Interviews Archives - Friends of Socialist China

Interview: Understanding China’s foreign policy

In the video embedded below, Friends of Socialist China co-editor Carlos Martinez joins Roger McKenzie for a detailed exploration of China’s foreign policy, its domestic progress, and the geopolitical strategies shaping the 21st century. The two discuss the importance of understanding China’s rise, the global shift towards multipolarity, and the need for solidarity against imperialist pressures.

Some of the key ideas put forward include:

• China’s foreign policy rests on the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, first formulated by Zhou Enlai in 1954 and adopted at the Bandung Conference the following year. These principles – mutual respect for sovereignty, non-aggression, non-interference, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence – elevate what Lenin conceived as a tactical necessity into a principled theoretical framework. The core insight is that countries with fundamentally different social systems can and must coexist, and that all non-imperialist countries share a common interest in opposing domination and pursuing their own development paths. Today these principles find expression in China’s vision of a community with a shared future for humanity, underpinned by the Belt and Road Initiative, BRICS (which now surpasses the G7 in GDP, population and landmass), the SCO, and the G77. Multipolarity – a negotiated international order in which no single power can impose its will – is not only urgently needed to address existential challenges like climate change and nuclear war, but is, as Samir Amin argued, the necessary framework for the possible overcoming of capitalism itself.

• The United States is not accepting this shift passively. Brzezinski identified the nightmare scenario decades ago: a grand coalition of China, Russia and Iran. US responses have included proxy war against Russia in Ukraine, military encirclement of China through AUKUS and Pacific buildups, unconditional support for Israel, tariff wars, semiconductor controls, the kidnapping of president Maduro, the suffocation of Cuba, the reassertion of the Monroe Doctrine, and now open war on Iran. The US is losing economic and technological primacy but retains overwhelming military power, and the danger is precisely that of a declining empire reaching for military solutions.

• The war on Iran must be understood in this context. It is not about nuclear weapons – nobody believes that. It is not about women’s rights – women’s rights are improving in Iran and deteriorating in the West. It is a criminal attack, carried out by presidential decree without reference to international law or domestic legal process, against a sovereign state that supports Palestinian resistance, maintains public ownership of its energy resources, and is a key node in the multipolar project – a crucial link in the Belt and Road, a member of BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, and an important energy partner for China. The attack is simultaneously an attempt to seize control of energy flows, to develop strategic chokepoints that could be used against China in a hot war, and to destroy the axis of resistance across West Asia. It is the empire striking back.

• China is supporting Iran to the best of its abilities – diplomatically, economically, and with military cooperation – but does not have the capacity to project military power into the region. Nonetheless, Iran is a fiercely independent country with formidable military capabilities. The US and Israel will not achieve their objectives: they will not install a puppet regime, will not destroy the Palestinian resistance, and will not seize Iran’s strategic position.

• The task for progressive forces in the West is to oppose the war on Iran, oppose the New Cold War on China and the propaganda war that sustains it, and build the broadest possible united front against imperialism, racism and neoliberalism. We are not the vanguard – that role belongs to the socialist countries and the peoples under direct attack. But everyone has a part to play, and we must do what we can to build solidarity and make war untenable for the imperialists.

Interview: Why does the West fear China?

The video below is an interview of Friends of Socialist China co-editor Carlos Martinez by Jason Smith, for CGTN’s The Bridge podcast. In this wide-ranging discussion, touching on a range of issues from the war in Iran to the nature of China’s whole-process people’s democracy, Carlos opines that “democracy” is not an abstract universal but always has a specific class content. What the West calls liberal democracy is more accurately described as capitalist democracy: a system in which the ruling class – those who own and deploy capital – dominates political life, and government is fundamentally oriented towards preserving existing production relations and expanding capital. As Marx observed, the oppressed are permitted once every few years to choose which representatives of the oppressing class shall govern them.

