Category: Marxism

Chinese and Cuban communists hold joint theoretical seminar

The Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) held their seventh theory seminar on December 4 in Beijing, focusing on the practice and experience in promoting socialist modernisation through scientific development planning.

Li Shulei, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, and Gladys Martínez Verdecia, a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the PCC and First Secretary of the Artemisa Provincial Party Committee, attended and delivered keynote speeches.

Li noted that this year marks the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Cuba, and that the top leaders of the two parties and countries have exchanged congratulatory messages on this occasion and held two meetings this year, engaging in in-depth discussions on the relations between the two parties and countries.

“These interactions have provided strategic guidance for further strengthening the ironclad friendship and building an even closer China-Cuba community with a shared future.”

He also stressed the need to develop medium- and long-term strategic plans for socio-economic development. In this regard, he explained China’s experience in drawing up five-year plans, which, he said, have a broad basis of scientific development planning.

Gladys Martínez highlighted the role of these exchanges as a mechanism to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the construction of a community of shared future. She pointed out that the meetings allow participants to address, from a Marxist approach, the current challenges of socialism and propose concrete solutions. She further affirmed that the alliance between the two countries reinforces the validity of socialism as a model of development for both peoples.

Martínez denounced the unprecedented tightening of the US economic, commercial and financial blockade against Cuba, as well as the arbitrary inclusion of the island in the list of countries sponsoring terrorism. In this regard, she thanked China for its constant denunciation of this siege and expressed the island’s gratitude for the support of the Chinese government and people in key sectors such as agri-food, energy and cybersecurity. She further pointed out that both parties constitute an example of solidarity and cooperation in the construction of socialism.

The Cuban delegation began its China visit in the province of Hunan, whose collaboration with the province of Artemisa is emerging as a positive reference for local ties between Cuba and China, with concrete results in agriculture, trade and economic development.

Whilst in Hunan, the Cuban delegation paid tribute to the historical leader of the Chinese Revolution, Mao Zedong, at the monumental complex there in his honour. Martínez said that Cuba welcomes the idea of establishing a twinning agreement between Hunan and Holguín. These regions, which are the birthplaces of the historical leaders of both socialist revolutions, Fidel Castro and Mao Zedong, have potential for collaboration in tourism and mining.

This seminar is the third one of its kind recently held between the CPC and its fellow ruling communist parties in the socialist countries, following those with the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party and the Communist Party of Vietnam.

Also, on December 4, Liu Haixing, Minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee (IDCPC), met with Emilio Lozada García, Head of the International Relations Department of the PCC, who was in China to participate in the seminar.

Liu said, under the strategic guidance of General Secretary Xi Jinping and First Secretary Miguel Diaz-Canel, the special friendly relations between China and Cuba have maintained high-level operation with continuously enriched significance. The two Parties and countries have always supported and helped each other. Regardless of the changes in the international situation, China’s commitment to the long-term friendship with Cuba will not change, its determination to support Cuba’s socialist path will not change, its direction in promoting pragmatic cooperation with Cuba will not change, and its will to defend international fairness and justice and oppose hegemony and power politics together with Cuba will not change.

Emilio Lozada García said, Cuba thanks China for the long-term and valuable support, and appreciates China’s consistent opposition to the US blockade and sanctions against Cuba. The relationship between the two Parties is the cornerstone of Cuba-China relationship. The PCC is willing to strengthen exchanges with the CPC at all levels and in all fields, advance the exchanges between the two Parties in a more systematic and institutionalised manner, and strengthen coordination on international affairs, so as to make due contributions to the development of both countries and to the building of a Cuba-China community with a shared future.

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Some observations on our work to study and apply Xi Jinping Thought in an imperialist country

The International Forum of Overseas Studies on Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era was held in Beijing, November 12-13.

Hosted by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), it was organised by the Research Centre for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and the Academy of Marxism (both affiliates of CASS), along with the World Association for China Studies.

Delegates from across China were joined by former government ministers, communist party leaders, scholars and others from numerous countries including:

  • Vietnam, Cambodia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Türkiye;
  • South Africa, Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, and Burundi;
  • Argentina, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, and Venezuela; and
  • Russia, Belarus, Serbia, Italy, Spain, Britain, Montenegro, Poland, North Macedonia, Ireland, France, Hungary, and Greece.

Former President of Costa Rica José María Figueres addressed the conference by video.

Friends of Socialist China co-editor Keith Bennett presented a paper, highlighting some of our observations to date on studying and applying Xi Jinping Thought in an imperialist country. The following is the text of his presentation.

I am very pleased to be able to take part in this important international forum of overseas studies on Xi Jinping’s Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and thank the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences for their kind invitation.

The basic principles of Marxism-Leninism are universally applicable, as Mao Zedong pointed out long ago. However, they must be applied and developed according to the concrete reality of each country, people, society and nation. Moreover, as Xi Jinping has pointed out, if Marxism is to truly grip the hearts of the masses and become a material force, it also needs to be integrated and combined with a people’s fine traditional culture and civilisational inheritance.

Marxism is international in its relevance, scope and sweep but it is national in its application and development. It is by no means coincidental that the five socialist countries that survived the counter-revolutionary tsunami of 1989-1991 have all not merely inherited Marxism-Leninism as it is but have creatively applied and developed it by integrating it with their indigenous revolutionary traditions and the thoughts of their own revolutionary leaders.

