is being planned for the summer.

“For Denise Wynne, daughter of Dennis Morley, who was saved from the water and who was the last survivor still alive before his passing in 2021 [at the age of 101], the construction of a memorial in Zhoushan was her father’s final wish. ‘He said they were heroes and there should be a memorial built for the fishermen.’”

Previously, on August 26, 2022, Ambassador Zheng hand-delivered to Denise Wynne a personal letter from Xi Jinping, in reply to the letter she had sent to the Chinese President. The website of the Chinese Embassy reported at the time:

“In his letter, President Xi pointed out that the touching story of heroic fishermen from Zhoushan, Zhejiang coming to the rescue of British prisoners of war on board the Lisbon Maru in 1942 is an important testimony to China and the UK fighting shoulder to shoulder as allies against fascist aggression during World War II. It is also a historical episode epitomising the profound friendship forged between the people of our two countries. The President wrote that he knew the episode well and made a point of bringing up the story during his visit to the UK in 2015.

“Mrs. Wynne was deeply touched when she received President Xi’s letter from Ambassador Zheng. She said she was really honoured and very pleased to receive the letter which President Xi Jinping, despite his busy schedule, wrote personally after reading her letter. She recalled her late father telling the family how the Chinese fishermen, with self-sacrifice and outstanding courage, rescued British prisoners of war from the Lisbon Maru, and saying that this part of history, the kindness of the Chinese fishermen and the profound friendship between the peoples of the two countries should not be forgotten. Mrs. Wynne wrote the letter to President Xi Jinping to thank him for mentioning this part of history during his visit to Britain in 2015 and to express the firm support of the families of the survivors of the Lisbon Maru for the friendship between the Chinese and British peoples from generation to generation.

“Major Brian Finch, who has been committed to collecting the historical documents on the Lisbon Maru and a friend of Mrs. Wynne said that the story… contained the very worst and the very best of humanity: the kindness of the Chinese fishermen was absolutely outstanding and unbelievable as was the cruelty of the fascists. The defeat of Japanese militarism in the Second World War was the success of justice. This touching history is worth remembering and the friendship between the Chinese and British people in the fight against fascism should be passed down from generation to generation.”

Ken Hammond: In China the interests of the working class are at the heart of everything

In the latest episode of The China Report, embedded below, hosts Amanda Yee and KJ Noh interview Professor Ken Hammond about his new book, China and the World. The three have a wide-ranging discussion about the trajectory of China’s foreign policy over the last half-century, as well as interrogating the dominant narratives about China in the West and exploring the nature of China’s economic development.

Ken details how the rapprochement between the US and China in the early 1970s, starting with the visits by Henry Kissinger in 1971 and Richard Nixon in 1972, opened a path for “China being able to open up to a broader range of outside engagements”, and in many ways enabled the Reform and Opening Up process that began in 1978. While improved relations with the US came at a not-insignificant cost to China’s role in promoting socialist and national liberation revolutions – contributing to some confusion in the West and elsewhere as to China’s political trajectory – “China was pursuing what could be described as a deep game, taking a long-term perspective that required making certain compromises or accommodations in the short term to achieve fundamental objectives in the long term”.

The three talk about China’s economic reforms and how, while they introduced serious contradictions and imbalances into Chinese society, they ultimately enabled China to overcome poverty and underdevelopment. Ken points out that the country achieved an average of 10 percent GDP growth for several decades and that “this growth didn’t just benefit the wealthy; it flowed directly to the people”. On this topic, KJ recounts discussions with Chinese officials in the late 1990s and early 2000s, who described market reforms as “like getting onto a wild horse – but we believe we can contain this horse”. The record shows that they have indeed been able to do so.

Talking about China’s whole-process socialist democracy and its extremely high levels of public consciousness and engagement, Ken describes China as “a state in which the interests of the working class are at the heart of everything that goes on”, and contrasts this with the money-driven politics of the US in which the interests of the capitalist class are at the heart of everything.

China and the World is available to pre-order from 1804 Books.

Death anniversary of Canadian surgeon Norman Bethune commemorated in China

The following article, which we reprint from the Xinhua News Agency, reports on a commemorative event held in Shijiazhuang, the capital of China’s Hebei Province, on December 21, 2024, to honour the memory of Canadian internationalist surgeon and member of the Communist Party of Canada, Norman Bethune.

November 12, 2024, was the 85^th anniversary of Bethune’s death at the age of 49 from blood poisoning, while assisting the Chinese people in their war of resistance against Japanese aggression. Earlier he had served in the International Brigades supporting the Spanish Republic in the fight against fascism.

December 21, 2024, marked the 85^th anniversary of the publication of Mao Zedong’s article, ‘In Memory of Norman Bethune’, one of the most famous writings of the late Chinese leader.

The Xinhua article highlighted the participation in the commemoration of Michael Crook. The son of internationalist communist fighters David and Isabel Crook, Michael is the Chairman of the International Committee for the Promotion of Chinese Industrial Cooperatives (known as ‘Gung Ho’) and a member of the Friends of Socialist China advisory group.

“My father met Norman Bethune in Spain during his recovery from battle injuries. Influenced by him, my father aspired to come to China, where he met my mother and later had me,” the article quotes Michael as saying.

We also reproduce – from the Marxist Internet Archive – Chairman Mao’s article, in which he writes:

“What kind of spirit is this that makes a foreigner selflessly adopt the cause of the Chinese people’s liberation as his own? It is the spirit of internationalism, the spirit of communism, from which every Chinese Communist must learn. Leninism teaches that the world revolution can only succeed if the proletariat of the capitalist countries supports the struggle for liberation of the colonial and semi-colonial peoples and if the proletariat of the colonies and semi-colonies supports that of the proletariat of the capitalist countries. Comrade Bethune put this Leninist line into practice. We Chinese Communists must also follow this line in our practice. We must unite with the proletariat of all the capitalist countries, with the proletariat of Japan, Britain, the United States, Germany, Italy and all other capitalist countries, for this is the only way to overthrow imperialism, to liberate our nation and people and to liberate the other nations and peoples of the world… Comrade Bethune’s spirit, his utter devotion to others without any thought of self, was shown in his great sense of responsibility in his work and his great warm-heartedness towards all comrades and the people.”

Death anniversary of Canadian surgeon Norman Bethune commemorated in China

A commemoration event was held in north China’s Hebei Province on Saturday to honor Canadian surgeon Norman Bethune for his selflessness and spirit of internationalism.

Titled “Memories Through Time and Space,” the event was hosted by the North China Military Martyrs Cemetery in the provincial capital Shijiazhuang.

Around 100 people, including soldiers, students and individuals from various walks of life, attended the event.

This year marks the 85th death anniversary of Bethune, who died of blood poisoning at the age of 49 on Nov. 12, 1939 in China while aiding the Chinese people in their fight against Japanese aggression. His remains were relocated to the cemetery in 1953.

The commemoration began at 10 a.m., with participants bowing before the surgeon’s tomb and presenting flower baskets.

“My father met Norman Bethune in Spain during his recovery from battle injuries. Influenced by him, my father aspired to come to China, where he met my mother and later had me,” said Michael Crook, chairman of the International Committee for the Promotion of Chinese Industrial Cooperatives.

His parents, David and Isabel Crook, played an important role in training a large number of foreign-language professionals for China.

“The spirit of Bethune has not faded with time; instead, it has been widely inherited and carried forward in both China and Canada,” said Hu Jinqiang, director of the North China Military Martyrs Cemetery.

Hu noted that today Bethune is not just a name but a symbol of internationalism, humanism and selfless dedication. “We commemorate him to inspire more people to remember history and carry forward his spirit.”

In memory of Norman Bethune

Comrade Norman Bethune,[1] a member of the Communist Party of Canada, was around fifty when he was sent by the Communist Parties of Canada and the United States to China; he made light of travelling thousands of miles to help us in our War of Resistance Against Japan. He arrived in Yenan in the spring of last year, went to work in the Wutai Mountains, and to our great sorrow died a martyr at his post. What kind of spirit is this that makes a foreigner selflessly adopt the cause of the Chinese people’s liberation as his own? It is the spirit of internationalism, the spirit of communism, from which every Chinese Communist must learn. Leninism teaches that the world revolution can only succeed if the proletariat of the capitalist countries supports the struggle for liberation of the colonial and semi-colonial peoples and if the proletariat of the colonies and semi-colonies supports that of the proletariat of the capitalist countries.[2] Comrade Bethune put this Leninist line into practice. We Chinese Communists must also follow this line in our practice. We must unite with the proletariat of all the capitalist countries, with the proletariat of Japan, Britain, the United States, Germany, Italy and all other capitalist countries, for this is the only way to overthrow imperialism, to liberate our nation and people and to liberate the other nations and peoples of the world. This is our internationalism, the internationalism with which we oppose both narrow nationalism and narrow patriotism.