China operates a different democratic model suited to a different social system. The capitalist class cannot organise politically, cannot direct state power in its own interests, and cannot dictate to the government – for example, Huawei does not tell Beijing what to do. The Communist Party, with over 100 million members, is a party of the working class and its allies, obliged to maintain legitimacy by actually delivering – on poverty alleviation, healthcare, pollution control, housing, renewable energy and more. The result, borne out by polling data including a Harvard Kennedy School survey showing 94 percent government approval, is that Chinese citizens report far higher levels of satisfaction with their democracy than citizens of the US or Britain. The Two Sessions – the annual meetings of the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference – give concrete institutional expression to this whole-process people’s democracy, translating debates from across society into national policy, including this year’s 15th Five-Year Plan.

The US-China rivalry is not a conventional geopolitical contest between two comparable powers. The US helped integrate China into the global economic order in the late 1970s on the assumption that China would remain permanently at the bottom of the hierarchy – making cheap goods, opening up to Western capital, abandoning its socialist orientation through peaceful evolution. The reality has been entirely different: China is now the world’s largest economy, the leading force in renewables, telecoms, advanced infrastructure and space exploration, and is advancing an alternative model of modernisation that operates entirely outside the paradigm of imperialism – without war, occupation, austerity or the Washington Consensus. That is the real threat: not military aggression, but the ideological and material demonstration that another development path is possible. The hybrid war against China – sanctions, tech controls, military encirclement, demonisation – is aimed at preventing China’s further rise, weakening its global relationships, and ultimately reversing the Chinese Revolution. China, for its part, simply wants to develop and to cooperate.

The multipolar project is in essence a demand that the principles of the UN Charter – sovereign equality, non-interference, peaceful coexistence – be actually observed, not merely invoked rhetorically. The record of US-led imperialism in the postwar period, from the Korean War to the 1953 coup in Iran to the current wars on Venezuela and Iran, makes clear these principles have never been adhered to by Washington. Institutionally, multipolarity means strengthening the UN, building out BRICS, the SCO, the NAM and the G77+China, developing alternative financing, and expanding south-south cooperation backed by China’s economic weight and the Belt and Road Initiative. This project increasingly has institutions, momentum and a trajectory – though it faces the enduring obstacle of US military hegemony and the reckless aggression of a declining empire.

For those in the West who want to engage constructively, the starting point is to resist the war propaganda that saturates mainstream media, tell the truth about China, and actively participate in anti-war movements – making the case for maximum global cooperation on climate, peace and development.

While the US pursues war and hegemony, China pursues peace and progress

On Friday 6 March, Friends of Socialist China co-editor Carlos Martinez appeared on the Empire Watch live stream, hosted by Ileana Chan, Sara Vivacqua and João Amorim.

The wide-ranging conversation includes detailed discussion on the criminal US-Israeli war on Iran; how that war is reshaping the multipolar world order; China’s vision of peaceful coexistence; a comparison of the US and China’s military posture; China’s 15th Five-Year Plan; its newly-announced GDP growth target of 4.5 to 5 percent; and the Kenyan state’s illegal detention and torture of Comrade Booker Ngesa Omole.

The full stream is embedded below, followed by a selection of thematic extracts.

Chinese Foreign Minister meets the press

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has used his annual meeting with the Beijing press corps to set out a comprehensive overview regarding his country’s foreign policy and external relations. His March 8 press conference was held on the sidelines of China’s annual parliamentary ‘two sessions’ of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). Wang, who is also a Political Bureau member of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, fielded over 20 questions posed by both the Chinese and foreign media and the press conference lasted for 80 minutes.

Among the important points made by Wang were:

Today is International Women’s Day. Let me start by extending warm greetings to all women on this special day.

China’s diplomacy firmly safeguards national sovereignty, security and development interests, firmly upholds international rule of law and fairness and justice, firmly opposes all unilateral acts, power politics and bullying, firmly observes and fulfills our international obligations, and firmly stands on the right side of history. As the world’s most important force for peace, for stability and for justice, we have full confidence in the future of humanity.