Moreover, life is constantly evolving, developing and changing, so Marxism also cannot stand still. If it did so, it would become ossified, dogmatic and irrelevant. Indeed, it would cease to be Marxism. Only by changing and developing in accordance with the needs and trends of the times can it remain true to its original mission and retain its relevance and scientific veracity. Based as it is on dialectical and historical materialism, Marxism itself needs to be in the vanguard not the rearguard of change and development.

Continue reading Some observations on our work to study and apply Xi Jinping Thought in an imperialist country

Lao and Chinese communists discuss theory

The Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) held their 13th Theoretical Seminar, November 10-11, in the Lao province of Champassak. The Chinese delegation was headed by Li Shulei, Member of the Political Bureau, Secretary of the Secretariat, and Head of the CPC Central Committee’s Publicity Department.

Thongloun Sisoulith, LPRP General Secretary and President of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, met with Li on November 11, on the conclusion of the seminar.

President Thongloun warmly welcomed the delegation, noting that the visit represented a meaningful contribution to strengthening the traditional friendship and comprehensive strategic partnership between the two Parties and nations. He emphasised that the visit exemplified the “Four Good” principles of Laos-China relations – good neighbours, good friends, good comrades, and good partners.

The President underscored the importance of the 13th Theoretical Seminar as a significant platform for sharing experiences in Party building, state governance, and national administration. He highlighted that the seminar’s theme was particularly relevant as both Parties are preparing their new five-year socio-economic development plans aimed at advancing socialist development in each country.

For his part, Li Shulei expressed his gratitude for the warm reception and extended congratulations to Laos on the forthcoming 50th anniversary of the founding of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. He also conveyed his best wishes for the success of the 12th National Congress of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party, scheduled for early 2026. He further commended the recent meeting between President Thongloun and President Xi Jinping in Beijing in September 2025, describing it as substantive and forward-looking.

Following his visit to Laos, Li Shulei continued to Vietnam, where he attended the 20th theory seminar between the CPC and the Communist Party of Vietnam.

The following article was originally published by the KPL Lao News Agency. A report was also carried by the Xinhua News Agency.

State President and Party General Secretary Thongloun Sisoulith received a senior delegation from the Communist Party of China (CPC) led by Mr. Li Shulei, Member of the Political Bureau, Secretary of the Secretariat, and Head of the CPC Central Committee’s Publicity Department.

The meeting took place on 11 November 2025 at the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) Central Office in Vientiane. The Chinese delegation visited Laos to attend the 13th Lao–Chinese Theoretical Seminar, held from 10 to 11 November in Champassak Province.

President Thongloun warmly welcomed the delegation, noting that the visit represented a meaningful contribution to strengthening the traditional friendship and comprehensive strategic partnership between the two Parties and nations. He emphasized that the visit exemplified the “Four Good” principles of Laos–China relations — good neighbours, good friends, good comrades, and good partners.

He also commended the close cooperation between the Central Publicity and Training Boards of the two Parties and encouraged both sides to continue enhancing collaboration and information exchange.

The President underscored the importance of the 13th Theoretical Seminar as a significant platform for sharing experiences in Party building, state governance, and national administration. He highlighted that the seminar’s theme was particularly relevant as both Parties are preparing their new five-year socio-economic development plans aimed at advancing socialist development in each country.

For his part, Mr. Li Shulei expressed his gratitude for the warm reception and extended congratulations to Laos on the forthcoming 50th anniversary of the founding of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. He also conveyed his best wishes for the success of the 12th National Congress of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party, scheduled for early 2026.

Mr. Li commended the recent meeting between President Thongloun and President Xi Jinping in Beijing in September 2025, describing it as substantive and forward-looking. He noted that the outcomes of the meeting would provide further guidance for strengthening cooperation between the two Parties and countries.

He expressed confidence that, under the leadership of both Parties, China–Laos relations will continue to deepen, becoming more effective and comprehensive in the years to come.

Chinese and Vietnamese communists discuss the path and practice of socialism in the 21st century

The Communist Parties of China and Vietnam held their 20th theory seminar in Vietnam’s northern Ninh Binh province on November 12 under the theme, “The path and practice of socialism in the 21st century.”

Both parties were represented at Politburo level. The Communist Party of China (CPC) delegation was headed by Li Shulei, Politburo member, Secretary of the CPC Central Committee’s Secretariat, and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, while the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) delegation was led by Nguyen Xuan Thang, Politburo member, Chairman of the Central Theory Council, and President of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics. Attending the seminar were representatives of ministries, central agencies, and localities, along with scientists, experts, and scholars from both countries, as well as the Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam.

CPC General Secretary Xi Jinping and CPV General Secretary To Lam both sent congratulatory letters to the seminar.

In the letters, the two leaders affirmed the important role of this highest-level theory exchange mechanism between the two Parties, reflecting their strategic vision, close bond, and shared responsibility in safeguarding, applying, and creatively developing Marxism-Leninism in accordance with each country’s realities, as well as demonstrating the high level of political trust between the two Parties and nations.

Xi Jinping said that both the CPC and the CPV uphold and develop Marxism, unswervingly follow the socialist path, and lead their respective countries in socialist construction, facing many of the same or similar issues of the times.