Comrade Bethune’s spirit, his utter devotion to others without any thought of self, was shown in his great sense of responsibility in his work and his great warm-heartedness towards all comrades and the people. Every Communist must learn from him. There are not a few people who are irresponsible in their work, preferring the light and shirking the heavy, passing the burdensome tasks on to others and choosing the easy ones for themselves. At every turn they think of themselves before others. When they make some small contribution, they swell with pride and brag about it for fear that others will not know. They feel no warmth towards comrades and the people but are cold, indifferent and apathetic. In truth such people are not Communists, or at least cannot be counted as devoted Communists. No one who returned from the front failed to express admiration for Bethune whenever his name was mentioned, and none remained unmoved by his spirit. In the Shansi-Chahar-Hopei border area, no soldier or civilian was unmoved who had been treated by Dr. Bethune or had seen how he worked. Every Communist must learn this true communist spirit from Comrade Bethune.

Comrade Bethune was a doctor, the art of healing was his profession and he was constantly perfecting his skill, which stood very high in the Eighth Route Army’s medical service. His example is an excellent lesson for those people who wish to change their work the moment they see something different and for those who despise technical work as of no consequence or as promising no future.

Comrade Bethune and I met only once. Afterwards he wrote me many letters. But I was busy, and I wrote him only one letter and do not even know if he ever received it. I am deeply grieved over his death. Now we are all commemorating him, which shows how profoundly his spirit inspires everyone. We must all learn the spirit of absolute selflessness from him. With this spirit everyone can be very useful to the people. A man’s ability may be great or small, but if he has this spirit, he is already noble-minded and pure, a man of moral integrity and above vulgar interests, a man who is of value to the people.

NOTES

1. The distinguished surgeon Norman Bethune was a member of the Canadian Communist Party. In 1936 when the German and Italian fascist bandits invaded Spain, he went to the front and worked for the anti-fascist Spanish people. In order to help the Chinese people in their War of Resistance Against Japan, he came to China at the head of a medical team and arrived in Yenan in the spring of 1938. Soon after he went to the Shansi-Chahar-Hopei border area. Imbued with ardent internationalism and the great communist spirit, he served the army and the people of the Liberated Areas for nearly two years. He contracted blood poisoning while operating on wounded soldiers and died in Tanghsien, Hopei, on November 12, 1939

2. See J. V. Stalin, “The Foundations of Leninism”, Problems of Leninism, Eng. ed., FLPH, Moscow, 1954, pp. 70-79.

Remains of 43 Chinese Korean War martyrs returned to China

On November 28, the remains of 43 Chinese People’s Volunteers (CPV) soldiers who died during the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea (1950-1953) were returned to China from the Republic of Korea (ROK). A Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force plane carried the remains of the fallen soldiers and 495 of their personal effects from Incheon International Airport in the ROK to Taoxian International Airport in Shenyang, capital of northeast China’s Liaoning Province.

After the ROK handed over the martyrs’ remains and belongings to the Chinese side, China held a memorial ceremony at Incheon International Airport, during which the Chinese national anthem was played, and each casket was draped with the national flag. Attendees bowed three times to the martyrs before their remains were placed onto the plane.

From 2014-2023, China and the ROK, in accordance with international laws and humanitarian principles, successfully completed 10 consecutive handovers involving the remains of 938 CPV martyrs, along with related artifacts.

The Korean War broke out in June 1950, eight months after the People’s Republic of China was founded. At the request of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), Chinese ground forces under the CPV banner entered the Korean peninsula on October 19, 1950. A total of 2.9 million CPV soldiers joined the war that lasted almost three years and more than 360,000 were killed or injured.

Describing the atmosphere surrounding the martyrs’ return, the Xinhua News Agency reported:

“The flight from Incheon to Shenyang lasted about an hour and 20 minutes, but for many of the martyrs, this journey home spanned almost seven decades. In the past few days the city of Shenyang has been decorated with slogans that read ‘welcome back, our heroes’.

“As the Y-20 military transport aircraft prepared to land at Shenyang airport, the air traffic control tower transmitted a heartfelt message: ‘The mountains and rivers remain intact, our country is prosperous, and our military is strong. With the utmost respect, we welcome the loyal martyrs back home.’”

The Xinhua report further noted: “The ceremony was also livestreamed online. Among the viewers were faculty and students of a primary school in Shenyang, which was named after CPV martyr Mao Anying, the son of late Chinese Chairman Mao Zedong. In memory of the martyrs, the students had selected personal gifts to take to the martyr’s cemetery at a later date.”

The remains of the 43 martyrs were laid to rest in a solemn ceremony the following day.

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

China Focus: Remains of 43 Chinese martyrs in Korean War returned to homeland from ROK

SHENYANG, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) — The remains of 43 Chinese People’s Volunteers (CPV) soldiers who died during the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea (1950-1953) were returned to China on Thursday from the Republic of Korea (ROK).

At 12:07 p.m., a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force Y-20 transport aircraft, carrying the remains of the fallen soldiers and 495 of their personal effects, landed at Taoxian International Airport in Shenyang, capital of northeast China’s Liaoning Province.

The plane’s touch down was met with a water cannon salute, as soldiers carried the caskets off the plane before a remembrance ceremony was held at the airport.

Nearly 1,000 people, including representatives from central and local authorities, the military, war veterans, and relatives of CPV martyrs, attended the ceremony.

Following the placement of the caskets, which were covered with the Five-star Red Flag, the participants bowed three times in dignified silence to the soldiers’ remains.

The remains will be laid to rest in a martyrs’ cemetery in Shenyang.

After the ROK handed over the martyrs’ remains and belongings to the Chinese side in Incheon on Thursday morning, China held a memorial ceremony at Incheon International Airport. During the ceremony, the Chinese national anthem was played, and each casket was draped with the national flag. Attendees bowed three times to the martyrs before their remains were placed onto the plane.

From 2014 to 2023, China and the ROK, in accordance with international laws and humanitarian principles, successfully completed 10 consecutive handovers involving the remains of 938 CPV martyrs in the ROK, along with related artifacts.

Podcast: Keith Bennett on the past, present and future of the People’s Republic of China

We embed below an interview with our co-editor Keith Bennett produced by Spectre – a Scottish-based communist podcast.

In conversation with Nathan Hennebry, recorded on November 20, 2024, Keith outlines the origins of his own interest in China and how Friends of Socialist China has developed over the last three years. They go on to discuss a range of topics, including the history of the Chinese revolution, how socialist democracy is practiced in China and the relationship of ‘yellow peril’ Sinophobia to the new Cold War.

Keith’s interview, and Spectre’s other podcasts, can also be listened to across a variety of media.

Paweł Wargan: China’s peaceful rise points to the promise of a socialist future

The following text and video are from a pre-recorded contribution by Paweł Wargan at the London conference organised by Friends of Socialist China to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

Paweł’s contribution was very moving, coming from a Polish organiser who is well versed in the history of that country. Being able to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the PRC “feels miraculous to me, because I come from a country that abandoned its socialist path. Knowing what was lost in Poland — in Eastern Europe as a whole — sharpens the appreciation for what has persisted in China.”

Paweł observes that when Poland abandoned the socialist path, “we sold off our public institutions, we joined NATO, and we helped destroy Iraq”. Socialist Poland had built a foreign policy based on solidarity and internationalism, but after 1989, “we lost our solidarity, and we lost a sizeable chunk of our humanity”.

Addressing the standard critique of China as having turned its back on socialism, Paweł poses the question of what China would really look like today if it truly had abandoned the socialist project:

Without socialism, would China build the world’s largest network of high-speed rail? Would China lift 850 million people out of poverty? Would China achieve its climate targets six years ahead of schedule? Without socialism, would China come to lead the global green transition, dramatically cutting the costs of renewable energy for everyone? Would China export its development expertise to countries that for centuries had been denied the right to modernise on their own terms? Would China remain peaceful?

The speech concludes by urging listeners to take inspiration from China’s continuing successes:

China’s peaceful rise points to the promise of a socialist future on our horizon… In a period in history dominated by the merciless violence we see committed daily against the Palestinian and now Lebanese people by what is a relic of the past — a European colonial project that had no right to survive the era of decolonisation — we can take great hope from the knowledge that there exists somewhere a project of the future.

