Interviews Archives - Friends of Socialist 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.

Chinese modernisation offers a new option for others

The annual meetings of China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), collectively known as the ‘two sessions’, opened in Beijing on March 5 and March 4 respectively.

Prefiguring this, our co-editor Keith Bennett was interviewed by Wang Zixuan of Global Times regarding his expectations for the meetings and the global significance of Chinese modernisation.

Keith notes that this year, the two sessions take place against a background of an internationally volatile and unstable situation, which poses challenges not only to China, but to other countries and the global economy as a whole. Faced with the unpredictable behavior of the US, even other developed economies will more deeply appreciate that China is a steady, reliable and trustworthy partner.

Referring to the third plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee held in July last year, Keith notes that now China’s reform and opening up is no longer simply a matter of making foreign things serve China, but it is also about what China contributes to the world.

“What recently caught the world’s attention was the sudden emergence of DeepSeek. In relation to this, I expect to see the ‘two sessions’ making an affirmation of the important role of the private sector within the broader system of socialism with Chinese characteristics. President Xi’s recent meeting with entrepreneurs sent a strong signal in this regard. It was notable in that meeting that the attention was given to areas including high-tech and AI. I think this shows that the emphasis is being placed not only on the real economy but also on sustainability and developments that offer benefits to all humanity.”

Outlining the key features of Chinese modernisation, he concludes: “With its distinct features, Chinese modernisation demonstrates that modernisation no longer means Westernisation. Chinese modernisation and its suitability and efficacy for the majority of humanity will be expressed both quantitatively – by the largest number of people living in modernised conditions – and qualitatively, as it represents a better form of modernisation that benefits all in society. It doesn’t rely on oppressing other nations or peoples and avoids polarisation.”

He adds that: “Some people in the West are blaming China for their own problems, but the West is responsible for its own issues. It’s been a kind of political trick in capitalist societies to find an external enemy to explain internal problems. In fact, China’s rapid development has greatly benefitted the West on a number of levels… The significance of Chinese modernisation to the world is that it offers a new option for other countries who want to speed up development while preserving independence.”

We reprint the text of Keith’s interview below.

GT: The third session of the 14th National People’s Congress and the third session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, or “two sessions” in short, will convene in Beijing on Wednesday and Tuesday respectively. What are your expectations about this event?

Bennett: I think that there’s going to be more international attention on the “two sessions” than usual this year. The reason for this is the background against which they will take place in an internationally volatile and unstable situation, which poses challenges not only to China, but to other countries and the global economy as a whole.

How China responds will affect not just China, but the world economy as a whole. So, obviously, China will have to take the current situation into account and make necessary policy adjustments. However, I think the main thing that we will see is that China is prepared for any challenge. And if China continues on a long course of steady, measured and high-quality development, it can rely on the vast potential of its internal market which has been highlighted by the dual circulation strategy. Faced with the unpredictable behavior of the US, even other developed economies will more deeply appreciate that China is a steady, reliable and trustworthy partner.

President Dissanayake: Learning from China’s development model is essential for Sri Lanka

Anura Kumara Dissanayake, (popularly known as AKD), who was elected President of Sri Lanka in September 2024, and whose party, the National People’s Power (NPP), whose main component is the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP or People’s Liberation Front), Sri Lanka’s largest Marxist party, and of which AKD is also the leader, and who then went on to win a supermajority in November 2024 parliamentary elections, paid a state visit to China from January 14-17 at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

During his visit, Sri Lanka’s head of state gave a customarily wide-ranging interview to He Yanke for the CGTN program Leaders Talk.

Asked about his talks with President Xi Jinping, which had been held earlier that day, President Dissanayake said that Xi had emphasised that China’s achievements today are not just the result of the last two decades but also the outcome of the blood, toil, sweat and hard work of the Chinese people. This had made a deep impression on him.

On the relations between China and Sri Lanka, he said that whenever China draws up plans or programs, it always puts the people first. Similarly, the current Sri Lankan government is committed to the principle of serving the people in everything it does. As a result, the friendship between China and Sri Lanka, which has deep historical roots stretching back 1,000 years, will now enter a new stage.

China’s victory over poverty, the Sri Lankan leader continued, is inseparable from President Xi’s unwavering conviction and decisive leadership. He is a leader who always puts the people first, genuinely works for their welfare, spares no effort in safeguarding their interests and remains deeply connected to them.

Noting that his first visit to China was in 2004, when he served as Sri Lanka’s Minister of Agriculture, Dissanayake noted that China had made extraordinary achievements in the ensuing two decades. Asked what he had drawn from his visit to the Museum on the history of the Communist Party of China (CPC), he said that behind all China’s achievements lies a history of relentless struggle, unwavering belief and refusal to give up. These lessons are applicable to the development of all countries.

Sri Lanka also wished to learn and benefit from China’s technological expertise and related investment in the field of renewable energy, where it had become the global leader.

Likewise, China’s pivotal role in the global fight against poverty was setting an extraordinary example for countries and peoples worldwide. Sri Lanka will research and learn from this example and he wishes to personally visit China’s rural areas to see their development first hand.

Starting from the famous rubber-rice pact of 1952, today China is Sri Lanka’s most trusted economic partner. One of the first countries to sign up to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), it has become very important to Sri Lanka’s economic development, with increasing and diversifying exports to China and developing large scale industrial parks to complement the existing major infrastructure projects high on the agenda.

Studying and learning from China’s development model, he stressed, was essential for Sri Lanka. A key lesson is that every country must find its own way to modernisation and adopt a development model suited to its own conditions, rather than blindly copying the development experiences of others.

Regarding the well-known initiatives put forward by Xi Jinping, Dissanayake said that the Global Development Initiative means that the benefits of human progress and development can reach every individual; the Global Security Initiative offers inclusiveness and universal benefits; and the Global Civilisation Initiative respects and integrates unique civilisations and cultures, and the shared values of all countries.

Asked about how his government is facing challenges and implementing change, the Sri Lankan leader first noted that his government had been formed when the national economy was in tatters and the country had been forced to declare bankruptcy. Therefore, its immediate priorities were to pull out of the crisis, ensure economic stability and drive forward development through well structured planning and decisive action.

The political system also needs major reforms, with the entrenched issues of corruption and waste needing to be addressed.

CGTN’s full interview with President Dissanayake is embedded below.

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.

Interview: Socialism holds its ground and grows stronger with China’s contribution

In a recent interview with the Global Times, Friends of Socialist China co-editor Carlos Martinez discusses China’s development over the past 75 years and the role it plays in the world today.

The interview discusses the forthcoming Chinese translation of Carlos’s book The East is Still Red – Chinese Socialism in the 21st Century, and its significance for Chinese readers:

I hope Chinese readers will feel encouraged to know that there are people in the UK, Europe and the US that oppose the new cold war; that oppose the campaign of containment and encirclement against China; that stand for peace and multipolarity; and that want to see close cooperation in pursuit of peace, prosperity, ecological conservation and a sustainable future for our shared planet. The concepts of “common prosperity” and “building a community with a shared future for mankind” have relevance and resonance among progressive circles in the West.

In response to the question of what the Western left can learn from China, Carlos notes that “China is taking extraordinary, unprecedented steps forward on poverty alleviation, renewable energy, biodiversity protection and more”. These are successes of the global socialist movement, and the Western left can learn and take inspiration from them.

Addressing the “China threat” theory, Carlos points out that China’s record is remarkably peaceful:

China has not been at war for many decades. It does not maintain a global infrastructure of hegemony, unlike the US, which has over 800 overseas military bases, in addition to troop and weapons deployments around the world… On the global stage, China stands consistently and firmly for peace. It has put forward detailed and viable proposals for peace in Ukraine and Gaza. So where is the threat?