The two parties have carried out in-depth exchanges of experience in governance, jointly explored a socialist modernisation path that suits their national conditions, and worked together to promote the localisation and modernisation of Marxism and the development of the world socialist movement, constantly writing a new chapter of friendship of “comrades plus brothers” in the new era.

He also called for joint efforts to deepen theoretical discussions and academic exchanges, and to jointly enhance their understanding of the laws that underlie governance by a Communist party, socialist construction, as well as the development of human society, so as to provide theoretical support for the socialist cause of both countries and the construction of the China-Vietnam community with a shared future, and contribute to the noble cause of human peace and development.

To Lam affirmed that the CPV stands ready to work with the CPC to further deepen theory cooperation and share experiences in Party building, national development, and social governance, thereby promoting the development of socialist theory in the context of globalisation and the Fourth Industrial Revolution, for the benefit of the peoples of both countries and for a brighter future for socialism worldwide.

At a meeting between the two heads of delegations, the host congratulated China on its recent achievements, including the successful convening of the fourth plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee and the adoption of the orientation for formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan. He reaffirmed that Vietnam always attaches great importance and gives top priority to relations with China.

Li affirmed that the CPC firmly believes in and supports the CPV in successfully organising its 14th National Congress, opening a new era of development for Vietnam. He added that China always prioritises the development of relations with Viet Nam in its neighbourhood diplomacy.

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Free Mumia Campaign discusses China and the international anti-imperialist struggle

On Sunday October 19 the Free Mumia Abu Jamal Campaign UK organised a discussion meeting on the theme of China and the international anti-imperialist struggle at International House in Brixton, south London.

Chaired by Sarah Mudd and introduced by Wilf Dixon of the Free Mumia Campaign, the meeting heard three presentations expressing differing views within a common overall anti-imperialist perspective:

  • Our Co-editor Keith Bennett spoke on ‘China and the global struggle against imperialism today’;
  • Cecil Gutzmore, Chair of the Free Mumia Campaign and veteran revolutionary Pan-Africanist, spoke on ‘Judeo-Christendom’s racism and the global anti-China movement’; and
  • Andy Higginbottom, former Assistant Professor at Kingston University, London, and a long-standing anti-imperialist activist and Marxist scholar, spoke on ‘Neo-colonialism still matters – Militarisation and Imperial Grand Strategy (US v. China)’.

The presentations were followed by a lively discussion and informal networking. We embed below a video of the three speeches, followed by the text of Keith Bennett’s presentation.

I’d like to thank the Free Mumia Abu Jamal Campaign UK for their initiative in organising this discussion on China and the international anti-imperialist struggle and for inviting me to speak.

Some might ask why a campaign such as yours might wish to address such a topic. But such a view could be said to not fully take account of why you have – correctly in my view – placed such importance on Mumia’s case and on the necessity to win the freedom of this revolutionary fighter who has endured some 43 years of incarceration in the hell hole conditions of the US prison system without losing his revolutionary faith and will or his original aspiration.

Whether before or throughout his long imprisonment, Mumia’s writings have expressed unwavering solidarity with the struggles of peoples throughout the world against imperialism. In his early teens, he joined the Black Panther Party. Many things distinguished the Panthers, of course – from armed self-defence to free breakfast programs for children to clinics to treat sickle cell anaemia. But equally distinctive was the strong solidarity the party expressed, and the inspiration it drew from, the Asian socialist countries – from China, Vietnam and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). From their long-standing, protracted struggles against imperialism. And from their revolutionary standpoint and their creative application and development of Marxism-Leninism from the standpoint of the oppressed.

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The long march through the primary stage of socialism

The following is the text of a speech given by Eben Dombay Williams, YCL Education Officer, at our second annual Socialist China Conference, held on Saturday, September 27.

Eben’s speech is based primarily on a text he has been translating, written by an academic at a Chinese Marxist Institute in Shanghai, analysing the theoretical aspects of what is known in China as the primary stage of socialism. The article observes that socialism in China did not emerge from fully developed capitalism, as envisioned by Marx and Engels, but from a revolutionary leap over the “Caudine Forks” of capitalism. Because of China’s relatively undeveloped productive forces at the time of revolution, it must spend an extended historical period completing the modernisation tasks that capitalism would otherwise have accomplished.

The “primary stage” theory, formally defined at the CPC’s 13th National Congress, recognises that class struggle persists but does not constitute the principal contradiction in society. Currently, “the primary task is to energetically expand the commodity economy, raise labour productivity and gradually achieve modernisation of industry, agriculture, national defence, science and technology”.

The text notes that, in the first decades of Reform and opening up, a level of ideological confusion crept in. “Some of the differences between socialism and capitalism were to a certain extent concealed under the banner of ‘modernisation,’ and a series of problems and phenomena that were clearly contrary to socialist principles emerged in society. But since the new era, the Central Committee of the CPC with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has always emphasised the socialist nature of the Chinese road, continuing to follow the basic principles and core values of socialism in drawing up the strategy for China’s modernisation drive and always inserting socialist elements into this modernisation, leading the way to building a great modern socialist country in all respects and striving to promote an organic unity between socialism and modernisation.”

As it moves towards basic completion of the task of socialist modernisation by the middle of this century, China is breaking new ground in the development of Marxism. “The implications … are not only to provide another option for the path to modernisation for the vast number of developing countries, including other socialist countries, but also to present a new solution to the problems of modernity for the developed capitalist countries, that is, the socialist road out.”