Paweł Wargan is an activist, researcher and organiser. He serves as Political Coordinator at the Progressive International, an international coalition of over 100 popular movements, political parties, and unions.

In some ways, it feels miraculous to be celebrating the continuation of a socialist project in 2024. And I think that we have to insist on these words: celebration, socialism. Even in the ranks of the left, too many dismiss the seriousness of China’s socialist process, and the idea that there is anything left to celebrate.

This celebration feels miraculous to me, because I come from a country that abandoned its socialist path. Knowing what was lost in Poland — in Eastern Europe as a whole — sharpens the appreciation for what has persisted in China.

Just last week, on 24 September, an anniversary passed by that is scarcely remembered in my country. 65 years ago, before the rubble from the Second World War had been fully cleared, Władyslaw Gomułka, the leader of the socialist Polish People’s Republic, announced that Poland would build 1,000 schools — one for every year of our country’s existence.

The war had devastated Poland’s social infrastructure. In 1961, there were 74 children for every classroom, and 700,000 children were born every year between 1949 and 1959. By the end of the 1000 Schools for the Millennium program, the state had built over 1,400 schools and 6,349 homes for Polish teachers — an achievement that it would never repeat in its history. We still go to these schools today.

The experiences gained in our post-war reconstruction were not confined to Poland. Polish architects and builders travelled around the world, helping countries emerging from the ravages of colonialism build their own schools, houses, concert halls, universities, and other public buildings. One of the companies involved in this process, Budimex, helped design a master plan for the city of Baghdad in Iraq, which charted a path for its development until the year 2000.

Then our socialist project collapsed, we sold off our public institutions, we joined NATO, we helped destroy Iraq, and just a couple of years ago Budimex finished work a border wall to stop the victims of US wars in West Asia from crossing into the European Union through Belarus. This is what the collapse of socialism has meant for Poland’s role in the world. We lost our ambition, we lost our solidarity, and we lost a sizeable chunk of our humanity.

When some on the left expect China to conjure up — as if out of thin air — the socialism imagined in the bedrooms or university halls of Britain or the United States, they ignore not only the continuing achievements of Chinese socialism, won through the arduous effort and tremendous creativity of the Chinese people and the leadership of the Communist Party of China. They also ignore the counterfactual. What would have been lost had China abandoned the path of socialist construction?

Without socialism, would China build the world’s largest network of high-speed rail? Would China lift 850 million people out of poverty? Would China achieve its climate targets six years ahead of schedule? Without socialism, would China come to lead the global green transition, dramatically cutting the costs of renewable energy for everyone? Would China export its development expertise to countries that for centuries had been denied the right to modernize on their own terms? Would China remain peaceful?

We find the answers to these questions in the many tragedies that have gripped the former socialist bloc in Eastern Europe. Fraternal nations have been torn apart by the scourge of ethno-nationism — carefully cultivated by the Atlanticist bloc — and entire regions were consumed by war. The social safety net was pulled from under people’s feet, and seven million died early deaths as a result. The very horizon of the future has disappeared.

That is why we now celebrate the People’s Republic.

In China, we have proof that the socialist era is not behind us — that we have not, as too many of us insist, been defeated. To the contrary, China’s peaceful rise points to the promise of a socialist future on our horizon. China built on the legacies of the October Revolution, found ways to navigate the contradictions of a global economy captured by imperialism, and has set itself the goal of building an advanced socialist society within our lifetimes.

In a period in history dominated by the merciless violence we see committed daily against the Palestinian and now Lebanese people by what is a relic of the past — a European colonial project that had no right to survive the era of decolonization — we can take great hope from the knowledge that there exists somewhere a project of the future.

Zhang Weiwei: China’s astounding success has been achieved in peace and under socialism

The following text and video are from a pre-recorded contribution by Professor Zhang Weiwei at the London conference organised by Friends of Socialist China to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

Professor Zhang notes that China has “accomplished almost one industrial revolution every decade since the early 1980s”, with the result that it is now at the forefront of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Furthermore, it is sharing its progress with the world, in particular the developing countries.

Zhang further observes that, whereas the West’s modernisation was achieved through war, plunder, colonialism and imperialism, “China’s stunning success has been achieved in peace and under socialism under the leadership of the Communist Party of China”.

He concludes:

Of course, China is by no means perfect, and it is still faced with many challenges, yet I also believe that with China’s extraordinary achievements over the past 75 years, we will be able to overcome these challenges and do even better in the years and decades to come.

Zhang Weiwei is a professor of international relations at Fudan University and a senior research fellow at the Chunqiu Institute, in Shanghai. He has written extensively in English and Chinese on China’s economic and political reform, China’s development model and comparative politics. In the mid-1980s, he worked as a senior English interpreter for Deng Xiaoping and other Chinese leaders. He is one of China’s leading public intellectuals.

Hello, everyone,

On the occasion of the 75^th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, I am more than happy to join you to celebrate this great occasion from Shanghai. With 75 years of socialist construction, China has become the world’s largest economy by purchasing power parity since 2014, and today China is the largest industrial, manufacturing and trading nation, with the world’s largest middle class and extreme poverty eradicated and life expectancy two years higher than the United States. Furthermore, thanks to Chinese socialism, at a speed of accomplishing almost one industrial revolution every decade since the early 1980s, China is now at the fore-frontier of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (with big data, AI and quantum technologies, etc) and now the only country capable of providing goods, services and experience from all the four Industrial Revolutions to the whole world. All this has changed China and the world forever.

Indeed, the first group of countries rising up during the 18th and 19th centuries like Britain and France had a population around tens of millions; the second group of countries rising up during the 20th century like the US and Japan had a population around one hundred million; and China’s rise in the 21st century represents a population of over one billion, which is more than the total populations of the previous two groups combined. Furthermore, China’s stunning success has been achieved in peace and under socialism under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, rather than through wars and plunders under colonialism and imperialism for the West.

What’s more important, China’s rise is not that of an ordinary country, but that of a socialist civilizational state, which means, China is an amalgam of the world’s longest continuous civilization and a super-large modern socialist state, with has at least four features, i.e. (i) a super-large population, (ii) a super-vast territory, (iii) super-long traditions and (iv) super-rich cultures, each of which is a blend of ancient and modern, more specifically, a blend of China’s past and its modern socialist adaptations and innovations.

Taking the super-long traditions as an example, China’s ancient traditions have evolved, develped and adapted in virtually all branches of human knowledge and practices. For instance, the West is critical of China’s one-party system, yet to most Chinese, it’s nothing extraordinary: since its first unification in 221 BC, China has been mostly governed by a unified ruling entity, otherwise the country would have disintegrated. China had copied the American political model following its 1911 Republican Revolution and the country degenerated into warlords fighting each other with millions of lives lost.

In its history, China’s unified ruling entity was mostly sustained by a system of meritocracy, with officials selected through public exams or the Keju system since the Sui Dynasty close to 1500 years ago. Since 1949, under the CPC’s leadership, this ancient system has been adapted into today’s what I call “selection + election”. China’s top echelon leaders have almost all served at least twice as the No.1 of a Chinese province, which means they have administered in most cases more than 100 million people before taking up their current positions. As a result, China’s top echelon leadership is obviously among the most competent in the world.

The tradition of a unified ruling entity has carried with it a holistic way of political governance. I would describe Western-style political parties as partisan interest parties and the CPC as a holistic interest party. This explains why China is able to reform and reinvent itself all the time, pioneering the way to overcome all kinds of vested interests and ensure an overall balance between political, social and capital powers in favor of the vast majority of its people. As a result, most Chinese are the beneficiaries of China’s dramatic transformation, a hallmark of Chinese socialism today.

Of course, China is by no means perfect, and it is still faced with many challenges, yet I also believe that with China’s extraordinary achievements over the past 75 years, we will be able to overcome these challenges and do even better in the years and decades to come. On this positive note, I stop here and wish your celebration a great success!

Britain’s communists and China

In the following article, Robert Griffiths, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Britain (CPB), surveys the proud history of solidarity between the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB, founded in 1920) and the Communist Party of China (CPC, founded in 1921), up to the founding of the People’s Republic in 1949 and the outbreak of war in Korea the following year.

Noting the British colonial presence in China since the seizure of Hong Kong in 1841, he writes that the CPGB was well aware of its responsibility in the “belly of the beast” to oppose British imperialism’s machinations.