China and Russia share a high degree of political mutual trust. Working back-to-back lies at the heart of this relationship… China and Russia act in close coordination. In major international and regional affairs, China and Russia share the broadest strategic consensus and closest strategic coordination.

Last year, the heads of state of China and Russia attended the commemorations of the victory of the Anti-Fascist War in each other’s countries, and the two sides issued three important joint statements on deepening comprehensive strategic coordination, cementing global strategic stability and upholding the authority of international law. This has sent a clear message to the world about resolutely upholding the correct view of history on World War II, safeguarding the fruits of the victory of the War and opposing unilateral bullying acts. Eighty years ago, China and Russia together contributed to the building of the postwar order. Today, 80 years on, China and Russia together will add momentum to the advent of a multipolar world.

The sun has risen in the east – George Galloway’s message to Europe

The following is an interview with George Galloway, former member of the British parliament and leader of the Workers’ Party of Britain, published by the Chinese newspaper Global Times on January 25, focused on the present position and prospects of Europe in geopolitics.

Asked first about the reported ‘framework of a deal’ supposedly reached by NATO and US President Trump in the margins of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, regarding the Danish colony of Greenland, which Trump is threatening to annex, George replies:

“We’ll have to wait and see what deal emerges, whether it will be acceptable to the people of Greenland, and whether it will be acceptable to the people of Denmark. But none of that, even if there is a deal, can wipe out the sheer thuggery – really mafia-style gangsterism – of the current US administration’s conduct over this matter in the last few months.

“The world has never seen a situation where an ally can be so openly aggressive, belligerent and threatening toward a country like Denmark, which has been an unquestioning supporter of everything the US has ever asked of it. It was the very first country in the whole world to recognise the NATO annexation of Kosovo, when Kosovo was torn from its motherland in Serbia.”

In his view, relations between Europe and the US “are comprehensively ruined, and that’s why European leaders who have been lecturing, badgering, and pressuring China for years are all making hasty reservations – not for a slow boat to China, but a quick one. That’s why Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney was there. That’s why French President Emmanuel Macron was there. That’s why British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is coming.”

In this new situation, Europe “should make peace and amity with China and with Russia, make new arrangements with the rising powers in the world.” However, “their current political leadership almost certainly will not do that, because, if I can quote Shakespeare in Macbeth – they are steeped in blood so far that it is difficult to know whether to go on or to go back.”

[“I am in blood / Stepped in so far, that, should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o’er” – William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act III, Scene IV]

Referring to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Davos speech, where he said that “the so-called rules-based order is not just fading; it was always a lie. He said the rest of us knew that it was a lie, but we went along with it because it benefited us to do so,” George adds:

“This is a remarkable admission. I’m not sure whether there has been a more remarkable admission in modern history than this. Some clear-sighted politicians and observers have been saying it all along, for which they were insulted, marginalised or even punished, but this view is now being openly acknowledged by a member of NATO, and by the prime minister of a Five Eyes country.”

Tariff war: China has outsmarted the US

In the edition of Empire Watch embedded below, livestreamed on 16 January, Friends of Socialist China co-editor Carlos Martinez joined Ileana Chan to host a discussion on a number of important geopolitical topics related to China, including China-Iran relations; the impact of the US’s tariff war and the news that China recorded a $1.2 trillion trade surplus in 2025; China’s restrictions on rare earth exports to Japan; Japan’s escalating militarisation and its implications for regional peace; South Korea-Japan relations in the context of US efforts to contain China; and more.

From 42 minutes in, Ileana and Carlos are joined by Lotte Rørtoft-Madsen, chairperson of the Danish Communist Party, for a detailed assessment of President Trump’s threat to invade Greenland, and how this connects to the US campaign to encircle and contain China and Russia.