Editor’s Note: Recently, an English-language collection of essays, People’s China at 75 – The Flag Stays Red, was launched to examine China’s trajectory since 1949. British author and independent political commentator Carlos Martinez (Martinez) was one of its co-editors. Martinez has been trying to help Western people better understand China’s development in its different phases and aspects. In a recent interview with Global Times (GT) reporters Xia Wenxin and Xu Jiatong, Martinez shared his view on China’s marvellous successes over the past 75 years, as well as its contributions to the world, including to the socialist movement.

GT: When we interviewed you last year, your book The East is Still Red – Chinese Socialism in the 21st Century (hereafter, The East is Still Red) had just come out and gained international attention. Now, the Chinese version of the book is about to come out. How do you feel about this? What do you hope Chinese readers can grasp from this book?

Martinez: I’m very excited and honored that The East is Still Red will be published in Chinese. Although the book was written primarily for the Western audience so that they could come to understand modern China better, I hope it will be useful for some Chinese people to see how Marxists in the West view China and how Chinese socialism becomes an inspiration to the global socialist movement.

I think the analysis of the West’s vicious anti-China propaganda will be interesting for Chinese readers, who may struggle to understand the reasons for the West’s hostility and its slander campaign in relation to Xinjiang, Tibet (Xizang), Hong Kong and other affairs.

And I hope Chinese readers will feel encouraged to know that there are people in the UK, Europe and the US that oppose the new cold war; that oppose the campaign of containment and encirclement against China; that stand for peace and multipolarity; and that want to see close cooperation in pursuit of peace, prosperity, ecological conservation and a sustainable future for our shared planet. The concepts of “common prosperity” and “building a community with a shared future for mankind” have relevance and resonance among progressive circles in the West.

GT: This year marks the 75th founding anniversary of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Which aspect of China’s development during this period has impressed you the most? How do you view China’s contribution to the world in the past 75 years?

Martinez: The founding of the PRC constituted a profound turning point for the Chinese people after thousands of years of feudalism and then a century of invasion, domination, unequal treaties, chaos, warlord rule and intense poverty. Living standards have risen continuously since 1949. Life expectancy has risen from around 35 to 78 – several years above the global average.

China has advanced from being a very poor and technologically backward country to being a global leader in science and technology. It has eliminated extreme poverty. It is making by far the greatest contribution to the struggle against climate breakdown. It has leaped from a “low” Human Development Index (HDI) 30 years ago to a “high” HDI today and is on the cusp of moving into the “very high” group. It is building its own path to modernization.

Looking at the global scale, China has provided crucial support to national liberation movements and countries in the Global South. The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence continue to provide a framework for relations between countries, particularly developing countries. Via the Belt and Road Initiative and other initiatives, China is sharing its infrastructure development expertise and providing a means for the countries of Africa, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, the Caribbean and the Pacific to break out of underdevelopment.

And, of course, China is a force for peace. Its foreign policy is based on negotiated solutions to problems, the pursuit of peace, mutual benefit and global friendship. This is a very important contribution to the world.

GT: In a recent article, you urged the Western left to “learn a great deal from China” and “take a great deal of inspiration from it.” Could you please elaborate on this?

Martinez: China, along with the other socialist countries, is building socialism. So, people around the world who support the process of building socialism should seek to learn from China. The people of China are “taking part in the practice of changing reality,” and they are the trailblazers of the left globally, so we should learn from them.

Furthermore, China is taking extraordinary, unprecedented steps forward on poverty alleviation, renewable energy, biodiversity protection and more. In my view, the successes in those areas are successes of the global socialist movement, and the Western left could take inspiration from them.

In 1989, Deng Xiaoping said that “so long as socialism does not collapse in China, it will always hold its ground in the world.” Thirty-five years later, socialism is still holding its ground in the world, and growing in strength, thanks in no small part to China.

GT: What are the common misunderstandings about China and its development in the West? Why could China’s development lead some in the West to the sense of being “threatened”?

Martinez: The notion of China as a threat to some people in the West is patently absurd. Unlike the NATO countries, China’s record is remarkably peaceful. China has not been at war for many decades. It does not maintain a global infrastructure of hegemony, unlike the US, which has over 800 overseas military bases, in addition to troop and weapons deployments around the world. Of the nuclear powers, China is the only one to maintain a consistent policy of no first use and to pledge never to use – or threaten to use – nuclear weapons against a non-nuclear state.

China is accused of aggression in the South China Sea, and yet there is not a single instance of China preventing normal, non-military navigation. Regarding the Taiwan question, China’s position of working toward peaceful reunification has not meaningfully changed in many decades, and the one-China principle is recognized by the majority of the world’s countries.

On the global stage, China stands consistently and firmly for peace. It has put forward detailed and viable proposals for peace in Ukraine and Gaza. So where is the threat? This “threat” seems to be unacceptable to those working toward a Project for a New American Century, and therefore, they slander China and wage a propaganda war against it.

GT: You have been introducing the real China to your audience in the West. What do you think is an effective narrative for China to tell its story to the world?

Martinez: On the basis that “actions speak louder than words,” I think China should continue what it’s doing.

Its progress on environmental issues – becoming the world’s first renewable energy superpower and blazing a trail on biodiversity protection and water management – is very inspiring to people around the world who are concerned with preventing climate breakdown.

China’s successes in poverty alleviation and improving the living standards of its people are also drawing admiration. And China’s orientation toward peace and its principled positions in international relations are opening people’s eyes.

Increasingly, people are coming to reject the relentless anti-China propaganda they’re fed.

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.

Richard Wolff: US shifts blame onto China because it cannot address capitalism’s flaws

In the following video interview with Global Times, prominent Marxist economist Richard Wolff explains the central contradiction in the US ruling class with respect to its relationship with China.

On the one hand, the US business community is eager to maintain good economic relations with China, which represents an important market, trading partner, avenue for investment, and source of investment. US companies “want to be able to produce in China, and even more, they want to sell into the Chinese market, which is one of the fastest-growing and largest markets in the world.”

On the other hand, the US political establishment is increasingly hostile to China. This hostility is driven to a significant degree by the fact that China is challenging the US’s global hegemony. “The last century has been the century of the American Empire, and it now sees its role in the world economy – financially, in export and import, and in other areas – being challenged above all by the People’s Republic of China.”

Meanwhile the US is facing a deepening crisis of capitalism, with growing inequality, economic instability, and a shrinking middle class. Politicians have identified two convenient scapegoats for these problems: 1) immigrants from Latin America; 2) China. Wolff points out: “Capitalism has always moved in this way. But because our politics are controlled by big business, politicians can never blame capitalism. They cannot blame the big businesses that fund them. So, who do they blame? China.”

Wolff conjectures that it may be possible to use this division in the US ruling class to pursue an agenda of peace and cooperation; that the peace movement may be able to work together with the business community to prevent a war with China.

Zhang Weiwei: NATO is a relic of history that should have been disbanded long ago

In the video embedded below, Friends of Socialist China co-founder Danny Haiphong interviews Professor Zhang Weiwei, a Chinese professor of international relations at Fudan University and the director of its China Institute. The interview covers a wide range of topics, including the Western media portrayal of China as aggressive, the concept of the civilizational state, China’s preference for a peaceful approach to international relations, the conflict in Ukraine, China’s diplomatic breakthroughs in the Middle East, and the changing global balance of power.