After British colonial police shot down striking workers in Shanghai in May 1923, the CPGB launched a militant ‘Hands off China’ campaign. In 1927, Tom Mann, a leading CPGB trade unionist, embarked on a five-month mission to China on behalf of the Red International of Labour Unions. Speaking on arrival, he accused the “British imperialist pirates” of filling history with numerous bloody pages.

In his maiden speech to parliament, having been elected as the Communist MP for West Fife in 1935, Willie Gallacher spoke out against the British government’s acquiescence in Japan’s aggression against China.

The Labour government of Clement Attlee announced its recognition of the newly founded People’s Republic on January 6, 1950, but less than a year later Chinese and British troops were confronting each other as the cold war turned hot on the Korean peninsula. The CPGB responded with a courageous ‘Hands off Korea’ campaign.

This article was originally carried in the special supplement marking the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, which was compiled and edited by Friends of Socialist China and published together with the Morning Star on Saturday, September 28, to coincide with our conference the same day.

The PDF of the full Morning Star supplement may be downloaded here.

Inspired by Russia’s Bolshevik Revolution, the Communist Party of China (CPC) held its founding congress in July 1921.

With the inability of the nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) to consolidate its authority and therefore its failure to lift the country out of its semi-colonial and semi-feudal state, intellectuals and workers had begun studying the ideas of Marxism.

Since Britain’s seizure of Hong Kong in 1841, other imperialist powers had carved up Chinese territory from Manchuria in the north to the island of Taiwan in the southeast, also taking control of bustling port cities from Shanghai down to Canton (now Guangzhou).

The British, Japanese and French ruling classes had waged wars, imposed treaties and suppressed popular rebellions in order to enforce their commercial interests, often in collaboration with the Qing dynasty or local warlords.

In 1919, student protests erupted in Beijing against the decision of the Great War allies to maintain their “international settlements” in China and specifically to transfer control of Shandong province from Germany to Japan. The May 4th Movement raised the banner of national sovereignty and democracy against this fresh humiliation.

Assessing Chinese socialism 75 years after its revolution

The following article by Andrew Murray explores the enduring significance of the People’s Republic of China, 75 years after its founding.

Andrew writes that this significance proceeds along three axes:

First is the developmental axis – China’s “transformation from the mutilated prey of sundry imperialisms and a laggard in world standards of social development, into a mighty power in sight of having the world’s largest national economy”.

Second is the democratic, anti-imperialist axis – China’s impact on the ongoing eastward and southward shift of the world’s economic and political centre of gravity.

Third is the socialist axis – “by maintaining a socialist orientation after other developments in that direction have faltered it both keeps open the possibility of plural systemic options in the world, defeating Washington’s dreams of ideological unipolarity, and prevents socialism itself from being pushed into the shadows of history”.

Andrew, a longstanding and prominent anti-war campaigner, notes in relation to China’s foreign policy:

The alternative world order promoted by the Chinese government offers co-operation and development for all and eschews militarism and interference. It prioritises adherence to international law and peaceful resolution of disputes. This is not the world order of imperialism — pressure, threats, looting and diktat.

On the nature of China’s political system, Andrew urges the reader not to try and “squeeze the experience of Chinese socialism into the straitjacket of European experience” and to instead study it on its own terms. In spite of undeniable problems and contradictions, “the future of socialism in the world depends very heavily on developments in China and on the leadership of its Communist Party”. And furthermore, “the complete elimination of absolute poverty, a recent achievement of the CPC, is not just a staggering achievement, it is a socialist one”.

The article concludes:

After 75 years, the People’s Republic of China stands at the very heart of an alternative to the world of the Washington Consensus, neoliberal centrism, the militarised “New World Order” and economic crisis and chaos. The alternative itself is unfinished and perhaps unfinishable, but China is holding the door open to possibilities beyond the status quo, to a menu of other options for humanity. That is most likely the most profound global significance of the PRC on its 75th birthday.

This article was written for the Friends of Socialist China special anniversary supplement published by the Morning Star on September 28, to coincide with London conference celebrating the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. It is extracted from Andrew’s contribution to the book People’s China at 75 – The Flag Stays Red, available now from Praxis Press.

The PDF of the supplement can be downloaded here.

There is a story, possibly apocryphal, regarding a parliamentary by-election in St Pancras, north London, in 1949. The Communist Party stood a candidate and, amidst a deteriorating Cold War atmosphere, polled fairly dismally.

Johnnie Campbell, a laconic Scotsman central to the CPGB’s leadership for decades, was dispatched to the locality to rally the troops in the aftermath. Surveying his dispirited comrades, he supposedly declared: “Well, things aren’t going our way in St Pancras right now…but we’ve won in China!”

To many, that was the immediate significance of the Chinese revolution. For millions of Communists and sympathisers around the world, as well as oppressed masses in the colonies and semi-colonies, the victory of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the party-led People’s Liberation Army was a huge advance – really the greatest conceivable – in a worldwide process of socialist revolution.

New book: People’s China at 75 – The Flag Stays Red

At our London conference marking the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, held on 28 September 2024, we launched a new book: People’s China at 75 – The Flag Stays Red. Edited by Friends of Socialist China co-editors Keith Bennett and Carlos Martinez, and published by Praxis Press, the book brings together different perspectives and understandings of the trajectory of Chinese socialism over the past 75 years, with the aim of presenting China’s achievements and challenging popular misconceptions.

The book can be purchased on the Praxis Press website in paperback and digital formats.

Synopsis

When the People’s Republic of China was proclaimed on 1 October 1949, China was one of the poorest and most wretched societies on earth. Illiteracy was as high as life expectancy was low but as Chinese leader Mao Zedong had remarked even before the formal announcement of the creation of the PRC, “The Chinese people have stood up.”

Today’s China is at the forefront of the world economy, it has eliminated absolute poverty and is leading the world in tackling climate change, and the development of new, high quality productive forces, essentially conforming to the fifth industrial revolution.

China has achieved this unprecedented development in less than a century, yet these achievements are frequently misinterpreted or distorted. People’s China at 75 – The Flag Stays Red, organised by the co-editors of Friends of Socialist China, aims to challenge these misconceptions and provide the political, historical and economic context that best explains China’s astonishing rise.

Chapters

Keith Bennett and Carlos Martinez: Understanding socialism with Chinese characteristics
Ken Hammond: Building socialism with Chinese characteristics
Jenny Clegg: China’s transition to socialism: 1949-1956
Andrew Murray: Standing up, living long, opposing hegemony
Cheng Enfu and Chen Jian: The significance of China’s fulfilment of its Second Centenary Goal by 2049
Kenny Coyle: The ‘primary stage of socialism’ in historical context
Roland Boer: China’s socialist democracy
Mick Dunford: Common Prosperity
J Sykes: Mao, China, and the development of Marxism-Leninism
Efe Can Gürcan: Building socialism, building the ecological civilisation
Radhika Desai: Patient finance: Beijing’s core challenge to the Washington Consensus
Carlos Martinez: How China survived the end of history

About the authors

Keith Bennett is a Co-editor of Friends of Socialist China. He studied Chinese History and Politics at SOAS University of London and, on graduating, began a lifetime of working with China at the Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding (SACU) in 1979. He has visited China regularly since 1981 and is also Deputy Chairman of the 48 Group Club, whose July 1953 ‘Icebreaker Mission’ was the first western trade delegation to the People’s Republic.

Professor Cheng Enfu is the former President of the Academy of Marxism, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Principal Professor at the University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, President of the World Association for Political Economy, Editor-in-Chief of the World Review of Political Economy, Editor-in-Chief of the World Marxism Review, and Honorary Editor-in-Chief of International Critical Thought. His research mainly focuses on Marxist political economy.

Dr Jenny Clegg is an independent writer and researcher, specialising in China’s development and international role; and a former Senior Lecturer/Course Leader in Asia Pacific Studies at the University of Central Lancashire, Preston, UK. Her works include: China’s Global Strategy: towards a multipolar world (Pluto Press,2009); Storming the Heavens – Peasants and Revolution in China, 1925-1949: a Marxist perspective (Manifesto Press, forthcoming).

Kenny Coyle is a writer, editor and publisher. He is the director of Praxis Press and is a regular contributor to the Morning Star. He has lived and worked in various parts of Asia since 2000.