Chinese scholar says resistance is only viable approach but patience is needed

The following is the text of an interview conducted by the Tehran Times with Chinese scholar Professor Jin Liangxiang on the sidelines of the recent Conference on People’s Rights and Legitimate Freedoms in the Thoughts of Ayatollah Khamenei.

Professor Jin notes that: “The Americans like to talk about liberal democracy and, when doing so, they link it to human rights. They even intervene in the domestic affairs of countries in the Middle East – such as Iran and many others – in the name of humanitarian concerns.

“But in Gaza and Palestine, we have witnessed atrocities committed by Israel, resulting in more than 70,000 deaths. In this regard, the Americans have turned a blind eye. So, I believe the United States is not in a position to lecture others about liberal democracy or to intervene under the banner of humanitarianism.”

Responding to a question on different perceptions of people’s rights and freedoms, he stresses that resistance is the only way out:

“When we talk about freedom, we must begin with justice. The most serious challenge to justice in the region is hegemony and power politics. Therefore, resistance becomes the only viable approach to achieving justice.

“We should not assume that hegemonic powers will make concessions on their own. Those policies will not disappear by themselves. The only way to deliver justice is through resistance. Even though the Middle East has experienced some changes in recent years, as long as oppression exists, resistance will continue.”

However: “The evolution of the international order will be a long process. People across the region – not only Iranians – do not accept hegemony. But weakening hegemonic structures and transforming the global order will take time… So, patience is required. BRICS is developing strong momentum and is expanding with new members. It will need time for internal integration, improving mechanisms, and organising resources. But it will become an important mechanism in shaping the future international order, playing a growing role not only financially but also politically and in the security arena.”

Jin is a senior research fellow at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies (SIIS) as well as a nonresident senior fellow at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, based in Doha, Qatar.

The following article was originally published by Tehran Times. A video of the interview may be viewed here.

Jimmy Lai convicted: the truth behind Hong Kong’s US‑backed colour revolution

In the clip embedded below, Ileana Chan of Empire Watch interviews KJ Noh about the recent conviction of Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai, which Western outlets have framed as an attack on press freedom. KJ notes that Jimmy Lai was found guilty on two counts of collusion with foreign forces and one count of sedition under Hong Kong’s national security laws following a 156-day trial.

Discussing the political context of the trial, KJ explains that the 2019 Hong Kong riots evolved into an attempted “colour revolution”, backed by the US, and observes that Lai used his media influence and resources to coordinate and publicise this movement. KJ also observes that Lai actively lobbied US officials to apply sanctions against China.

As such, KJ argues that Lai received a fair trial within Hong Kong’s legal system and that his conviction was justified given his involvement in sedition.

The interview expands into a discussion of Hong Kong’s colonial past, with KJ pointing out that Hong Kong under British control was not the model of liberal democracy it is sometimes painted as, but rather an apartheid colony.

China and the West: two systems, two futures

In the video embedded below, Jyotishman Mudiar of the popular India and Global Left channel interviews Friends of Socialist China co-editor Carlos Martinez on a range of topics related to China and global political economy, including: the dimensions of China’s economic progress since 1949; the differences between the first three decades of socialist construction and the Reform and Opening Up period; the differences between Socialism with Chinese Characteristics and capitalism; the definition of socialism; the political system that enables China’s unprecedented progress on poverty alleviation and green energy; the nature of multipolarity; the differences between today’s emerging multipolarity and the inter-imperialist rivalry of the early 20th century; how multipolarity opens a path for advance to socialism; the nature of the current long crisis of capitalism; and the meaning of “changes unseen in a century”.

Martin Jacques and Carlos Martinez discuss Western misconceptions of China

In this episode of Wave Media’s Roughly Chinese podcast, hosted by Mimi Zhu and recorded live in Shanghai in October 2025, Martin Jacques (British academic and author of the bestselling When China Rules the World) and Carlos Martinez (co-editor of Friends of Socialist China and author of The East is Still Red) discuss their motivations for researching and writing about China; the trajectory of Britain-China relations; changing perceptions of China in the West; the long-term crisis of capitalism and its manifestation in an ascendant far-right in Britain; and more.