The video of the speech is embedded below the text.

I’d first like to give a massive thank-you to Carlos, Keith and the whole team at Friends of Socialist China. It’s so encouraging to see that following on from the successful 75th anniversary celebrations last year, this has now become an annual conference. It’s no small feat to bring multiple socialist and communist organisations on the left together under one roof, but it’s so important that we reject petty sectarianism and unite to build an anti-imperialist united front in the face of attacks on socialist China and the multipolar world. Of course, solidarity with George Galloway and his wife Gayatri on their shameful detention.

In my day job, I work as a Chinese to English translator and it just so happened that when I was invited to speak on the subject of socialist construction in China, I was in the middle of translating an important text written by an academic at a Chinese Marxist Institute in Shanghai. This text focuses on the theoretical aspects of what the CPC has termed the “primary stage of socialism” and will hopefully be appearing in a future edition of Iskra Books’ theoretical journal, Peace, Land, and Bread next year. I wanted to share a small extract of the text because I found it very interesting and relevant:

Theoretically speaking, socialism is not being constructed in China on the exact same basis envisioned by Marx and Engels and fully expanded upon in Capital. Instead, it has been reached directly under conditions where capitalism has not fully developed, where political power was seized through revolution at the appropriate historical moment, and where the “Caudine Forks” of the capitalist system was leaped across,” with “Caudine Forks” being the term Marx used in his prophetic wisdom to describe the problem of a potential, future socialist society attempting to skip over the capitalist stage after a successful proletarian revolution.

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China’s progress proves socialism is the only viable framework for saving the planet

The following is the text of a presentation given by Carlos Martinez to the Fourth World Congress on Marxism, which took place on 11-12 October 2025 at Peking University (PKU), China, organised by PKU’s School of Marxism.

The presentation gives an overview of the progress made by China in recent years with regard to clean energy, and poses the question: why is it China, rather than the advanced capitalist countries, that has emerged as the world’s only ‘green superpower’? Carlos argues that the fundamental reason lies in China’s economy being “structured in such a way that political and economic priorities are determined not by capital’s drive for constant expansion but by the needs and aspirations of the people.”

On the other hand, “the balance of power in capitalist countries is such that even relatively progressive governments find it very difficult to prioritise long-term needs of the population over short-term interests of capital.”

Carlos notes that, as a result of its systematic investment in renewable energy, electric vehicles, transmission systems, batteries and more, China has become the first country to meaningfully break the link between economic development and greenhouse gas emissions. “While governments in the West justify inaction on climate on the basis that it would harm economic growth, China is the first country to make the green transition a powerful driver of economic growth, thereby addressing both the immediate needs of the Chinese people for modernisation and the long-term needs of humanity for a habitable planet.”

China’s progress is set to have a profound global impact. As a result of Chinese innovations and economies of scales, there has been a global reduction in costs, such that for much of the world, solar and wind power are now more cost effective than fossil fuels.

And for those of us in the advanced capitalist countries, where political power is dominated by a decaying bourgeoisie, China’s example can be used to help create mass pressure to stop our governments and ruling classes from destroying the planet, and to encourage sensible cooperation with China on environmental issues.

The Congress featured an impressive array of Marxist academics and authors, including Gong Qihuang, President of Peking University; Li Yi, Vice President of the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (National Academy of Governance); John Bellamy Foster, Editor-in-Chief of Monthly Review; Cheng Enfu, Professor, School of Marxism, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; Radhika Desai, Professor, University of Manitoba; Roland Boer, Professor, Renmin University of China; Pham Van Duc, Professor, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences; and Gabriel Rockhill, Professor, Villanova University. The Congress has been reported on CGTN, including brief video interviews with Carlos Martinez and Radhika Desai.

We will never again seek economic growth at the cost of the environment. (Xi Jinping)

There is a prevailing prejudice in the West that China is a climate criminal – the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, and a country that continues to build coal-fired power stations. This connects to a wider perception of socialist governance as being antithetical to environmental protection.

And yet China’s remarkable progress over the last two decades in tackling pollution, protecting biodiversity and developing clean energy is causing this narrative to fall apart.

China has recently passed a historic milestone in its energy transition: cumulative installed solar capacity has exceeded 1 terawatt, representing 45 percent of the global total and far outstripping the United States and European Union.

At the United Nations climate summit in September, President Xi Jinping announced that China was committing to cut carbon dioxide and other pollution by at least 7 to 10 percent by 2035 – the first time that China has set a concrete target for reducing emissions as part of its Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement.

Credible evidence suggests that China’s greenhouse gas emissions have already peaked, five years earlier than promised.

Since 2013, China’s solar installed capacity has increased by a factor of 180, while wind power capacity has grown sixfold.

China dominates the global green technology supply chain, producing the overwhelming majority of solar modules, wafers, and battery components.

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The Seventh Comintern Congress and China’s Anti-Japanese United Front

In the following article, Salvatore Tinè makes a comparative analysis of the theory of the popular front against fascism, advanced by the Bulgarian communist Georgi Dimitrov at the Seventh Congress of the Communist International (Comintern) in 1935, and China’s united front against Japanese aggression developed principally by Mao Zedong.