Professor Michael Dunford is Emeritus Professor at the School of Global Studies, University of Sussex, and Affiliate Scholar at the Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research (IGSNRR), Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Professor Radhika Desai is Professor at the Department of Political Studies, Director, Geopolitical Economy Research Group, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada and Convenor of the International Manifesto Group. Her Geopolitical Economy: After US Hegemony, Globalization and Empire (2013) proposed geopolitical economy as the proper Marxist anti-imperialist framework for understanding world affairs in the capitalist era. She hosts a fortnightly show, Geopolitical Economy Hour on the Geopolitical Economy Report website. Her most recent book is Capitalism, Coronavirus and War: A Geopolitical Economy (2022, Open Access).

Professor Efe Can Gürcan is an Associate Professor who currently serves as a Visiting Senior Fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Additionally, he holds the positions of Research Associate at the Geopolitical Economy Research Group, based at the “University of Manitoba, Visiting Scholar at the Shanghai University Institute of Global Studies, and Senior Research Fellow at Hainan CGE Peace Development Foundation. Gürcan has authored seven books and over 30 articles and book chapters on international development, international political economy, and political sociology. His latest co-authored book is China on the Rise: The Transformation of Structural Power in the Era of Multipolarity (Routledge, 2024).

Professor Ken Hammond is professor of East Asian and Global History at New Mexico State University. He has been a socialist activist since his student days at Kent State University in the late 1960s-early ‘70s. He lived and worked in China from 1982-87 and has traveled and taught there over the past 42 years. He currently works with Pivot to Peace and is a member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation. He is the author of China’s Revolution and the Quest for a Socialist Future and China and the World, 1949-2024.

Carlos Martinez is a researcher and political activist from London, Britain. His first book, The End of the Beginning: Lessons of the Soviet Collapse, was published in 2019 by LeftWord Books. His most recent book, The East Is Still Red – Chinese Socialism in the 21st Century, was published in 2023 by Praxis Press. He is a co-editor of Friends of Socialist China.

Andrew Murray is political correspondent of the Morning Star for the second time, the first being from 1978 to 1984. In between he has been Chair of the Stop the War Coalition, Chief of Staff at Unite the union, and an adviser to Jeremy Corbyn when he was Leader of the Labour Party. He has written many books including The Fall and Rise of the British Left and Is Socialism Possible in Britain?

J. Sykes is a member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization and the author of The Revolutionary Science of Marxism-Leninism.

It's real! pic.twitter.com/OEqEU6McEg
— Carlos (@agent_of_change) September 27, 2024

People’s China at 75

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

Friends of Socialist China celebrated the extraordinary achievements of the past 75 years with two conferences, in London and New York City. Attendees at the London conference each received a copy of the Morning Star – the only English-language socialist daily newspaper in the world – with a special Friends of Socialist China supplement featuring articles from Zhang Zeguang (China’s ambassador to the UK), Keith Bennett, Rob Griffiths, Andrew Murray, Jenny Clegg, Carlos Martinez, Roger McKenzie, Micaela Tracey-Ramos and Kenny Coyle.

We republish below the contribution by Friends of Socialist China co-editor Keith Bennett. This article presents a broad overview of China’s socialist development, contextualising it in the overall history of the exercise of state power by the working class and its allies and the original road taken by the Chinese communists led by Mao Zedong, which represents a major contribution to the theory and practice of revolution.

The article highlights China’s transformation from poverty to moderate prosperity, examining three major phases of its development: the early period of socialist construction; the era of reform and opening up from 1978; and the new era, starting with the commencement of Xi Jinping’s leadership, characterised by the rapid development of new, high quality productive forces; a strong focus on environmental protection; a merciless campaign against corruption; much improved healthcare and pensions; and a program of common prosperity, ensuring that all sectors of the economy work in the overall interests of the people and of the pursuit of socialism.

Keith concludes: “Whilst China remains, in its own words, in the primary stage of socialism, the overall goal is now to build a modern socialist country in all respects by 2049, when the People’s Republic will celebrate its 100th anniversary. This is truly something that will change the world.”

The PDF of the full Morning Star supplement can be downloaded here.

Although China was the world’s biggest economy for most of the last two millennia, since Britain launched the first Opium War in 1839, the country was reduced to a semi-colonial, semi-feudal society. Not for nothing is the ensuing period known by the Chinese as the “century of humiliation,” marked by unequal treaties, foreign aggression, civil wars and ultimately a victorious revolution.

When the People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949, China was one of the poorest societies on Earth. Illiteracy was as high as life expectancy was low.

The subsequent political trajectory of the People’s Republic essentially falls into two distinct phases, the second commencing with the launch of the policy known as “reform and opening up” from the end of 1978.

The first period is often described as one of following the Soviet model.

There is some truth to this, just as contemporary China still draws on it to some extent, but it is far from the whole story.

For example, even in its most radical phases, the Chinese revolution never completely rejected a role for the national bourgeoisie.

This in turn meant that rather than a single party system, as in the Soviet Union, China retained, and retains, a multi-party, consultative system, based on acknowledging and upholding the leading role of the Communist Party.

Significantly, the peasantry (with some deviation during the period known as the Great Leap Forward, 1958-62), was not taken as a source of what might be termed “socialist primitive accumulation” to benefit the cities and the promotion of heavy industry.

Rather, policies tended to reflect the fact that the peasantry constituted the majority of the population and, even more that, they were the bedrock of the revolution.

The achievements of the Mao era should not be underestimated or denigrated. They were among the most stupendous in human history.

Despite the terrible years of 1958-62, and the chaos of the Cultural Revolution, life expectancy in China grew by one year for every year that Mao was in power.

From being practically the poorest country on Earth, Mao’s China solved the basic problems of feeding, clothing, housing and educating almost a quarter of the world’s population, provided basic medical care to the whole population, brought literacy to the overwhelming majority, massively improved the social position and role of women, and so on.

Why then was it necessary to make such a radical turn in 1978?

For all its progress, China remained at the time of Mao’s death in 1976 a very poor country, although the basic necessities of life were more or less guaranteed.

Whilst famine had been eliminated, food was still strictly rationed. Xi Jinping, when recalling his young days working with farmers in an old revolutionary base area, has often said that his dream was that one day the villagers would be able to eat meat and eat it often.

Although disparities and inequalities remained, China under Mao may be considered to have been one of the most equal societies on Earth, but to a considerable extent, it was a “socialism of shared poverty.”

Tunnel Warfare – From China and Vietnam to the Gaza Strip

A specific military art of tunnel warfare, as a distinct component of people’s war, was developed by the Chinese communists in the 1930s during the war to resist Japanese aggression. It was subsequently utilised by the Korean and Vietnamese peoples in their wars against US imperialist aggression and is now playing an important part in the Arab resistance to Zionism and imperialism in Palestine, Lebanon and Yemen.

In a recent article written for The Palestine Chronicle, Enrico Di Gregorio, a Brazilian journalist who currently writes for A Nova Democracia, explains:

“More than 80 years after the Chinese communists began building tunnels to resist the Japanese invasion of their country, this tactic of the people’s war, derived from a broader military theory, is still current and developing.

“On July 16, the Lebanese resistance group Hezbollah released a video about an underground military base with impressive capabilities: in the footage, fighters circulate on foot, on motorcycles and in trucks fuelled with rockets, through carefully dug tunnels… Elsewhere on the same base, soldiers work and are treated in a field hospital and provided with supplies that will allow them to survive for a year underground, according to the Al-Mayadeen news outlet.”

The 1965 Chinese film, ‘Tunnel Warfare’, “portrays the different tricks invented by the masses in the tunnels, such as a system that captured the water sent by the Japanese in flood attempts and redirected it to the villages, to reuse it for basic day-to-day operations.

“Experts point out that there is a relationship of influence between the tactics used in Asia and those employed by the Arab peoples. ‘Tunnels have been used for thousands of years, but the Vietnamese and Chinese have used them particularly successfully. There are several direct references to these experiences in Fatah and PFLP [Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine] materials,’ argues researcher Alberto García Molinero, from the University of Granada.”

Referring to the developments in the Palestinian revolution in the 1960s, Molinero adds: “The success of the guerrilla struggle strategy was very much inspired by China and Vietnam. Both Asian countries were a major global inspiration for the world’s revolutionaries, much more so than the Soviet Union. This was due to various factors, including the essence of Maoism. Both Mao, with his concept of people’s war, and the Vietnamese demonstrated that it was possible to defeat an infinitely superior enemy, such as imperialism, as long as you mobilise the people for the cause.”

Tunnels began to be built in Gaza in the 1980s and later by Hezbollah in Lebanon and by the Ansarallah movement (more commonly known as the Houthis) in Yemen.