Interview: Is China capitalist, socialist or communist?

On 16 October 2025, Friends of Socialist China co-editor Carlos Martinez joined Shanghai-based journalist Andy Boreham for a wide-ranging discussion on the topics of anti-China propaganda, China’s record under Mao Zedong, China’s political and economic system since 1978, whether China is socialist, the differences between socialism and communism, and much more.

The video of the conversation is embedded below, and can also be found on the Reports on China YouTube channel.

KJ Noh: Washington has been preparing for war with China for over a decade

This wide-ranging interview with political analyst KJ Noh on India and Global Left centres on China’s geopolitical role, the US’s evolving imperial strategy, and the urgent need for solidarity among the nations of the Global South.

KJ begins by responding to the criticism that China is not doing enough to end the genocide in Palestine. He states bluntly: “let’s be clear – no country is doing enough. We are witnessing a live-streamed genocide – children are starving, journalists and doctors are being killed, and an entire population is being besieged and starved. This cannot and should not be tolerated.”

Nonetheless, he contends that blaming third parties such as China diverts responsibility from the Western powers funding, arming and shielding Israel. “In reality, this is not just an Israeli genocide — it is a US-led imperial genocide, with Israel acting as the subcontractor. The project of colonisation and control of West Asia’s resources is part of a larger imperial strategy.”

Regarding China’s position, KJ notes that China was one of the first countries to recognise the State of Palestine, and has long supported its liberation struggle. China last year hosted reconciliation talks among 14 Palestinian factions and has explicitly backed the right of occupied peoples to armed resistance. He further argues that China’s approach is constrained by international structures it cannot unilaterally override.

Turning to US policy and the unfolding New Cold War, KJ asserts that Washington has been preparing for war with China since at least 2009, when the “Air-Sea Battle” doctrine was formulated — a continuation of its “Shock and Awe” strategy of pre-emptive decapitation. He describes a three-stage process of escalation: information warfare, military positioning and provocation, warning that the US now considers tactical nuclear weapons usable. The US, he argues, seeks proxies such as Taiwan Province, the Philippines and South Korea to wage a regional war that could quickly turn nuclear.

To avoid becoming proxy battlegrounds, KJ urges that countries of the Global South build sovereignty — digital, financial, energy, and territorial — and strengthen mutual alliances such as BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

Decarbonising the planet: China leads the way out of the climate crisis

In the video below, KJ Noh interviews Carlos Martinez about China’s role in humanity’s common struggle against climate breakdown. In particular, the two discuss the new comprehensive review by global energy think tank Ember of China’s clean energy progress and its implications for the rest of the world.

KJ and Carlos go into some depth regarding China’s commitment to renewable energy and environmental protection, and the reason China has emerged as the undisputed global leader in clean technology while the US administration is doubling down on fossil fuel and the military-industrial complex.

The two discuss the geopolitics of the climate crisis, concluding that, for much of the US ruling class, a strategy of suppressing China’s rise is a significantly higher priority than saving the planet; “better dead than red” for the 21st century. KJ and Carlos also cover the global significance of China’s innovation, investment and economies of scale, noting that thanks to China’s efforts, there’s been a dramatic cost reduction in green tech around the world, allowing many countries of the Global South to leapfrog fossil fuel-based development.

The interview was originally recorded and broadcast on BreakThrough News on 30 September 2025.

Interview: China’s successes are based on socialism

On the Global Majority for Peace podcast, Ileana Chan talks with Friends of Socialist China co-editor Carlos Martinez about why so much of the Western left doesn’t support China; what the differences are between Socialism with Chinese Characteristics and capitalism; the nature of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the aims of the multipolar project; whether China’s engagement with the world can be considered “imperialist”; the nature of China’s relationship with the Democratic Republic of Congo; the state of the semiconductor wars; and China’s remarkable progress in green energy.