Arguing for a linkage between the two, he explains that this strategy laid the foundation for a new understanding of the nexus between the struggle for democracy and the struggle for socialism, as well as that between the struggle against capitalism and the struggle against imperialism on the part of colonial and semi-colonial nations. It is Mao Zedong, with his theory of new democracy, who develops in the most organic, and also most original way, the united front strategy by adapting it to the special conditions of a semi-feudal and semi-colonial country like China. This new democracy, the state form of the joint dictatorship of all the anti-imperialist classes united in the anti-Japanese united front, corresponds to the bourgeois democratic stage of the Chinese revolution, distinct from but at the same time organically connected to the proletarian socialist revolution. It is a resumption of the united front tactic that had already characterised the Chinese revolution in the years 1924-1927, but on a much broader mass basis and under social and political conditions much more conducive to the development of the alliance among all anti-imperialist classes, not least, as Dimitrov argued in his report due to, “the creation of Soviet territories in a considerable part of the country and the organisation of a powerful Red Army… Only the Chinese Soviets can act as the unifying centre of the struggle against the subjugation and partition of China by the imperialists, as the centre that rallies all anti-imperialist forces for the national struggle of the Chinese people.”

The Chinese communists’ brilliant theoretical and strategic elaboration has acquired universal value and meaning – both within the international communist movement and in the broader global struggle against capitalism and imperialism.

Salvatore Tinè is a Researcher in Modern History at the Department of Humanities of the University of Catania, in Sicily, Italy. The article is the text of a paper he presented at two international symposia held in Beijing in early September marking the 80th anniversary of victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.

The Chinese Communist Party’s adoption of the anti-Japanese united front strategy is closely connected to the development, in the mid-1930s, of the Communist International’s (Comintern’s) policy aimed at creating broad anti-fascist popular fronts in the more advanced capitalist countries. The link between the formation of a new anti-imperialist united front in China and the policy of anti-fascist unity in action in the European communist movement lies primarily in the fact that the revolutionary struggle of the international proletariat had, by then, assumed a genuinely global dimension, no longer merely Eurocentric. This was due to the rapid development of anti-colonial and national revolutions in Asia—particularly in China.

In his landmark report to the 7th Congress of the Comintern, Georgi Dimitrov emphasised that the revolutionary struggle of the proletariat against the offensive of capital and the threat of war was unfolding within the broader framework of “international unity in action,” that is, a “world anti-imperialist front” made up of oppressed nationalities in colonies and semi-colonies fighting for national liberation. Not by chance, in the same report, the Bulgarian leader underlined that “in light of changes in both the domestic and international situation, in all colonial and semi-colonial countries, the issue of the anti-imperialist united front assumes exceptional importance.” Dimitrov praised the initiative of the Chinese communists to establish a broad national front against Japanese imperialism, founded on a solid and united popular and mass base, both politically and militarily.

Continue reading The Seventh Comintern Congress and China’s Anti-Japanese United Front

Xi Jinping’s Governance of China illuminating the path ahead

In the following article, which was originally published by China Today, our co-editor Keith Bennett welcomes the publication of the English language edition of the fifth volume of Xi Jinping’s ‘Governance of China’, noting:

“Through the writings and speeches of President Xi one can gain a better understanding of China – where it is going and how it approaches the great issues facing humanity. This is related to the fact that, under Xi’s leadership, China is returning to the centre of the global stage. But it does so, not as an aspiring new hegemon, and not following the old path of colonialism and hegemonism, which have caused, and continue to cause, so much bloodshed and suffering, but rather from a new and visionary paradigm.”

Keith briefly outlines the lineage of Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy, through the internationalist rallying cry of Marx and Engels in the Communist Manifesto, Lenin’s elevation of the oppressed peoples to stand alongside the working class in the world revolutionary process, and Zhou Enlai’s elaboration of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, through to today’s collective rise of the Global South, with Socialist China in the vanguard.

Xi Jinping’s concept of a community of shared future for humanity can be embraced and welcomed by the great majority of humanity.

Like many people around the world, be they China scholars, friends of China or students of Marxism, I have been looking forward to the publication of the fifth volume of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China and was very pleased to hear that it is now available. 

The eagerness and interest with which this latest volume has been awaited and will be received reflects a number of things. Through the writings and speeches of President Xi Jinping one can gain a better understanding of China – where it is going and how it approaches the great issues facing humanity. This is related to the fact that, under Xi’s leadership, China is returning to the center of the global stage. But it does so, not as an aspiring new hegemon, and not following the old path of colonialism and hegemonism, which have caused, and continue to cause, so much bloodshed and suffering, but rather from a new and visionary paradigm. 

Xi’s grand vision of a community with a shared future for humanity is welcomed by a majority of the world’s nations, particularly the Global South family, who have suffered for centuries under the iron heel of the Global North. Xi’s vision is welcomed precisely because it accords with the interests and needs of the people of every country. 

As far back as 1848, German philosophers and revolutionary socialists Karl Marx (1818-1883) and Friedrich Engels (1820-1895), co-authors of The Communist Manifesto, wrote that, “In the national struggles of the proletarians of the different countries, they [the communists] point out and bring to the front the common interests of the entire proletariat, independently of all nationality.” 

As the foremost proponent of Marxism for the 21st century, Xi has inherited, applied and developed this principle elaborated by Marx and Engels.  