“Today, there is no denying that tunnels play a fundamental role in the anti-imperialist war waged by the various Arab organisations. The scale that these structures have reached is impressive: in 2016, the former head of Hamas’ Political Bureau, Ismail Haniyeh (assassinated by Israel in July 2024), said that the tunnel network in Gaza is twice the size of the Cu Chi tunnels [which had around 250 kilometres of interconnected passages interspersed with small chambers used as classrooms and outpatient clinics and entrances and exits scattered throughout the rainforest.]”

Di Gregiorio concludes: “The anti-imperialist struggle in the Middle East has shown, more than any other revolutionary experience in the 21st century to date, the incredible relevance of the armed struggle and military doctrine developed in China and applied, even partially, by the Arab peoples.”

We reprint the article below.

More than 80 years after the Chinese communists began building tunnels to resist the Japanese invasion of their country, this tactic of the people’s war, derived from a broader military theory, is still current and developing.

On July 16, the Lebanese resistance group Hezbollah released a video about an underground military base with impressive capabilities: in the footage, fighters circulate on foot, on motorcycles and in trucks fueled with rockets, through carefully dug tunnels.

In large chambers, combatants plan day-to-day military operations, while others drive several trucks to gates that, when opened, allow missiles to be fired directly at Israeli territory.

Elsewhere on the same base, soldiers work and are treated in a field hospital and provided with supplies that will allow them to survive for a year underground, according to the Al-Mayadeen news outlet.

Everything takes place in secret. High-tech equipment guarantees absolute encryption of the information, which is transmitted in a combination of speed and clandestinity.

The video shows the remarkable development of tunnel warfare by oppressed peoples, particularly the Arabs, some 50 years after experiences such as the Vietnam War (1955-1975) – one of those conflicts responsible for making this guerrilla tactic famous throughout the world.

China’s remarkable transformation marks 75 years of socialist progress

The following article, written by Friends of Socialist China co-editor Carlos Martinez for the Morning Star, provides a whirlwind tour of the extraordinary progress made by the People’s Republic of China since its founding on 1 October 1949.

In spite of this progress – on poverty alleviation, improvement of living standards, women’s rights, environmental conservation and so much more – China is facing an escalating propaganda war, part of a US-led New Cold War aimed at slowing, and ultimately reversing, China’s rise.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Marcus Garvey, Mao and Gandhi: Notes on Black-Asian solidarity in times of Cold War politics and neoliberal fragmentation

In this interesting piece for People’s Dispatch, Eugene Puryear reflects on the century-long history of solidarity between the Black liberation struggle in the US and the revolutionary movements in China and India.

He notes that, as early as 1927, Black newspapers and colleges in the US were reporting on the Chinese Revolution and opposing US intervention. The article also references the famous 1934 visit to China by the great poet, playwright and activist Langston Hughes, who was inspired by the anti-imperialist struggle of the Chinese people. In 1937, “People’s Voice – a joint project of the Communists and civil rights leader Adam Clayton Powell – read by 40,000-50,000 Black New Yorkers a week, often used the slogan ‘Free India, Free China, Free Africa!'”

Following the victory of the Chinese Revolution in 1949, the Chinese people consistently showed solidarity with oppressed communities in North America. For example, following Mao’s Statement in Support of the Afro-American Struggle Against Violent Repression in 1968, people gathered in workplaces, schools and neighborhoods throughout China. “Chants like ‘Oppressed nations and peoples of the world, unite! Down with the reactionaries of all countries! Support our Black brothers and sisters!’ rang out.”

Eugene points to the continuing relevance of these historical connections:

Recovering stories from an earlier time, underpinned by a more liberatory vision, helps us find reference points for our movements and parties to conduct the radical course corrections needed to save humanity.

These themes are explored in some depth in our webinar Black Liberation and People’s China: Rediscovering a History of Transcontinental Solidarity.

The movements that gave us modern India, China, and Black America were, for a time, deeply conversant with one another. Jawaharal Nehru was a lifetime member of the NAACP, whose founder, W.E.B. Du Bois was on friendly terms with Mao Tse-Tung. James Lawson, a Black Methodist Minister, who refused to fight in Korea, traveled to India, studied Gandhi, and later brought his teachings to the Civil Rights Movement. China would name Paul Robeson the Chairman of its relief efforts in World War Two. He would then go on to publish a newspaper in the heart of McCarthyism tying these strands together.

Amidst the rise of the “Asian Century” and the era of Black Presidents, the legacies of those movements are in danger. Risking being turned into a caricature by the Cold War politics, a fascistic upsurge, and the fragmentation of the world into a poorer, hungrier, more dangerous, and less livable place; recovering stories from an earlier time, underpinned by a more liberatory vision, helps us find reference points for our movements and parties to conduct the radical course corrections needed to save humanity.

Haryana to Harlem

In 1948, a journalist traveling in India reported:

“When I asked some farmers in a village in West Bengal how they felt about American assistance to “raise the standard of living/of people in underdeveloped areas such as India, one elderly farmer replied: “We will believe in America’s altruistic motives after we see the American government raise the living standard of the Negroes and extend to them full justice and equality.”[1]

This consciousness of Jim Crow policies was rooted in a long history of interaction between the Indian freedom movement and Black America. A 1922 report from US Naval Intelligence noted with concern: “the present Hindu revolutionary movement has definite connection with the Negro agitation in America.” They took note of the African Blood Brotherhood, whose leader, Cyril Briggs, noted the Indian Freedom Movement as one of a few “factors” that “help us here, right here in Harlem.”[2]

Silence! On décolonise

We are very pleased that our article. ‘Quiet Please! We’re decolonising’, written by Dr. Sahidi Bilan and Rob Lemkin, which outlines the long history of internationalist support for the revolution in Niger on the part of the People’s Republic of China, has been translated into French and printed in Le Sahel Dimanche, one of the country’s leading newspapers, which is published by the state-owned press agency, Office National d’Édition et de Press (ONEP).

We reprint the French language version, as published by Le Sahel Dimanche, for the benefit of our French-speaking readers.

Lorsque le gouvernement militaire du Niger a expulsé, l’année dernière, les troupes et les diplomates de l’ancienne puissance colonisatrice française, certains Nigériens y ont vu la reprise d’un processus brutalement interrompu en septembre 1958, Il y a de cela soixante-six ans, à la veille de l’indépendance, le premier gouvernement africain du Niger. Le conseil était dirigé par le parti Sawaba (Sawaba signifie « libération » et « bien-être » dans la langue principale du Niger, le haoussa ) et son Premier ministre était un syndicaliste décolonial charismatique appelé Djibo Bakary.

Le renversement du Sawaba par la France en 1958 fut le premier coup d’État moderne en Afrique. En peu de temps, le parti fut proscrit et contraint à la clandestinité ; il a ensuite créé un mouvement de résistance avec le soutien d’États anti-impérialistes africains comme le Ghana et l’Algérie et a développé un important programme de formation à la guérilla avec l’aide du bloc socialiste, notamment de la République populaire de Chine.

‘’Silence ! On décolonise !’’ est le titre du grand livre de Djibo Bakary à la fois autobiographie et manifeste du programme radical de décolonisation dont il était l’un des principaux concepteurs. Nous utilisons son titre pour explorer une meilleure compréhension du coup d’État militaire du 26 juillet 2023 survenu au Niger suivi d’une rupture unilatérale des accords militaires avec la France, puis avec les États-Unis d’Amérique. Il est essentiel de se demander pourquoi aucun coup d’État militaire dans l’histoire post-indépendance du Niger (et il y en a eu huit, dont cinq ont réussi) n’a bénéficié d’un tel soutien populaire que celui du CNSP (Conseil national pour la sauvegarde de la patrie).

Cet article donne d’abord une brève introduction à l’histoire et à la vision du Sawaba pour le Niger ; nous nous concentrons ensuite sur les liens avec la Chine, en particulier sur son rôle et son influence sur la tentative remarquablement ambitieuse mais désastreuse d’envahir le Niger du Sawaba en 1964; nous décrivons ensuite la répression intense qui a suivi et concluons en ramenant l’histoire au présent.

Les questions d’aujourd’hui sont les suivantes : dans quelle mesure les dirigeants actuels du Niger sont-ils conscients du projet décolonial radical de Bakary et du Sawaba ? Les récentes expulsions des forces militaires occidentales font-elles partie d’une véritable politique anti-impérialiste ou sont-elles simplement une mesure populiste du gouvernement militaire ? Les présences militaires américaines et françaises (italiennes et allemandes également) avaient été justifiées par la nécessité de lutter contre l’insurrection. Mais les attaques terroristes se sont multipliées au cours de la dernière décennie. Le gouvernement se tourne désormais vers la Russie et certains partenaires comme la Turquie pour obtenir une assistance militaire.