The first half hour of the interview is embedded below. Readers are also welcome to access the full 53-minute video, which is currently unlisted.

Putin: Russia and China are united in our vision of building a just, multipolar world order, with a focus on the nations of the Global Majority

We are pleased to republish below the full text of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s interview with Xinhua News Agency, conducted on the eve of his visit to China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Tianjin Summit and the commemorations in Beijing for the 80th anniversary of China’s victory in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression.

The interview touches on a wide range of important issues, including Russia-China relations, the global balance of power, the significance of the SCO, and the lessons to be learned from the Second World War.

On the issue of the Global Anti-Fascist War, Putin notes:

The peoples of the Soviet Union and China bore the brunt of the fighting and suffered the heaviest losses. It was our citizens who endured the greatest hardships in the struggle against the invaders and played a decisive role in defeating Nazism and militarism. Through those severe trials, the finest traditions of friendship and mutual assistance were forged and strengthened – traditions that today form a solid foundation for Russian–Chinese relations.

I would remind you that even before the full-scale outbreak of the Second World War, in the 1930s, when Japan treacherously launched a war of aggression against China, the Soviet Union extended a helping hand to the Chinese people. Thousands of our career officers served as military advisers, assisting in strengthening the Chinese army and providing guidance in combat operations. Soviet pilots also fought bravely alongside their Chinese brothers-in-arms.

He adds:

The historical record leaves no doubt as to the scale and ferocity of those battles. We remember the great significance of the famous Hundred Regiments Offensive, when Chinese Communist forces liberated a territory with a population of five million from Japanese occupation. We also recall the unparalleled feats of Soviet troops and commanders in their clashes with Japan at Lake Khasan and the Khalkhin Gol River. In the summer of 1939, our legendary commander Georgy Zhukov won his first major victory in the Mongolian steppes, which in effect foreshadowed the later defeat of the Berlin–Tokyo–Rome Axis. In 1945, the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation played a decisive role in liberating northeast China, dramatically altering the situation in the Far East and making the capitulation of militarist Japan inevitable.

And, correctly remembering the crucial role played by China in the defeat of fascism and militarism and the birth of the modern international order, he states:

In Russia, we will never forget that China’s heroic resistance was one of the crucial factors that prevented Japan from stabbing the Soviet Union in the back during the darkest months of 1941–1942. This enabled the Red Army to concentrate its efforts on crushing Nazism and liberating Europe. Close cooperation between our two countries was also an important element in forming the anti-Hitler coalition, strengthening China as a great power, and in the constructive discussions that shaped the post-war settlement and helped to reinvigorate the anti-colonial movement.

Putin observes that, in the West, there are ceaseless attempts to rewrite the history of the Second World War, to downplay the role of the Soviet Union and China in the victory over fascism, and to whitewash the crimes of fascism and militarism. “Historical truth is being distorted and suppressed to suit their current political agendas. Japanese militarism is being revived under the pretext of imaginary Russian or Chinese threats, while in Europe, including Germany, steps are being taken towards the re-militarisation of the continent, with little regard for historical parallels.”

Interview: China shows socialism is the future

Sydney Loving, a Central Committee member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, joined the 2025 Friends of Socialist China delegation on a ten-day visit to Xi’an, Yan’an, Dunhuang, Jiayuguan, and Shanghai. The trip, hosted by the China NGO Network for International Exchanges, aimed to deepen solidarity, build understanding of the Global Civilisation Initiative, and counter Western Cold War lies about China.