Historically, this development has passed through a number of distinct phases. Taking into account the fact that imperialism had completed the colonial division of the world, and that the modern national liberation movement was coming into being as the most powerful ally of the working class on a world scale, Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924) – founder of the Russian Communist Party – updated the slogan of “workers of the world unite” to also embrace the oppressed peoples. At the same time, faced with the fact that the Soviet Union was likely to remain the world’s sole socialist country, at least for a time, he advanced the concept of peaceful coexistence as an important component of the foreign policy to be pursued by a socialist state. Later, Zhou Enlai (1898-1976), then Chinese premier, in turn, faced with the fact that states with different social systems would continue to exist for a long historical period, raised peaceful coexistence from a policy to the level of theory, encapsulated and summed up in his famous Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence.  

Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy inherits and builds on this entire legacy. If, 70-plus years ago, the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence gave the socialist countries, and the newly independent countries just embarking on the road of building a new society, freedom to breathe and room to maneuver, today we face a qualitatively different situation.  

As a key component of the changes unseen in a century, we now see the collective rise of the great mass of developing countries, which today we generally refer to as the Global South, with socialist China as the vanguard, an indispensable nation steadily advancing to the center of the world stage. 

This therefore places the question of what kind of world should we build and how should we build it, not simply as a task on the agenda but rather as a task taken up for solution, and so this is precisely a key question to which Xi Jinping Thought addresses itself. 

Around the time I first visited China, back in 1981, and prior to that, practically the first sight that people encountered as they entered the mainland from Hong Kong was the huge banner reading, “Long live the great unity of the peoples of the world!” 

And just as Marx and Engels wrote about the “common interests of the entire proletariat, independently of all nationality,” for his part, Confucius (551 BC- 479 BC) famously advocated the great harmony of all under heaven. 

It is by embodying these precepts of both scientific socialism and fine traditional Chinese culture and civilization, and proceeding from the theory of “adapting the basic tenets of Marxism to China’s realities and to its traditional culture”, that Xi has defined the strategic goal, the task taken up for solution, as the building of a community with a shared future for humanity.  

Of course, some might say that this is just a phrase. And in the mouths of many politicians around the world that would most likely be the case. But in Xi’s case it represents the summation and acme of a whole body of continually developing theories and practices. In particular, it is the cumulative product of a whole series of initiatives, starting with the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and proceeding through a series of global initiatives on development, security and civilization. Together, these represent the building blocks of global peace, common prosperity, mutual respect and harmony, which, in turn, are the prerequisites for a sustainable community of shared future. 

Xi is also clear that this cannot be realized solely through relations among states but rather must also embrace people-to-people diplomacy. In fact, he has gone so far as to stress that relations between peoples are the foundation and bedrock of good state-to-state relations. In this he inherits and builds on Mao Zedong’s conclusion that, “The people, and the people alone, are the motive force in the making of world history.” That is why Xi gives so much attention to people-to-people diplomacy, meeting people on his travels, keeping in contact with old friends even after decades, writing personal letters, and never forgetting China’s old friends and their family members and descendants. 

Today, humanity has long since passed the point where its fundamental problems can be contained or resolved within national borders. Not all progressive people in the West realize it yet, but the issue is no longer whether one is for or against globalization, but whether to continue to go down the road of a globalization where the rich continue to get richer and the poor continue to get poorer on a global scale, as practiced by the ruling circles in advanced capitalist countries, or whether to pursue an equitable and inclusive globalization as championed by China. Likewise, the existential threats facing humanity, whether they be from the looming threat of climate catastrophe, the danger of nuclear war or of zoonotic pandemics, all show that a community with a shared future for humanity is a worthy goal, one that can be embraced and welcomed by the great majority of humanity. But even more fundamentally, it is increasingly becoming the very prerequisite for the continuation of human civilization and indeed survival, and most likely for the survival of many other forms of life on earth as well. 

No country, no matter how rich or powerful, can solve the problems facing humanity and Mother Earth on their own, let alone with a “beggar my neighbor” attitude. Rather, it’s the case that we sink or swim together. Xi’s concept of a community with a shared future is the shoreline that humanity has to swim towards. The Governance of China is like a lodestar or lighthouse illuminating the way to a distant shore. That is why I am sure that this latest volume will be eagerly awaited, read, studied and discussed by people on every continent. 

Chen Weihua: Marx’s legacy still relevant in Europe

Brussels says farewell to Chen Weihua

Chen Weihua, correspondent for the Chinese newspaper China Daily in Brussels for the past seven years, returned home on August 4. He recently turned 62 and thus worked two years longer than the retirement age for most Chinese men. 

During his time as bureau chief for his newspaper, he wrote numerous articles about the European Union – his main assignment – but also about Belgium. Among other things, he wrote an interesting piece about Karl Marx’s stay in Brussels, which we reproduce below.

Of course, he also made many local friends, most of whom are professionally interested in China. During a pleasant dinner at the Bozarcafé in Brussels on August 1, a few local friends said farewell to him. Sitting at the table next to Chen (left) are Frank Willems, co-editor of the website Chinasquare.be. In front of him: Marc Vandepitte, co-editor of the alternative news website De Wereld Morgen. Other Belgian fellow editors and journalists complete the picture.