« J’estime que notre devoir est de dire aux représentants de la France ce que veut et ce que pense l’immense majorité des populations que nous prétendons représenter. Servir la cause du plus grand nombre et non pas nous en servir comme tremplin pour assouvir des ambitions de jouissance et de puissance. Pour cela, il nous faut connaître nos problèmes par nous-mêmes et pour nous-mêmes et avoir la volonté de les résoudre par nos propres moyens d’abord, avec l’aide des autres ensuite, mais toujours en tenant compte de nos réalités africaines (…).

Pour notre part, nous l’avons dit et répété : nous avons été, nous sommes et demeurerons toujours pour et avec le «talaka» (paysan) nigérien »

Djibo Bakary

Éditorial dans le Démocrate du 4 février 1956

De nos jours, l’histoire du Sawaba est peu connue ou peu évoquée au Niger. En fait, ce n’est qu’en 1991, après la fin de la guerre froide, que la liste complète des prisonniers politiques sawabistes morts en détention dans les années 1960 et 1970 a pu être publiée. Selon Mounkaila Sanda, neveu de Djibo Bakary et futur dirigeant du Sawaba, il y a eu depuis longtemps un effort concerté pour effacer de la conscience nationale le souvenir de la lutte du Sawaba ainsi que la répression systématique de ses membres.

Comme c’était différent dans les années 1950 ! Le Sawaba, alors sous son nom d’origine Union Démocratique Nigérienne (UDN), était le principal véhicule de changement anticolonial au Niger. Son fondateur, Djibo Bakary, avait connu son premier éveil politique alors qu’il était écolier dans les rues de la capitale Niamey. Dans son autobiographie de 1992 Silence ! On décolonise, Bakary se souvient qu’il rentrait de l’école primaire en rentrant chez lui et qu’il avait croisé son père alors âgé de près de 60 ans cassant des pierres dans une équipe de réparateurs de routes enrôlés – une partie du système colonial de travail forcé (la corvée) qui restait en vigueur dans les colonies françaises jusqu’après la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Le jeune Bakary était furieux contre un système qui violait les notions communautaires de respect des aînés et de l’autorité traditionnelle (son père, bien que pauvre, était un chef de village local).

Britain’s century-long opium trafficking and China’s ‘Century of Humiliation’ (1839-1949)

This essay by Stansfield Smith, first published in MR Online, provides a detailed account of China’s Century of Humiliation, a crucial phenomenon to understand and one which continues to inform China’s anti-colonial politics. “For the Chinese, the trauma of the Century of Humiliation continues as a blunt reminder of their past defeat and neo-colonial servitude, as well as a reminder of the West’s self-righteous hypocrisy and arrogance.”

Stansfield describes how the British, later joined by other Western powers, used opium as a weapon to weaken China and reverse the flow of silver. In so doing, they caused untold suffering to the Indian as well as the Chinese people: “Britain taxed away 50% of the value of Indian peasants’ food crops to push them out of agriculture into growing Opium. This soon led to the Bengal famine of 1770, when ten million, a third of the Bengali population, starved to death. Britain took no action to aid them, as they did almost a century later with their orchestrated famine in Ireland.”

Once Britain defeated China in the First Opium War, the Treaty of Nanking gave Hong Kong to Britain as indemnity. Hong Kong “quickly became the center of Opium drug-dealing, soon providing the colony most of its revenue.” Such are the ignominious origins of British rule in Hong Kong.

China’s weakness was quickly leveraged by other Western powers, who imposed unequal treaties on China, and by the turn of the 20th century China was effectively a semi-colonial country. “The Eight-Nation Alliance (Japan, Russia, Britain, France, the United States, Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary) invaded again in 1900 to crush the nationalist Boxer Rebellion. An indemnity of 20,000 tons of silver was extracted, and China reduced to a neo-colony.”

Stansfield observes that “the blight of Opium on China was not resolved until the revolutionary victory in 1949.” Socialism has made China strong, and the Chinese people are determined to never again be humiliated by foreign powers. The article concludes:

The West now views China as a renewed threat, again seeking to economically disable it and chop it into pieces. However, this time, the Chinese people are much better prepared to combat imperialist designs to impose a new era of humiliation on them.

Stansfield Smith is an anti-war activist focused mostly on combating US intervention in Latin America. He is an activist with Chicago ALBA Solidarity.

For the Chinese, the trauma of the Century of Humiliation continues as a blunt reminder of their past defeat and neo-colonial servitude, as well as a reminder of the West’s self-righteous hypocrisy and arrogance.

In 1500, India and China were the world’s most advanced civilizations. Then came the Europeans. They eventually looted and wreaked havoc on both, just as they were to on the Americas and Africa. For India and China, Britain was the chief culprit, relying on state-sponsored drug-running backed by industrialized military power. The British Empire was the world’s largest producer and exporter of Opium—the main product of global trade after the gradual decline of the slave trade from Africa. Their “civilization” brought the Century of Humiliation to China, which only ended with the popular revolution led by Mao Zedong. This historic trauma and the struggle to overcome it and re-establish their country is etched in the minds of the Chinese today.

Before the British brought their “culture,” 25% of the world trade originated in India. By the time they left it was less than 1%. British India’s Opium dealing was for the large part of the 19th Century the second-most important source of revenue for colonial India. Their “Opium industry was one of the largest enterprises on the subcontinent, producing a few thousand tons of the drug every year—a similar output to Afghanistan’s notorious Opium industry [during the U.S. occupation], which supplies the global market for heroin.” Opium accounted for about 17-20% of British India revenues.

In the early 1700s, China produced 35% of the world GDP. Until 1800 half the books in the world were printed in Chinese. The country considered itself self-sufficient, not seeking any products from other countries. Foreign countries bought Chinese tea, silk, and porcelain, having to pay in gold and silver. Consequently, the balance of trade was unfavorable to the British for almost two centuries, like the situation the U.S. and Europe face with China today.

This trade slowly depleted Western reserves. Eventually, 30,865 tons of silver flowed into China, mostly from Britain. Britain turned to state sponsored drug smuggling as a solution, and by 1826 the smuggling from India had reversed the flow of silver. Thus began one of the longest and continuous international crimes of modern times, second to the African slave trade, under the supervision of the British crown.

(The just formed United States was already smuggling Opium into China by 1784. The U.S. first multi-millionaire John Jacob Astor grew rich dealing Opium to China, as did FDR’s grandfather, Warren Delano, Jr.)

The British East India Company was key to this Opium smuggling. Soon after Britain conquered Bengal in 1757, George III granted the East India Company a monopoly on producing and exporting Indian Opium. Eventually its Opium Agency employed some 2500 clerks working in 100 offices around India.

Britain taxed away 50% of the value of Indian peasants’ food crops to push them out of agriculture into growing Opium. This soon led to the Bengal famine of 1770, when ten million, a third of the Bengali population, starved to death. Britain took no action to aid them, as they did almost a century later with their orchestrated famine in Ireland. Another famine hit India in 1783, and again Britain did nothing as 11 million starved. Between 1760-1943,

As per British sources, more than 85 million Indians died in these famines which were in reality genocides done by the British Raj.

At its peak in the mid-19th century, the British state-sponsored export of Opium accounted for roughly 15% of total colonial revenue in India and 31% of India’s exports. The massive revenues from this drug money solidified India as a substantial financial base for England’s later world conquests.

Quiet please! We’re decolonising

Events in the Sahel region of Africa seldom get the international attention they deserve. However, developments in recent years have started to draw greater attention from anti-imperialists. In Mali in 2021, Burkina Faso in 2022, and Niger in 2023, progressive figures from the military have taken power, dealing a blow to the former colonial power France, which has long continued to maintain its effective domination of the region, and arousing renewed hope among the masses of people for independent development and social progress.

On 16 September 2023, these three countries formed the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) as a mutual defence pact when military aggression was threatened against the new government of Niger. The AES joins a growing number of regional and international bodies formed by the countries of the Global South to strengthen their independence against imperialism on the basis of collective self-reliance.

As part of this process, all three countries are strengthening their ties, in the economic, military and other fields, with China, Russia and other anti-imperialist states.

These developments do not occur in a vacuum. Rather, they have deep roots. Many people in the anti-imperialist movement know something of Thomas Sankara, the inspirational Marxist leader of Burkina Faso. Some know of Modibo Keïta, the first, socialist President of Mali. But probably very few know of the Sawaba Party, its leader Djibo Bakary, and the courageous armed struggle they waged in the 1960s for Niger’s true liberation.