Zhang Weiwei notes that, while the US and its allies insist on describing China as a threat to regional and global peace, China’s record of peaceful development speaks for itself. China has not fired a single shot in over 40 years, and is the only nuclear power to have a consistent policy of no first use of nuclear weapons. When the US was economically ascendant, it was already waging wars around the world. China however is now the world’s largest economy in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms, and yet it maintains a powerful commitment to peace and to solving problems through negotiations. Zhang highlights China’s diplomatic breakthroughs this year with regard to Middle East politics, including its mediation of the rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia, and its role in bringing together 14 Palestinian factions.

Professor Zhang points out that the conflict in Ukraine is mainly the result of US policy and the insistence on NATO expansion, stating that most Chinese feel that NATO is a relic of history that should have been disbanded long ago. China will be resolute in opposing NATO’s expansion into Asia.

Discussing the concept of “changes unseen in a century”, Zhang Weiwei highlights the emergence of a credible alternative for the Global South in the form of the BRICS grouping – whose GDP is already larger than that of the G7 – along with the Belt and Road Initiative, the economic emergence of several countries, and the failure of the US’s tech war against China.

Counselling the US to adopt a more peaceful approach to international relations, Zhang Weiwei notes that the Biden administration’s nuclear strategy is based on the concept of mutually assured destructions, when what the world needs is mutually assured prosperity.

Professor Zhang is providing a video contribution to our events to mark the 75th anniversary of the Chinese Revolution, in London and New York City.

Antiguan PM: China-Antigua relationship is one of the closest in the world between a big and a small country

Gaston Browne, the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, a small island state in the Eastern Caribbean, paid an official visit to China from January 22-28, becoming the first leader from the region to visit China in 2024.

During his visit he was interviewed by Wang Guan for the CGTN series Leaders Talk.

Prime Minister Browne noted how small island states are extremely vulnerable in today’s world, citing as contributory factors, climate shocks, the COVID pandemic, the impact of conflicts and wars, limited resource endowments and the debt burden.

He sees the relationship with China as crucial to Antigua’s ability to meet these challenges. His country was one of the earliest in the Eastern Caribbean region to establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic, 41 years ago.

Today he says that their bilateral relationship is one of the closest in the world between a big and a small country. Antigua has a population of less than 100,000.

China’s contribution to global peace and prosperity, the Prime Minister says, is unmatched. He sees it as being driven by President Xi Jinping’s philosophy and noble vision of a shared future for all. He describes President Xi as easily the most powerful and respected leader on the planet. Antigua and Barbuda is a beneficiary of China’s benevolence in many aspects of its development, not least in poverty alleviation.

In 2018, Antigua became the first country in the Eastern Caribbean to sign up to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). This has had a beneficial impact on many aspects of the country’s development, for example in the renovation and extension of the port in the capital, St. John’s. Funding for this could not be obtained from the World Bank or the IMF and Browne categorically rejects any suggestion of a Chinese ‘debt trap’. Rather, he views China as the most benevolent country on the planet, adding that this and other projects could not have been accomplished without its concessional loans and aid.

Another example he cites is that of agricultural cooperation. This is aimed at taking steps towards food security. At present, some 80% of the food consumed in Antigua is imported, mostly from the United States, with contributory factors being the lack of a sufficient labour force and the exacerbation of the county’s natural aridity due to the impact of climate change. China’s assistance in modernising and replacing the country’s water supply infrastructure is playing a key role here.

With regard to Taiwan, Browne says that his country is a consistent supporter of the one-China principle. This will not change under his leadership or that of the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party, which he leads.

The full interview with Prime Minister Gaston Browne is embedded below.

Class character of People’s China: interview with research economist

The following text is the English translation of an interview with Rémy Herrera, a research analyst at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) at the Sorbonne in Paris. The interview was first published in the magazine Harici (Istanbul, Türkiye), and the newspaper Cumhuriyet (Istanbul) in May 2024. The original French has been translated by John Catalinotto for Workers World.

Herrera, who has co-authored a book by Long Zhiming called Dynamics of China’s Economy: Growth, Cycles and Crises from 1949 to the Present Day, makes several important points about the nature, history and trajectory of China’s socialist market economy. First, contrary to Western neoclassical economists who see China’s emergence as a function exclusively of its adoption of market mechanisms and its integration into the global capitalist economy, Herrera argues that “accelerated growth was made possible only by the efforts and achievements of the Maoist period.” When opening up was introduced, it was “firmly and continuously controlled by the Chinese authorities, and it is under this condition that it can be considered as having contributed to the country’s indisputable economic successes”.

China has engaged with the process of globalisation, but the crucial condition for the success of this experiment has been subjecting it “to the constraints of satisfying internal objectives and domestic needs, … fully integrated within a coherent development strategy”. Engaging with the global economy is not by itself a solution to all problems; after all, “for more than a century before the victory of the Revolution in October 1949, ‘opening up’ had meant above all submission, devastation, exploitation, humiliation, decadence and chaos for the Chinese people”.

Herrera also discusses the nature of China’s state-owned enterprises (SOEs). These “are not managed in the same way as Western transnational corporations”; their primary goal is not the pursuit of shareholder profit at all costs. Rather, they are duty bound “to stimulate the rest of the domestic economy, and go beyond a vision of immediate profitability when higher strategic, long-term or national interests so dictate”.

On the underlying socialist basis of China’s economic system, Herrera makes the fundamental point that, in China, “the state controls capitalism, not the other way around”. For example, China’s authorities have “successfully confronted the power of the financial markets”, building a “great monetary wall” to defend the national currency. “Powerful strategic planning, whose techniques have been relaxed, modernized and adapted to today’s requirements — which is what makes it so effective — is a distinctive feature of a socialist approach. State control of the currency and all the major banks is an absolute requirement, as is close monitoring of the activities of financial institutions and the behavior of foreign firms operating on national territory.”

He continues:

The coexistence of public and private activities, stimulated by each other within a mixed, hybrid system, is the means chosen to develop the country’s productive forces to the maximum − including by attracting foreign capital and importing advanced technologies − and thus raising its level of development, with the stated aim of improving the population’s living conditions, and doing this not by abandoning socialism, but by deepening the socialist transition process that began in 1949.

Herrera also addresses the ongoing crisis of neoliberalism and its manifestation in an increasingly aggressive New Cold War on China. “All the conditions are in place for the system’s contradictions to become even more pronounced, especially as few reforms have been carried out since the 2008 crisis”. All progressive and peace-loving forces must unite in opposition to the US and its allies’ escalations. “The defence of peace is the priority”.

Q: Let’s begin with your books on China. Based on your research and observations during your visits to China, how do you interpret the Chinese miracle that everyone is discussing?

RH: Many commentators on the very high rate of growth in China’s gross domestic product (GDP), which has been observed for several decades now, use the term “miracle” to describe this phenomenon. I, for one, believe that this is no miracle, but rather the result of a development strategy that has been patiently conceived and effectively implemented by the country’s leaders and senior officials in successive governments, under the authority of the Communist Party.

We read and hear everywhere, in academic circles and the mainstream media, that the “take-off” of the Chinese economy is due solely to its “openness” to globalization. In my view, it’s necessary to add that such accelerated growth was made possible only by the efforts and achievements of the Maoist period. This opening up was firmly and continuously controlled by the Chinese authorities, and it is under this condition that it can be considered as having contributed to the country’s indisputable economic successes. It is because it has been subject to the constraints of satisfying internal objectives and domestic needs, and fully integrated within a coherent development strategy, that this opening up to globalization has been able to produce such positive long-term effects for China.

Let’s be clear: without the elaboration of such a development strategy, which is clearly the work of the Chinese Communist Party — let’s not forget that — and without the energy deployed by the Chinese people to implement it during the revolutionary process, the country’s insertion into the capitalist world system would inevitably have led to the destructuring of the national economy, or even its destruction altogether, as is happening in so many other countries in the South, or in the East. One fundamental point must be borne in mind: for more than a century before the victory of the Revolution in October 1949, “opening up” had meant above all submission, devastation, exploitation, humiliation, decadence and chaos for the Chinese people.