Chen has returned to his home city of Shanghai, where he will continue to write columns in addition to numerous planned trips within his own country. “I have worked as a journalist all my life and cannot simply leave all that knowledge and experience behind me. I will continue to write commentaries in my ‘sea of free time’, as retirement is sometimes described. You are not rid of me yet…”

Jan Reyniers

As one of his last journalistic assignments in Brussels, Chen Weihua wrote an interesting and important article, Marx’s legacy still relevant in Europe,which was published by China Daily on June 20.

Chen writes that, after having been forced to leave Germany and France: “ Marx lived in several different places in Brussels. I have visited the one at 42 Rue d’Orleans, now 50 Rue Jean d’Ardenne. It is the only place with a commemorative plaque, which indicates that the family lived here from 1846 to 1848. It was in Brussels that Marx’s wife, Jenny von Westphalen, Marx’s childhood sweetheart and lifelong companion, gave birth to their son Edgar and daughter Laura.”

He adds: “Belgian historian Edward de Maesschalck, who wrote a book on Marx in Brussels, said that Brussels marked a turning point in Marx’s life and from there, he initiated a revolution that would radically transform the world.

“Brussels was then a city with a rich upper class and a large number of poor people. There was the Potato Famine of 1846 and grain shortages in 1847. Poverty in Belgium reached an all-time high, reinforcing Marx’s belief that revolution could not be long in coming.”

Maesschalck also wrote that Marx arrived as a socially committed scholar, seeking clarity and finding the key to a better understanding of human history. In Brussels, Marx emerged as a revolutionary with a mission. It was in Brussels, too, that his views of historical materialism were formed, and in Brussels… that he and Friedrich Engels wrote the Communist Manifesto.

Chen notes that, in contrast to his stature in China, Marx is not especially popular in contemporary Europe, for example among the social democratic parties that were originally founded as Marxist parties. However, he contends that the increase in workers’ strikes in recent years vindicates Marx’s analysis.

According to Bart Peeters of the Workers’ Party of Belgium (PTB/PDVA): “Without a thorough scientific understanding of the mechanics of capitalism and its domination of the state apparatus, the struggle cannot be successful. Fortunately, more and more workers are beginning to understand this.”

Marx’s legacy still relevant in Europe

June 20 (China Daily) – The Grand Place is the most famous and photographed tourist attraction in Brussels and was described by Victor Hugo as the most beautiful in the world. Encircled by buildings of Baroque, Gothic and Louis XIV architectural styles and gilded with gold detailing, it is known to Chinese tourists as Golden Grand Square or huangjin da guangchang.

Continue reading Chen Weihua: Marx’s legacy still relevant in Europe

Chinese scholar says Vietnamese socialism is a new theoretical model for global socialism and a reference for developing countries

As the Socialist Republic of Vietnam gears up for massive celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution and the September 2nd proclamation of the then Democratic Republic of Vietnam by President Ho Chi Minh, a Chinese Marxist scholar has said that the country exemplifies the successful fusion of socialism and a market economy.

Speaking to Vietnam News Agency (VNA) correspondents in Beijing, Professor Dr. Pan Jin’e from the Research Institute of Marxism under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, noted that since embarking on reforms in 1986, Vietnam has gradually built a “socialist-oriented market economy,” shifting from a planned to an open economy. As a result:

  • In 2024, GDP reached 476.3 billion USD and per capita GDP exceeded 4,700 USD.
  • The World Bank recognises Vietnam as a “model for poverty reduction among developing countries.”
  • With renewable energy accounting for 8% of the energy mix by 2024, the country’s target of reaching carbon neutrality by 2050 is drawing global attention.

The country has established the theory of a socialist rule-of-law state “of the people, by the people, and for the people,” blending Marxism with local realities to balance political stability and social vitality, a breakthrough in Marxist theory on proletarian state power.

Additionally, Vietnam pursues “development for the people,” making strides in education, healthcare, employment, and social security. Education is free from preschool to public high school; primary school enrolment reached 99.7% in 2024, with a target of 35% university enrolment by 2030. Healthcare insurance coverage reached 93.35% in 2024, nearing universal health coverage, with life expectancy rising from 40 years in 1945 to 75.8 years today.

The interview notes: “These successes stem from decades of struggle against colonialism and invasion. Vietnam’s history is a heroic example for developing countries overcoming backwardness through socialist leadership, the regime’s strengths, and the unity and resilience of its people, supported by international solidarity and proletarian internationalism.”

Regarding Vietnam’s development of and contributions to global socialism, the Chinese scholar described the country’s accomplishments as offering a “Vietnamese solution” to the world socialist movement. Vietnam presents a new theoretical model and developmental path for socialism globally, serving as a reference for developing countries.

Pan concluded that Vietnam’s achievements in building socialism confirm Marx’s view on diverse development paths. She emphasised that Vietnam’s experience revitalises the global socialist movement and opens “another possibility” for developing countries to explore the path of modernisation. “Socialism is not an abstract doctrine, but a creative practice rooted in the country and responsive to the era’s needs,” making this Vietnam’s most valuable contribution to the global socialist movement.

The following article was originally published by Nhân Dân.

Viet Nam, a country that has steadfastly pursued socialism, has gained remarkable achievements in a wide scope of sectors that includes the economy, politics, society, and culture, according to a Chinese expert on Vietnamese affairs.