In this special article, written exclusively for Friends of Socialist China, Dr. Sahidi Bilan, Senior Adviser of London-based Collectif de la Nigérienne Diaspora (Collective of the Nigérien Diaspora – CND), and Rob Lemkin, award-winning filmmaker, whose BBC2/BFI African Apocalypse documents the 1899 French invasion of Niger, bring the hidden history of the Sawaba Party to life, focusing especially on the strong internationalist support and assistance rendered by the People’s Republic of China to the Nigerien revolution – a relationship of solidarity that dates from 1954.

Bringing the story up to date, the authors conclude:

“It may be that the emancipatory force of history that Sawaba fought so hard to release is now beginning to be realised by the people of Niger. Let us hope that long-yearned-for freedom and justice can at last prevail without negative external interference…

“Today Niger and China have strong economic and political relations. Sawaba’s little-known history and connection with the PRC is an important foundation in the origins of today’s friendship.”

The struggle of the Sawaba Party was suppressed with extreme cruelty. But, facing execution at the hands of Spanish colonialists in 1781, Bolivian national hero, Tupac Katari declared: “I will return and I will be millions.”

Today, as their countries embark on the difficult road of building a new society, Thomas Sankara, Modibo Keïta and Djibo Bakary have returned. And they are millions.

When Niger’s military government last year expelled the troops and diplomats of the former colonising power France, some Nigeriens saw it as the resumption of a process rudely interrupted in September 1958. Sixty-six years ago, on the eve of independence, Niger’s first African government council was led by the Sawaba party (Sawaba means ‘liberation’ and ‘well-being’ in Niger’s main language Hausa) and its Prime Minister was a charismatic decolonial trade unionist called Djibo Bakary.

Sawaba’s overthrow in 1958 by France was Africa’s first modern coup d’etat. In no time the party was proscribed and driven underground; it went on to create a resistance movement with the support of African anti-imperialist states like Ghana and Algeria and developed a significant guerrilla training programme with help from the socialist bloc notably the People’s Republic of China.

‘Silence! On decolonise!’ is the title of Djibo Bakary’s great book, at once autobiography and manifesto for the radical decolonisation programme of which he was a principal. We use its title to explore a better understanding of the 26 July 2023 military coup and its unilateral severing of military accords with France and later the United States of America. It is vital to interrogate why no military coup in Niger’s post-independence history (and there have been eight of which five were successful) has had such popular support as that of the CNSP (Conseil national pour la sauvegarde de la patrie, National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland).

This article gives first a brief introduction to Sawaba’s history and vision for Niger; we then focus on China’s connections, in particular its role in and influence on Sawaba’s remarkably ambitious, but disastrously unsuccessful attempt to invade Niger in 1964; we then outline the intense repression that followed and conclude bringing the story up to the present.

The questions for today include: how aware are Niger’s current rulers of Bakary and Sawaba’s radical decolonial project? Are the recent expulsions of Western military forces part of genuine politics of anti-imperialism or are they merely a populist move by the military government? American and French military presences (Italian and German too) had been justified by the need to combat insurgency. But terror attacks have increased over the last decade. The government is now turning to Russia for military assistance.

“I believe it is our duty is to inform the representatives of France of the will and thought of the overwhelming majority of the people we claim to work for; to serve the interests of the greatest number and not to use it as a springboard to satisfy desires for luxury and power. For this, we need to grapple with our problems by ourselves and for ourselves and have the will to solve them first on our own, later with the help of others, but always taking account of our African realities (…)

For our part, we have said it again and again: we have been, we are and will remain always for and with the Nigérien “talaka” (peasant)”
Djibo Bakary, Editorial in The Democrat 4 February 1956

Nowadays the history of Sawaba is little known or spoken of in Niger. In fact, it was not until 1991 after the end of the Cold War that the full list could be published of Sawabist political prisoners who had died in detention through the 1960s and 70s. According to Mounkaila Sanda, Djibo Bakary’s nephew and a later leader of Sawaba, there has long been a concerted effort to expunge the memory of Sawaba’s struggle from national consciousness along with the systematic repression of its members.

Keith Bennett: Understanding Socialism with Chinese Characteristics

The Brighton Morning Star Readers and Supporters organised a meeting on the theme, China and the Struggle for Peace on March 24.

The invited speakers were our co-editors Carlos Martinez and Keith Bennett.

In his presentation, Carlos explained the thinking behind China’s foreign policy, showing how it is based on the principles of peace, development and win-win cooperation, and explained how this approach is rooted in China’s history and ideology, and is consistent with the country’s overall strategic goals.

The text of Carlos’s presentation can be read here.

Following this, Keith presented a broad overview of China’s socialist development, contextualising it in the overall history of the exercise of state power by the working class and its allies and the original road taken by the Chinese communists led by Mao Zedong, which represents a major contribution to the theory and practice of revolution.

He prefaced his contribution by noting that the Morning Star carries the words, “For Peace and Socialism” on its masthead every day, highlighting the fact that the struggles for peace and for socialism are inextricably intertwined.

A lively discussion and Q&A followed the presentations, which was continued informally in one of Brighton’s excellent local pubs.

We reprint below the text of Keith’s remarks.

The Communist Manifesto, the foundational text of scientific socialism, is still considerably short of 200 years old.

The working class and its allies have now held state power, and engaged in a serious project of socialist nation building, somewhere continuously for just under 107 years.

The Chinese working class, together with the peasantry and representatives of all patriotic sections of Chinese society, have held state power for just coming up to 75 years, with some two decades of running revolutionary base areas before that.

Since the October Revolution of 1917, serious attempts, with varying degrees of success, have been made to establish and build socialism in Europe, Asia, the Caribbean, South America and Africa.

Therefore, on the one hand we can say that humanity has acquired a certain degree of experience and lessons, both positive and negative, regarding the struggle to establish and build socialism.

But more fundamentally, we can say that, in the long course of human history, socialism remains a very new and fledgling system.

This is not to say that there is nothing to learn and draw from. Xi Jinping’s point that socialism with Chinese characteristics offers a new reference point and option for those countries that wish to rapidly develop their economies while maintaining their independence acquires ever greater validity practically with each passing day.

And communists everywhere still draw on the historical experience of the USSR, its monumental achievements, as well as its mistakes, that contributed to its ultimate demise, as well as the experience of every historical and contemporary attempt to build socialism.

But despite the fact that we do not start from a completely blank page, the most fundamental lesson we can draw so far from the historical and ongoing attempts to build socialism, I would argue, is that there is no ready-made blueprint or master plan, no straight road, and certainly no ‘one size fits all’ formula that can be downloaded and implemented at any time and in any place.

Moreover, for most of their political lives (arguably less so towards the end) Marx and Engels envisaged socialism replacing highly developed and advanced capitalism.

So far, this has not happened anywhere.

One could of course argue, like some ultra leftists and dogmatists, that this somehow invalidates the whole experience of actually existing socialism.

Or one can appreciate that this conditions the context in which countries and peoples move towards socialism, that every country will approach socialism in its own way, and that, not least, the character and duration of the transition period may vary enormously.

What’s highly relevant to those countries in which socialism has actually triumphed, theorised by Lenin as ‘breaking the chain at its weakest link’, is the fact that attempts to build socialism have all occurred in a world that is still largely dominated by capitalism and imperialism.

Moreover, every preceding class that rose to political power did so in the wake of and in the context of their rising economic power. In the case of the proletariat, it is almost the exact opposite.

All this helps explain why Stalin, in his Foundations of Leninism, explains that, even after it has taken power, for a time, the proletariat remains weaker than the bourgeoisie.

This is some of the context in which we must start to look at the trajectory of the Chinese revolution.

Although China has the world’s longest continuous civilisation and was the world’s biggest economy for most of the last two millennia, since the British launched the first Opium War in 1839, the country was reduced to a semi-colonial, semi-feudal society. Not for nothing is the ensuing period known by the Chinese as the ‘century of humiliation’, marked by unequal treaties, foreign aggression, most devastatingly that by Japan in the 1930s and 1940s, and by wars of aggression and resistance, civil wars and ultimately a victorious revolution.

Whether when the Communist Party of China was founded in 1921, or the People’s Republic of China was proclaimed in 1949, China was one of the poorest and most wretched societies on earth. Illiteracy was as high as life expectancy was low.

So, how did the Chinese revolution succeed?