Q: How does China’s success differ from Western development models?

RH: The success of the Chinese government’s development strategy and the many benefits it has brought to the country’s people contrast sharply with the failure of neoliberal economic policy measures applied in Western countries, which have had catastrophic consequences for workers in the North, whether in economic, social, or even moral and cultural terms.

Let me give you a specific example. One explanation for the strength of Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) is that they are not managed in the same way as Western transnational corporations. The Western ones — listed on the stock exchange and oriented towards the logic of shareholder value which demands the maximization of dividends paid to their private owners, shareholder value and rapid returns on investment — operate by squeezing a chain of subcontractors, whether local or relocated abroad. Chinese state-owned groups don’t behave like this. If they were to behave in such a rapacious manner, they would be acting to the detriment of local small and medium-sized enterprises and, more broadly, of the entire national industrial fabric. But this is clearly not the case.

Most of China’s large state-owned enterprises are (or have become) profitable again because their guiding compass is not the enrichment of private shareholders, but the priority given to productive investment and customer service. In the final analysis, it doesn’t matter if their profits turn out to be lower than those of their Western competitors as long as they serve, at least in part, to stimulate the rest of the domestic economy, and go beyond a vision of immediate profitability when higher strategic, long-term or national interests so dictate.

Q: Can this model be defined in terms of the neo-classical or neo-Marxist model?

RH: First of all, I don’t think the Chinese see their development strategy as a “model.” Nor do they seek to impose or export it. They simply believe that certain lessons can be learned by the peoples of the world, but that it is up to them to define the objectives and means of their own development in their own specific historical, social and cultural conditions. This also differs markedly from the Western vision, which would like its “model” to be followed by every country in the world.

Neoclassical models have no application in China. If you’ll allow me, I’d like to add that neoclassical economics, which today constitutes the hegemonic or mainstream current in economics, basically serves no other purpose than to attempt to provide a theoretical and supposedly scientific justification for neoliberal political practices whose ideology is situated at the opposite end of the spectrum from measures for social justice and the development of public services. In reality, neoclassical economics is not a science, but science fiction or, as I put it in a recent book (“Confronting Mainstream Economics for Overcoming Capitalism,” Palgrave Macmillan), an ideology with scientific pretensions.

I am convinced, on the other hand, that Marxism has not yet been scientifically overtaken. Today, it has no serious competitor. It remains relevant, not least because we still live in a world where the capitalist system remains dominant on a global scale, even if its changes have been substantial, and need to be carefully accounted for. Despite the many attacks on Marxism since its foundation, and the repeated announcements of its death, it is enduring, resilient, “indestructible” dare I say, and the indispensable theoretical benchmark for anyone thinking about the ways and conditions of a better world.

Despite the demise of the USSR and the Soviet bloc, within which it had all too often become dogmatized and sometimes turned against itself, Marxism remains indispensable today, an irreplaceable point of reference for those fighting for socialism. So it’s hardly surprising that it is still an important theoretical reference for China.

Narrative of ‘overcapacity’ is a complete failure: former UN under-secretary-general

Interviewed by the Global Times, Erik Solheim describes the West’s accusations of Chinese “overcapacity” in relation to solar energy and electric vehicles as “a complete failure”.

From the perspective of combatting climate change, China is doing crucial work and blazing a trail that others should follow: “We have all called for many more high-quality green products from everyone, from China, from Europe, from the US, from everyone. Why start blaming China for doing what is expected from everyone?”

Solheim further notes that, from an economic perspective, accusations of overcapacity make little sense, “because what creates the foundation for trade is overcapacity… My nation, Norway, for example, is a big exporter of salmon… We raise and produce much more salmon than we can eat ourselves. Then we sell some to others. And then, for instance, we can import electric cars from China… We should not fear overcapacity, but we should turn it into a mutual benefit where everyone benefits from Chinese leadership in electric cars as they benefit from our production of salmon.”

Ultimately, tariffs will slow down the green transformation “because China is now the indispensable country for everything green”, given that “60 percent of all green technologies in the world are in China” and “when it comes to solar energy, maybe the figure is even more than 90 percent.”

Solheim also describes some of China’s contribution to sustainable development in the Global South: “I was living in Kenya for quite a number of good years. In Kenya, China has constructed the Mombasa-Nairobi railroad, which goes through some very vulnerable ecological areas. But it is the cleanest and most well-functioning transport system in Kenya. It’s an absolute, wonderful, green contribution to Africa.”

Erik Solheim is former under-secretary-general of the United Nations and former executive director of the UN Environment Programme. He spoke at our event Building a multipolar world – Ten years of the Belt and Road Initiative in November 2023.

GT: During your recent visit to China, you posed a photo of your morning run. What was it like to go for a morning run in Beijing?

Solheim: It was absolutely wonderful. The sun was bright, the sky was blue. You could breathe in the fresh air. It was a nice experience and highlighted a contrast to 10 years ago when the air pollution was thick and the sky was gray. It’s such enormous progress in such a short time. There is more to be done. But China has largely won the war against pollution.

GT: In the same tweet, you mentioned: “Why doesn’t the world start competing and stop complaining about China’s green leadership?” They are complaining about China’s “overcapacity.” Do you think China has an issue of “overcapacity”?

Solheim: I think the narrative of capacity is a complete failure for two reasons.

First, this is exactly what we all have wanted. This is even what the Joe Biden administration in the US has called for. We have all called for many more high-quality green products from everyone, from China, from Europe, from the US, from everyone. Why start blaming China for doing what is expected from everyone? A few years ago, the West was complaining that China’s production was emitting too much pollution. And now they’re complaining that China is making green products.

Second, this is complete nonsense from an economic perspective because what creates the foundation for trade is overcapacity. If the US had no overcapacity in its industries for the last 100 years, it would not have become a great nation. It became great because it had overcapacity – it could produce for global markets.

My nation, Norway, for example, is a big exporter of salmon. Why? Because we have overcapacity for salmon. We raise and produce much more salmon than we can eat ourselves. Then we sell some to others. And then, for instance, we can import electric cars from China. One of the most valuable companies in the world today is Apple, an American company. Why? Because they have an overcapacity in electric smartphones. Otherwise, they would have just been in the American market and they would have been a small company. We should not fear overcapacity, but we should turn it into a mutual benefit where everyone benefits from Chinese leadership in electric cars as they benefit from our production of salmon.

GT: Are there any green cooperation projects between China and other countries that have impressed you? What are the positive impacts of those projects?

Solheim: Absolutely. Two months ago, I was in Bangladesh, where China had constructed a bridge called the Padma Bridge. It is a wonderful rail and road bridge across the Padma River. That one bridge increased the GDP of Bangladesh by 1 percent because it connects the eastern and western parts of the land. That is a wonderful support for Bangladesh.

I was living in Kenya for quite a number of good years. In Kenya, China has constructed the Mombasa-Nairobi railroad, which goes through some very vulnerable ecological areas. But it is the cleanest and most well-functioning transport system in Kenya. It’s an absolute, wonderful, green contribution to Africa.

GT: Some observers suggest that the US doesn’t want to live in a world where the world’s foremost energy provider is China, so they’re making huge efforts to catch up and, at the same time, attempt to slow China down with initiatives like this “overcapacity” rhetoric. What’s your take on this view?

Solheim: I think there are two aspects to this view.