In the interview below, originally published in FightBack News, Sydney emphasises that China’s achievements must be seen in the context of its pre-1949 poverty, war, and foreign domination. Visiting Yan’an, the cradle of the revolution, underscored how the Communist Party of China (CPC) grounded itself in the masses. Today, after 76 years of socialist construction, China has lifted hundreds of millions out of extreme poverty, raised life expectancy to over 79 years, and built a high-tech, increasingly green economy.

Daily life in China, Sydney observes, contrasts sharply with US cities: clean, walkable streets, safety for pedestrians, abundant public spaces, and virtually no homelessness. Historical and cultural heritage is actively preserved and made accessible. In poorer Gansu Province, projects like the JISCO steel complex, solar power plants, and ecological greening of desert areas illustrate the link between poverty alleviation and environmental sustainability.

Sydney stresses the CPC’s visible role in daily life, from free medical checkups to street sanitation, with leadership positions earned by serving the people rather than by spending money on marketing. She argues that socialism’s central planning and mass mobilisation achieve outcomes capitalism simply cannot.

For US revolutionaries, the lesson is twofold: socialism works, and the main obstacle to global peace and dignity is US imperialism. While China’s path cannot be copied directly, its example shows that a people-centred, revolutionary movement is possible.

Fight Back!: How did you go to China? What was the purpose of the trip?

Sydney Loving: The delegation was organized by Friends of Socialist China, a political project aiming to strengthen understanding and support for China on the basis of solidarity and truth. I repped Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and the delegation included folks from Black Alliance for Peace, Workers World, Progressive International, Communist Party of Britain Young Communist League, Black Liberation Alliance, Qiao Collective, Iskra Books, and others.

We were invited by the China NGO Network for International Exchanges, and over ten days we visited Xi’an, Yan’an, Dunhuang, Jiayuguan, and Shanghai.

Traveling to a range of areas, we got to investigate how China is building socialism, the incredible advances they’ve made in 76 years of socialist construction, and we had awesome dialogues about how we can better counter the negative narratives and Cold War-type lies we’re bombarded with in the West. Ultimately what we found was a country led by a forward-thinking political party, with a purpose that’s carving out a better future for everybody.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon discusses China with Tariq Ali

The following is an extensive interview with the French left-wing leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon that was conducted by Tariq Ali, the veteran writer and activist, and that was originally published on Sidecar, the blog published by New Left Review.

In their wide-ranging discussion Mélenchon makes a number of important comments about China – to which he has consistently advocated a position of friendship – which are especially significant coming from probably the most important leader of the contemporary European left.

Asked by Ali about the significance of the recent conflict between Iran and Israel, and specifically the role played by the United States, Mélenchon responds:

“We must try to understand the rationale of these Western states. It’s not simply that Trump is crazy or that the Europeans are cowards; maybe they are those things, but what they are doing is nonetheless based on a long-term plan, one that has failed in the past but is now in the process of being realized. The plan is, first, to reorganize the entire Middle East to secure access to oil for the countries of the Global North; and, second, to create the conditions for war with China.”

This theme is further developed in the two men’s conversation, with Tariq Ali positing:

“You mentioned that the second part of America’s plan is conflict with China. A lot of liberals and left-liberals are now finally recoiling from the events in Middle East and saying that our real target should be China. But what they don’t realize is that the real target is China, because, as you say, if the United States controls all the region’s oil – as it would if Iran were to fall – then they would control the flow of this basic commodity. They could force Beijing to beg for it, which would help to keep it in check. So the US strategy in the Middle East might seem completely crazy – and it is crazy on various levels – but there is also a deep logic behind it: that it’s better to fight China in this way than to go to war with it. This has already started to create huge problems across the East. I noticed that the leaders of Japan nor South Korea, two countries that have major US military bases, abruptly cancelled plans to attend the NATO summit in June.”