First, the US is deeply concerned about having a peer competitor, such as China. For the past century, the US has been the dominant global power, or the only dominant power in the world, and it’s not used to sharing that position. However, it needs to get used to the reality that China’s economy will surpass that of the US, and China will play an increasingly important role in global affairs. Additionally, the US doesn’t only need to adapt to the rise of China, but also to the rise of other powers like India, Turkey, Indonesia, and Brazil. The era of US dominance is over, and it needs to adapt to the change.

On the other hand, President Biden wants jobs for his people. It’s natural for him to be more concerned about American jobs than the jobs in Liaoning or Guangdong.

But we should also explore how the green energy boom can benefit everyone and how Chinese companies can invest in and be welcomed in Europe and North America.

For instance, Tesla was invited to come to China. China invited Tesla to a large extent to create fair competition in the electric car market in China. It helped shape BYD, Hongqi, Geely, and all the other Chinese brands. Thus, the US should invite Chinese companies to invest in America, shaping the competition in the American market. Then maybe American companies would be more cost-competitive as well.

GT: We are now seeing the US government raising tariffs on Chinese EVs, advanced batteries, solar cells, and other goods. What impact will it have on the world if the US government continues to exclude Chinese new energy products?

Solheim: It will obviously slow down the green transformation because China is now the indispensable country for everything green. 60 percent of all green technologies in the world are in China. When it comes to solar energy, maybe the figure is even more than 90 percent. If we want to go solar without China, we can do it, but it will be much more costly. When it’s more costly, it will be slower. And all historical experiences show that if you create closed-down markets and separate markets from different parts of the world, we will all be poorer, including the Americans.

GT: Do you think Europe will follow the latest policies of the US? From your understanding, how does Europe view China’s green manufacturing capacity – is it more inclined toward cooperation or vigilance?

Solheim: That’s obviously a similar discussion in Europe. I don’t think Europe will automatically follow the US, but there is a concern with jobs in Europe. China can help in that discussion in two ways.

First, making very clear that China is ready to invest in other markets where Chinese companies are, and to create jobs in Europe.

Let me give one example. Very recently, I visited Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) in Ningde, Fujian Province, the world’s largest battery maker for electric vehicles. A Tesla normally comes with a CATL battery. But the guys at CATL repeatedly told me that one of the reasons why they have grown so big was the support from BMW in the early days. BMW was a very demanding customer, it helped with technology and was a partner in the rise of CATL. That’s exactly what we want to see – companies working together across borders. And now when Chinese companies tend to have the highest quality and the best technology, they should work with companies in India, Africa, Latin America, and also Europe to share their knowledge and experience so that we can all benefit from the green transformation.

Roosevelt Skerrit: China-Dominica relations have become a model of south-south cooperation

Roosevelt Skerrit, Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Dominica, visited China from March 23-29. During his visit he gave an interview to Wang Guan for the CGTN series Leaders Talk.

Skerrit, who has visited China 12 times in the 20 years since the two countries established diplomatic relations shortly after he became Prime Minister, describes the country as a true and reliable friend in difficult times.

His meeting with President Xi Jinping had been the highlight of his current visit. They had reached a consensus on bilateral and multilateral issues, especially the need to take stronger measures to tackle the threats posed by climate change and to build stronger resilience in this regard.

Skerrit acclaims the Chinese leader’s work for global peace and prosperity, in a way that will allow every country to prosper. China’s example in this regard should be emulated by the developed countries.

The Dominican Prime Minister agreed with President Xi’s observation that China-Dominica relations have become a model of south-south cooperation. He noted that although Dominica is a very small country, Xi always treats him as an equal.

Dominica fully supports the one China principle, which it regards as a tenet of international law, and will support and play its part in the peaceful reunification of China.

Expanding on China’s friendship in difficult times, Skerrit said that whenever Dominica faces difficulties, China comes to its aid without even having to be asked. As a small Caribbean island country, Dominica is highly susceptible to natural disasters, such as Hurricane Erika in 2015 and Hurricane Maria in 2017, which destroyed or damaged some 90% of buildings on the island, and climate change is truly an existential threat for small island states in particular, whether in the Caribbean or the South Pacific. Dominica is seeking to harness its own resources, such as geothermal and hydro, with the aim to achieve 100% renewable energy usage by 2030.

China had played a major role in reconstruction following the hurricanes, for example, completing the reconstruction of the West Coast Road, which links the capital Roseau with the second city of Portsmouth, in 2020, despite the challenges posed by COVID. Other key aid projects of China are the Dominica-China Friendship Hospital along with the building of six schools. The Friendship Hospital is described by Skerrit as the most modern one to be found in the Caribbean and he singles out its cardiology unit as a key example of a facility that ensures that Dominicans can now receive specialist treatment without needing to travel abroad.

In agricultural technology, China is helping Dominica to contribute to regional food security through the development of seedlings that are more resilient to pests and to the vagaries of the climate.

As for his impressions of the changes in China that he has been able to witness in 12 visits over two decades, Skerrit simply describes them as magical, citing in particular achievements in technology, infrastructure, education and the promotion of common prosperity.

Skerrit also commends China’s promotion of dialogue in dealing with international issues as well as its rejection of unilateral sanctions, especially the United States’ unfair and unjust sanctions on Cuba. He rejects the misconceptions harboured by the United States and some European powers regarding China’s engagement with the countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This engagement is focused on economic development and social advancement and China’s support and cooperation come with no conditions. Loans extended to the Caribbean and Latin America by China have the lowest interest rates, sometimes being fixed at zero.

The full interview with Prime Minister Skerrit is embedded below.

Arnold August: slanders about Tibet/Xizang are designed to discredit Chinese socialism

The following interview with Montreal-based author, journalist and lecturer Arnold August describes Arnold’s 2023 visit to Southwest China’s Xizang Autonomous Region (Tibet) and Qinghai.

Arnold discusses his visit to a boarding school in the Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai, where he toured the school, met with teachers and pupils, and asked a wide range of questions. Referencing the assorted lurid claims about how China is using boarding schools in order to “sinicise” Tibet, Arnold notes that the reality is quite different; indeed major efforts are made to preserve and promote Tibetan culture and language.

But why would Western forces want to spread slanders about boarding schools?

In brief, it is to discredit Chinese socialism. People in the West are increasingly looking for an alternative to capitalism. China does not present itself as a model. But China’s earth-shattering modernization and its cultural progress – in the broad sense of a civilized, peaceful, collective society, as opposed to the American individualistic jungle – is increasingly attractive. Hence the inevitable spoiler: “What about the boarding schools in Tibet?”

Arnold further notes that absolute poverty was eliminated in Xizang in 2019, observing: “While this is an amazing achievement in the rest of China, given the harsh social-economic Tibetan conditions, it is nothing short of a miracle.” He describes the situation prevailing before the emancipation of serfs in Tibet in 1959, when 95 percent of the population were slaves and serfs, had no land of their own and were considered the property of the serf owners.

The interview was first published in Global Times.

Over the past decades, Southwest China’s Xizang Autonomous Region has experienced a period of unprecedented development. This year marks the 65th anniversary of Serfs’ Emancipation Day, a day to commemorate the emancipation of more than one million serfs in Xizang in 1959. Xizang, once plagued by poverty and backwardness, is now embarking on a new journey of modernization. This huge change astonished Canadian author and journalist Arnold August (August), who visited Xizang and neighboring Qinghai Province last year.

He shared with Global Times (GT) reporter Xia Wenxin his experiences during his field trip to this region as well as his thoughts on its development.

GT: You visited Xizang and Qinghai in the second half of last year. Can you share with us what you saw in these regions? What aspect of their development impressed you the most?

August: Our visit to a boarding school in Gonghe county in the largely Tibetan-speaking Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai Province

provided us with an eyewitness account to counter the allegations to which you refer. There are so many positive and enlightening features of this school that people in Western countries should know about.

Based on transparent and open-ended questions and answers during the tour of the classrooms (education is free), the dormitories (modern and well-equipped), the sports fields, the cafeteria (great health manual), the state-of-the-art multimedia rooms and classrooms, the exercise facilities for both the teachers and students, and much more, the veil of “mystery” surrounding boarding schools was completely torn apart.

I asked our hosts about the dormitories. The very term “boarding school” in North America rightly conjures up images of colonial genocide against indigenous peoples. But the answer was: “Normally, students sleep in the dormitories during the week. It’s convenient for their studies, in terms of time, and if they have any questions, they can just go and ask their teachers. Most students go home for the weekend. However, if they want to stay in school on the weekends, it’s okay – they can stay if they want to.”In response to the sub-question about why Western forces want to create these lies about boarding schools, in brief, it is to discredit Chinese socialism. People in the West are increasingly looking for an alternative to capitalism. China does not present itself as a model. But China’s earth-shattering modernization and its cultural progress – in the broad sense of a civilized, peaceful, collective society, as opposed to the American individualistic jungle – is increasingly attractive. Hence the inevitable spoiler: “What about the boarding schools in Tibet?”

We counter what we call “whataboutism” by turning the tables on the skeptics, by asking “what about” the universally recognized facts of the Canadian and American states’ responsibility in the actual genocide of the first peoples in the boarding schools? And side by side, we present the facts about China, based on firsthand evidence by visitors and analysts.

GT: There is a view that Xizang is a microcosm of China’s achievements in construction and development and an all-encompassing window into Chinese modernization. Do you agree with this? How does the development of Xizang reflect the characteristics of Chinese modernization?

August: Yes, this view is supported by our visits to several such sites as examples of Chinese achievements. But let’s focus on one, the National Innovation Base, which is a long bus ride from Lhasa. It was built by the local government in 2017. Its basic purpose is to give post-university young people the opportunity to build their own businesses or, in the words of the hosts there, to build their own dreams. They are provided with free office space for a period of three years. Water, electricity and housing fees are covered by the government. They told us that “the young people just need to bring their computers and start working here. Everyone has access to the site’s online platform to sell their products.”

This center is not only an example of China’s achievements in construction and development and a comprehensive window on Chinese modernization, but it is also an example of socialism with Chinese characteristics. In short, this innovative path seeks to avoid the extremes of full public ownership of the means of production and a planned economy. How does it do this? It does this by redefining the relationship between state ownership and individual effort with the goal, as our hosts told us, of “realizing dreams.” Thus, while all the conditions for individual success are created, the individual is also socialized. It is thus an example of the balance between state and market, a sine qua non for further Chinese modernization.

China and Global Development: podcast interview with Carlos Martinez

In the video embedded below, Carlos Martinez, co-editor of Friends of Socialist China, speaks to Jason Smith on the latter’s “The Bridge” podcast about a range of topics concerning China.

The two discuss the rationale for the formation of Friends of Socialist China; China’s achievements in poverty alleviation, environmental protection, and the fight against Covid-19; the nature of China’s political system; the slanders in the Western media about human rights in Xinjiang; the Belt and Road Initiative; China’s role promoting development in the Global South; the accusations around “debt trap diplomacy”; and the prospects for improving relations between China and the West.

The Bridge podcast can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.

Serbian President completely rejects suggestions of Chinese ‘debt trap diplomacy’

In this episode of the CGTN series Leaders Talk, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić speaks to Wang Guan about the special friendship that links the two countries. Chinese people often refer to Serbia as their “iron clad brother”.

Vučić recalls that China has been the most supportive country to Serbia in difficult times, mentioning, in particular, the fight against Covid-19. Other countries talked about solidarity yet hoarded vaccines, incubators, and other medical equipment. But China came to the aid of Serbia and of countries around the world. In 2020, President Vučić touched the hearts of many people in China when he went to the airport to personally receive the medical relief supplies from China and kissed first the Serbian and then the Chinese flag.

He also recalled how his intercession with President Xi Jinping during the Chinese leader’s state visit in 2016 had saved the country’s Smederevo steel mill and also spoke about the 2022 inauguration of the Belgrade to Novi Sad (Serbia’s second largest city) link of the Serbia-Hungary high-speed railway.

Vučić completely rejects suggestions of Chinese ‘debt trap diplomacy’. He was presented with such allegations in Brussels but countered that Serbia had taken many loans from China, but the country’s public debt to GDP ratio was some 51-52% whereas the average in the Eurozone is 92% and, in some cases, it is over 100%.

Additionally, the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that Serbia signed with China last October will bring many benefits to his country, both in facilitating exports and making imports cheaper.

Recalling the NATO bombing of the then Yugoslavia 25 years ago, which also claimed the lives of Chinese citizens, the Serbian President notes that NATO’s actions were illegal and criminal – there was no resolution or authorisation from the United Nations Security Council. Territorial integrity is important to both China and Serbia and his position on Taiwan is very straightforward: Taiwan is China. It is up to China when and how it achieves reunification. Whatever China does in this regard will be supported by Serbia.

Reflecting on President Xi Jinping, Vučić says that you can see the depth of his thoughts, and his love for his country, from the simple but profound way in which he deploys Chinese proverbs in his writings.

The full video of President Vučić’s interview is embedded below.

Angolan President: We know what colonisation is and the Chinese are not colonising Africa but cooperating with us

Angolan President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço paid a state visit to China from March 14-17 at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

Whilst in China he gave an exclusive interview to He Yanke for the CGTN series Leaders Talk.

He Yanke noted that Lourenço has visited China on numerous occasions since 2000, including as the Secretary General of the ruling Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), as the Special Envoy of his predecessor, and this is his third visit as head of state.

Summing up his impressions from all these visits, Lourenço remarked that what impressed him most was that China was continually making progress and bringing surprises to the world.

Noting that last year saw the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Angola, he described the relationship as exemplary. During very difficult times for his country, for example the period of post-war reconstruction, China had lent a helping hand. And the same was true, not only for his country but for the world, when humanity was suddenly faced with the Covid pandemic.

Asked for his views on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), he recalled that China has provided Angola with strong financial support for infrastructure construction, including for roads, ports, airports, and hydropower plants, all of which are necessary for development. In his last few days in China, he had talked with 24 major companies, who had shown willingness to take risks and invest in his country.

Noting that China was building what will be Africa’s largest hydropower plant in Angola, and also training local personnel for the project, that will not only meet his country’s needs but also produce surplus electricity to be supplied to neighbouring southern African countries, Lourenço was asked, given that Chinese companies are providing tens of thousands of jobs in Angola, how he would respond to the accusations levelled against China’s role in Africa from some quarters.

His answer was emphatic. Not just the Portuguese colonialists, he said, but the Europeans in general, including the British and French, had been in Africa for centuries. They had never engaged in the kind of infrastructure construction that we are seeing now. They are not just critics but slanderers acting out of malice. The facts are clear: China has not invaded any African country. The Chinese in Africa are not there for colonisation. We know what colonisation is and the Chinese are not colonising Africa but cooperating with us. China did not come to us fully armed but with funds and technology and a willingness to work with us.

The results are plain to see. In 2002 (when Angola’s long-running civil war finally ended), our country was in ruins. Thanks to the help from China, we now have land-based infrastructure connecting provinces and cities which didn’t exist before.

The construction of roads, bridges, ports and railways was all done with the help of China. If these critics want to be part of the process, then they must act and do better than China. But we don’t believe they can.

Asked about President Xi Jinping’s three global initiatives, on development, security and civilisation, President Lourenço described the Chinese leader as a visionary and insightful statesman. Without peace and security, there can be no development – this is true both from the Angolan experience and also on a world scale.

The full interview with President Lourenço is embedded below.