Mélenchon replies: “The conflict between the US and China is over trade and resource networks, and in some respects the Chinese have already won, because they produce almost everything the world consumes. They have no interest in fighting a war because they are already satisfied with their global influence. Yet this is both a strength and a weakness. When 90% of Iranian oil goes to China, for instance, blocking the Strait of Hormuz would cut off crucial supply chains and bring a large part of Chinese production to a halt. So China is vulnerable on that front. You are right to say that some in the West would prefer a cold war to a hot war, encirclement and containment rather than direct conflict. But these are nuances, and in reality it is easy to move from one to the other. One of [former US President] Biden’s top economic advisors said that there is no ‘commercial solution’ to the problem of competition with China, which means there can only be a military one.

“The point about Japan and Korea is also significant. Not only them, but also many other powers in the region, are now strengthening ties with China. Vietnam was supposed to be in the US bloc, but they’ve signed agreements with the Chinese. So has India, despite the tensions between the two countries. The backdrop here is that, throughout much of Asia, capitalism is still defined by dynamic forces of trade and production, whereas in the US it has assumed a predatory and tributary character.”

He recalls that: “I once had an interesting conversation with a Chinese leader. When I said to him that China was flooding the European market with its overproduction of electric cars, he replied, ‘Mr. Mélenchon, do you think there are too many electric cars in the world?’ Of course I had to answer ‘no’. Then he said: ‘We’re not forcing you to buy our products; it’s up to you whether you want to purchase them.’ Here was a Communist explaining to me the benefits of free trade.

Inside China: Why they’re opening 1,000 new Schools of Marxism

In this wide-ranging conversation on The Socialist Program, historian and China scholar Professor Ken Hammond discusses recent developments in China following a visit in July 2025. He emphasises both the remarkable economic progress as well as the challenges China faces as it pursues further socialist development and modernisation.

Ken notes the absence of extreme poverty and homelessness in urban China, contrasting it with Western cities. Yet he also highlights discussions that are taking place in China as to how best to restrict the influence of big capital and to maintain the core role of the state in directing the economy.

One significant development mentioned is the establishment of over a thousand Schools of Marxism across Chinese universities, reflecting a reassertion of the importance of Marxist ideology and a renewed public discourse around socialism under Xi Jinping’s leadership.

Ken and host Brian Becker discuss the historical rationale behind China’s use of markets, viewing it as a pragmatic strategy to gain technology, expertise and capital from the advanced capitalist countries. Contrary to US expectations, this has not led to a capitalist counterrevolution. Instead, with a remarkable improvement in their living conditions, Chinese people have considerable confidence in their social system.

Ken and Brian also analyse China’s approach to international relations, based not on exporting its model but promoting multipolarity and cultural respect through initiatives like the Global Civilisation Initiative. As Ken puts it, socialism with Chinese characteristics is still very much a work in progress.

Interview: Lessons from China

The video below features a discussion between KJ Noh and Carlos Martinez, originally aired on BreakThrough News on 9 July 2025, about China’s development and its role in the world.

KJ and Carlos discuss the recent Friends of Socialist China delegation to China; the US and China’s contrasting visions for the world (‘clash of civilisations’ vs the Global Civilisation Initiative); living standards in China and the West; increasing poverty, repression, racism and xenophobia in Britain and the US; the reasons for US hostility towards China; China’s world-historic successes in tackling extreme poverty and building renewable energy and advanced infrastructure; the relationship between capital and political power in China and the West; and the relationship between the US-Israeli criminal war on Iran and the ongoing campaign to encircle and contain the People’s Republic of China.

Interview: Lessons from China’s Ascent

Embedded below is an interview with Friends of Socialist China co-editor Carlos Martinez on the CGTN Radio podcast The Bridge, hosted by Jason Smith.

Carlos and Jason have a detailed discussion on the role of China’s state-owned enterprises; the rationale behind the Belt and Road Initiative; what lessons the Western left can learn from China; the impact of China’s rise on the West’s ideological, economic and political hegemony; China’s approach to Israel’s war on Iran; the uprisings in Los Angeles; the emerging threat of fascism; and more.