Wang Yi: China will remain a staunch force for peace, stability and progress

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi gave a press conference on March 7 in the margins of the annual meeting of the National People’s Congress (NPC).

In his opening remarks, Wang noted that: “In this changing and turbulent international environment, China will remain a staunch force for peace, stability and progress of the world… China will stand firmly on the right side of history and on the side of human progress, and will advocate vigorously peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit. It will pursue its development along with its efforts for peace and development of the world, and at the same time, it will make greater contributions to world peace and development through its own development.”

Following his introductory comments, he spent some 90 minutes answering 20 questions, concerning numerous international issues, from both the Chinese and foreign media.

Responding to a question from Rossiya Segodnya, Wang Yi said:

“The China-Russia relationship moves ahead along the trend of the times toward multipolarity and greater democracy in international relations and is thus very important for maintaining global strategic stability, enabling positive interactions among major countries, and promoting cooperation among emerging major countries.

“This year marks the 75th anniversary of China-Russia diplomatic relations. The two sides will also jointly launch the China-Russia Years of Culture. The relationship faces new opportunities. China is ready to work with Russia to foster new driving forces for cooperation and steadily enhance the foundation of friendship between the two peoples.”

Bloomberg raised a question regarding relations between China and the United States, following last year’s meeting between the two heads of state in San Francisco, and Wang stated:

“There has been some improvement in China-US relations since the summit in San Francisco. This meets the interests and wishes of people of both countries and the world. But it has to be pointed out that US misperception toward China continues and US promises are not truly fulfilled. The US has been devising various tactics to suppress China and kept lengthening its unilateral sanctions list, reaching bewildering levels of unfathomable absurdity. If the US says one thing and does another, where is its credibility as a major country? If it gets jittery whenever it hears the word ‘China,’ where is its confidence as a major country?… The challenge for the US comes from itself, not from China. If the US is obsessed with suppressing China, it will eventually harm itself… This year marks the 45th anniversary of China-US diplomatic relations. President Xi Jinping pointed out that the hope of the China-US relationship lies in the people, its foundation is in grassroots connections, its future depends on the youth, and its vitality comes from subnational exchanges.”

A question from the Xinhua News Agency gave Wang Yi the opportunity to set out China’s views on the related questions of multipolarity and globalisation:

“China believes in an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalisation. An equal multipolar world means equal rights, equal opportunities, and equal rules for every nation. Certain or a few powers should not monopolise international affairs. Countries should not be categorised according to their strength. Those with the bigger fist should not have the final say.”

And invoking an already infamous remark uttered by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at this February’s Munich Security Conference, he pointedly added:

“And it is definitely unacceptable that certain countries must be at the table while some others can only be on the menu.”

Responding to a question from the Nile News Egyptian Network, Wang Yi made a strong statement in support of the just cause of the Palestinian people on behalf of the Chinese government:

“The current Palestinian-Israeli conflict has caused 100,000 civilian casualties, and countless innocent people remain buried under the rubble. There is no distinction between noble and humble lives, and life should not be labelled by race or religion. The failure to end this humanitarian disaster today in the 21st century is a tragedy for humanity and a disgrace for civilisation. Nothing justifies the protraction of the conflict, or the killing of the civilian population. The international community must act promptly to promote an immediate ceasefire as its overriding priority and ensure humanitarian assistance as its pressing moral obligation. People in Gaza have the right to life in this world, and women and children deserve the care from their families…

“The calamity in Gaza is another wake-up call for the world that the long occupation of the Palestinian territories is a fact that should not be ignored anymore, and that the long-cherished aspiration of the Palestinians for an independent state should not be evaded anymore. More importantly, the historical injustice to the Palestinians must not be allowed to continue uncorrected from generation to generation…

“China firmly supports the Palestinian people’s just cause of regaining their legitimate national rights, and is always committed to a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the question of Palestine at an early date. We support Palestine’s full membership in the UN and urge a certain UN Security Council member not to lay obstacles to that end.”

The Foreign Minister also reiterated China’s call for a peaceful settlement of the Ukraine crisis:

President Xi’s three key global initiatives on development, security and civilisation

On the eve of China’s annual twin parliamentary sessions, China Dally published the below interview with our co-editor Keith Bennett, focusing on President Xi’s three key global initiatives on development, security and civilisation.

According to Keith, they constitute a “step-by-step process, [whereby] China is setting out its view of the world – not only the view of the world as it is, but a view of the world as it should be, and what kind of world humanity should be aspiring to.”

He notes that the Global Development Initiative, first proposed by President Xi at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2021, has received a warm welcome from the majority of countries in the Global South, as its philosophies and policies are in the interests of the majority of the people in every country.

“This reflects the fact that development is still the most pressing need for the majority of humanity… But what are the things that people need to realise development? Peace and security.”

The following article was first published by China Daily.

China’s three major global initiatives on development, security, and civilization have been welcomed by the majority of the world, and the West needs to gain a better understanding of them, said Keith Bennett, an analyst of international relations.

“In a step-by-step process, China is setting out its view of the world — not only the view of the world as it is, but a view of the world as it should be, and what kind of world humanity should be aspiring to,” said Bennett, co-editor of the online platform Friends of Socialist China, as he discussed the Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative and Global Civilization Initiative.

He added that the two sessions, the annual gatherings of the National People’s Congress and the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, provide an important window for the West to learn about China’s domestic policy and its global vision.

NPC deputies and CPPCC members come to the sessions representing all walks of life, and the government report is a result of many deliberations and wide-ranging consultations.

“A lot of people in the West say that China is unpredictable. But actually, China puts forward its policies and its philosophy and its proposals very clearly,” said Bennett, who studied Chinese history and politics at the University of London in the late 1970s and has visited China more than 200 times.

“I think whether people support China, or they don’t support China, they actually should understand China first,” said Bennett, who is also a long-time member of the Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding, which was founded in 1965 to promote understanding and friendship between the British and Chinese people.

Bennett said the three initiatives outline China’s experience and wisdom that can be used to deal with current world problems, such as how to achieve growth for developing countries and how to resolve conflicts in the Middle East.

Since President Xi Jinping proposed the Global Development Initiative at the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2021, the initiative has received a warm welcome by the majority of countries in the Global South, as its philosophies and policies are “in the interests of the majority of the people in every country”, Bennett said.

According to China’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Vienna, more than 100 countries and international organizations have voiced support for the GDI, and over 70 countries had joined the Group of Friends of the GDI by the end of last year.

“This reflects the fact that development is still the most pressing need for the majority of humanity,” Bennett said.

“But what are the things that people need to realize development? Peace and security.”

In that regard, the Global Security Initiative was put forward by Xi at the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference in April 2022, stressing the importance of upholding a vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries and adhering to non-interference in internal affairs.

Last year, the reconciliation between Iran and Saudi Arabia under a China-brokered deal was a remarkable achievement of the initiative, Bennett said, adding that he has observed how China has been assisting in reconciliations in various regions.

“All three initiatives are linked as a whole. It’s like you put one on top of the other to make the house,” he said, adding that the Global Civilization Initiative, which was introduced by Xi during the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting in March last year has been indispensable in realizing those achievements.

“In the Western capitalist countries, Samuel Huntington’s ideas of a ‘clash of civilizations’ find a strong resonance… but at base, it is a racist conception which constructs a hierarchy of civilizations, elevating that of the West and placing them in an adversarial and antagonistic relationship to one another,” he wrote in another recent commentary.

“In stark contrast, the Global Civilization Initiative makes clear that the history of humanity, spanning thousands of years, has seen a variety of civilizations come into being, develop and thrive, and this has in return promoted the overall development of human society,” Bennett said.

Prime Minister Manuel Marrero: Cuba has much to learn from the Chinese experience

In this episode of the CGTN interview series Leaders Talk, Zou Yun speaks with Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero, who was primarily in China to attend the sixth China International Import Expo, which was held in Shanghai between November 5-10, 2023. It was his first China visit since his assumption of office and he also visited Beijing and Zhejiang province. Marrero previously served as Cuba’s Minister of Tourism for 16 years.

Marrero welcomed the open and inclusive spirit of the expo, the only one of its kind in the world, providing both the developed countries and those of the Global South with opportunities to promote their products and services. Cuba had particularly displayed its rum, coffee and seafood this time.

He also acclaimed the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), describing it as the pinnacle of China’s global initiatives. President Xi Jinping’s considerations, the Cuban Prime Minister observed, go well beyond China. They are for prosperity and development worldwide.

Thanks to China, and the Communist Party of China, many forgotten and exploited countries now have opportunities to acquire technology and development experiences.

He was particularly moved by his meeting with President Xi Jinping. Cuba and China, Marrero said, share years of a traditional friendship and they face many similar situations. Cuba has much to learn from the Chinese experience, aligning it to their national realities, particularly, for example in terms of attracting foreign investment despite the US blockade.

Speaking of the impact of the 60 plus years US blockade of the socialist island, he notes Raúl Castro’s constant reminder that those responsible are the US government, not the US people, towards whom the Cuban people always maintain a positive and friendly standpoint.

The full video of the interview is embedded below.

Vladimir Putin: US exceptionalism is an extension of the colonial mindset

In this edition of the CGTN series Leaders Talk, Wang Guan travels to Moscow to interview Vladimir Putin, shortly before the Russian President left for Beijing to attend the Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.

President Putin notes that, in building their relations, Russia and China have “always tried to reach a compromise, even on complicated issues inherited from the old days. Our relations have always been driven by goodwill. It helped us solve the border delimitation issues that had remained outstanding for 40 years.”

Wang Guan gives his impression of the thriving economic relations between the two countries, saying that on this visit to Moscow, he “saw that the streets and stores, including online trading platforms, were increasingly filled with Chinese brands. At the same time, Russian gas is supplied to the homes of Chinese consumers and Russian meat and dairy products, for example, are becoming more and more common in Chinese stores.”

President Putin agrees that his country and China are well on the way to meeting their joint target for two-way trade to reach 200 billion US dollars by 2024.

Turning to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the Russian leader commented that: “Yes, we see that some people consider it an attempt by the People’s Republic of China to put someone under its thumb, but we see otherwise, we just see desire for cooperation. Our own ideas on the development of the Eurasian Economic Union, for example, on the construction of a Greater Eurasia, fully coincide with the Chinese ideas proposed within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative.”

Thanks to the BRI, the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) have already secured $24 billion dollars’ worth of investments, Putin says, and continues:

“It seems to me that the main advantage of the concept of cooperation proposed by the Chinese side is that nobody imposes anything on anybody in the framework of this work. Everything is done within the framework of finding not only acceptable solutions, but such projects and such ways of achieving a common goal that are acceptable to all. This is what makes China today, under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, unique in building relations with others: no one imposes anything on anyone; no one forces anything on anyone, but only gives them opportunity. And, as I said, if there are difficulties, compromises are sought and always found. In my view, this is what distinguishes the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by the Chinese President from many others that countries with a heavy colonial legacy are trying to implement in the world.”

Reflecting his well-known interest, President Putin refers several times to sports, especially the martial arts and ice hockey, and to his hope to increase cooperation with China in this field, and, citing the importance of sports in his own life, states:

“Everyone knows and it’s not a secret that I come from a simple working-class family, and in the past, I had a lot of time to spend in the yard. I don’t know how my life would have turned out if I hadn’t taken an interest in sports. It doesn’t really matter what kind of sports I did, it’s important that I paid a lot of attention to it.”

Following up on what he said recently at the annual meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club, President Putin excoriated the Western verbiage about a “rules-based order”:

“Have you ever seen those rules? No, you haven’t, because no one has agreed on them with anyone. So how can one talk about order based on rules that no one has ever seen? In terms of common sense, it’s nonsense. But it is beneficial to those who promote this approach. Because if no one has seen the rules, it only means that those who talk about them are making them up themselves from time to time to their own advantage. That is the colonial approach.

“Because colonial countries have always believed that they are first-rated people. After all, they have always talked about bringing enlightenment to their colonies, that they are civilized people who bring the benefits of civilization to other nations, whom they consider second-rate people. No surprise today’s political elite, say, in the United States, talks about its exceptionalism. This is the extension of this colonial mindset, meaning that when they consider themselves exceptional in the United States, it means that other people, all the people in fact, are just some second-rate people. How else could one understand it? Those are mere vestiges of colonial thinking, nothing else.

“Our approach is quite different. We proceed from the fact that all people are equal, all people have the same rights; the rights and freedoms of one country and one nation end where the rights and freedoms of another person, of an entire state, appear. This is the way in which a multipolar world should be evolving gradually. This is exactly what we are striving for, and this is the basis of our interaction with China on the international stage.”

He also speaks about the BRICS cooperation mechanism and its recent expansion from five to 11 members, saying that “all those who have joined BRICS support the idea and concept of forming a multipolar world. No one wants to play second fiddle to some sovereign, everyone wants equal rights. And when they join BRICS, they see that we can achieve this goal by joining efforts within the framework of expansion and strengthening of such a format.”

President Putin also discusses the conflict in Ukraine and the Chinese proposal for a political solution:

“We are thankful to our Chinese friends for trying to think about ways to end this crisis. However, I would like to remind you that hostilities in Ukraine did not start with our special military operation, but way before – in 2014, when the Western countries, after having volunteered as guarantors of the agreements between President Yanukovich and the opposition, forgot about those guarantees in a matter of days and – worse still – supported a coup d’état. United States Administration officials even acknowledged spending big money on it…

“Therefore, the start of the special military operation was not the start of a war, but an attempt to end it.”

Referring to the negotiations held in the Turkish city of Istanbul, shortly after the start of the special military operation, Putin notes that agreement was almost reached, however, “as soon as we pulled our troops back from the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, the Ukrainian side committed all the arrangements to flames.” Therefore:

“Of course, we know the proposals of our Chinese friends. We highly value those proposals. I think they are absolutely realistic and could lay the foundation for peace arrangements. But, unfortunately, the opposing side does not want to enter into any negotiations. In fact, the President of Ukraine has even issued a decree prohibiting everyone – including himself – to conduct any negotiations with us. How can we conduct negotiations if they are not willing to and even issued a regulation prohibiting such negotiations?”

Asked if there is any possibility to make progress based on the Chinese standpoint of building shared, common, and indivisible security, Putin says:

“Yes, we have always said that, too… In this context, it is extremely important for us that Ukraine stays outside any blocs. We were told as far back as 1991 – by the then US Administration – that NATO would not expand further east. Since then, there have been five waves of NATO expansion, and every time we expressed our concerns. Every time we were told: yes, we promised you not to expand NATO eastwards, but those were verbal promises – is there any paper with our signature on it? No paper? Good-bye.

“You see, it is very difficult to engage in a dialogue with people like that. I have already cited the example of the Iranian nuclear programme. The negotiations on the Iranian nuclear programme were very, very lengthy. An agreement was reached, a compromise found, and documents signed. Then came a new Administration and threw everything in the trash, as if those arrangements never existed. How can we agree on anything if every new Administration starts from scratch – begin each time from the centre of the playing field?”

The CGTN interview with President Putin is embedded below. We also reproduce the full text of the interview as published by the Russian President’s website. The quotations above are taken from the latter version.