Economically, Viet Nam exemplifies the successful fusion of socialism and a market economy, Prof., Dr. Pan Jin’e from the Research Institute of Marxism under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said in an interview with Viet Nam News Agency correspondents in Beijing.

Continue reading Chinese scholar says Vietnamese socialism is a new theoretical model for global socialism and a reference for developing countries

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.

Strengthening ties between Irish and Chinese Marxists

A delegation from the Academy of Marxism of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences recently visited Ireland as part of a European tour that also took them to Britain and Portugal.

In the following article, Gearóid Ó Machail outlines the delegation’s program in Ireland. Gearóid is a member of the National Executive Committee of the Communist Party of Ireland (CPI) as well as of the Advisory Group of Friends of Socialist China.

We previously published a report of the delegation’s time in London. While in Britain, they also visited Cambridge and Manchester.

The Communist Party of Ireland (CPI) recently welcomed a visiting delegation from the Institute of Marxism at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) to Dublin for a series of bilateral engagements and discussions.

The Chinese delegation arrived on the afternoon of Friday July 18 and began their program with discussions at their country’s Dublin embassy.

The next day they engaged with a group of Marxist academics at Trinity College Dublin (TCD). This dialogue brought together academics from three Dublin universities and was facilitated by Assistant Professor Harun Šiljak of the CPI. The Irish delegation also included Emeritus Professor at Dublin City University Helena Sheehan who has recently returned from a teaching post at Peking University.

The Irish hosts engaged with the Chinese comrades to discuss Irish academia and Marxism, perspectives on Chinese modernisation, ecology, the contradictions of capitalism, ‘Socialism with Chinese Characteristics’ and other topics.

The visiting delegation comprised researchers and professors from the Institute of Marxism at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) – a research institution established by the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2005.

Comrade Professor Chen Zhigang, Vice President of the Institute, led the discussion from the Chinese side, offering valuable insights into the workings of the CPC and its role in China’s development. He addressed the challenges facing rural development in China and elaborated on the concept of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the guiding principles of Xi Jinping Thought and its fundamental opposition to the Western model of globalisation and imperialist agendas. Professor Chen advocated for a model of inclusive globalisation that benefits all nations.

Throughout the discussion, he also reiterated China’s commitment to building an ecological civilisation grounded in world peace and inclusive development.

Comrade Han Dongjun translated Professor Chen’s remarks, while comrades Liu Yan, Fang Tao, and Zhuo Mingliang highlighted various achievements of China under the leadership of the CPC.

Following their meeting with the academics on Saturday morning, the CASS representatives had a bilateral meeting with leading representatives from the Communist Party of Ireland at their Party premises in Temple Bar, Dublin.

Former General Secretary of the CPI and member of the National Executive Committee of the party, Comrade Eugene McCartan was accompanied by Comrade Tommy McKearney of the Betty Sinclair Branch and Dublin Branch Secretary Comrade Harun Šiljak. Both delegations exchanged political experiences and views.

The CPI outlined its class-based, anti-imperialist approach to key political questions. Discussions focussed on ending British rule in Ireland, the defence of Irish neutrality and opposition to the growing threat posed by increased EU militarisation.

The CPI comrades highlighted their strategy to break the “Triple Lock of Imperialism” -the financial, diplomatic and military controls and instruments deployed by the USA, the EU and Britain aimed at restricting and undermining the political and economic sovereignty and destiny of the Irish people.

They also outlined to the visiting Chinese delegation how the Irish nation’s interests are currently subordinated to the needs of imperialism as a result of the political and economic subservience arising from the class interests of the comprador Irish ruling class.

Professor Chen Zhigang provided a detailed presentation on the development of Chinese Marxism, stating that it’s because of Marxism that China has been able to achieve remarkable successes. Comrade Chen discussed the meaning and relevance of Xi Jinping Thought, as the latest development of Marxism in China; a Marxism adapted to the conditions prevailing in the 21st century and the array of new challenges that present themselves.

He further pointed to what should be a well-understood and obvious truth: that as society develops, theory must develop along with it. “If Marxism does not evolve, its vitality will be limited.” He also noted that Socialism with Chinese Characteristics has developed and thrived by combining Marxist ideas with Chinese culture and traditions, hence Chinese people do not think of Marxism as a foreign phenomenon.

Regarding the global applicability of Xi Jinping Thought, Comrade Chen said that China seeks to offer Chinese wisdom towards the solution of problems of global governance. The concept of a Global Community of Shared Future, the Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Civilisation Initiative and the Global Security Initiative are all based on the principles of mutual learning, exchanges and dialogue, and all seek to promote peace, sustainability, development, cooperation and friendship.

The meeting provided another opportunity to consolidate and strengthen the bonds of friendship between Irish and Chinese communists.

China’s development demonstrates that there is a viable alternative to capitalism and imperialism, and their hegemonic control over people and the planet. Yet, imperialist powers and their capitalist regimes remain determined and are working actively every day to try to undermine China, its people, and their revolutionary achievements.

The comrades from Ireland and China reaffirmed their belief in Marxism’s potential to offer a genuine alternative to capitalism and its warmongering, imperialist hegemony, which undermines peace and disempowers people across the globe. A better world is possible.

High-level delegation of Chinese Marxists visits London

On 15 July 2025, Friends of Socialist China, in collaboration with the International Manifesto Group and the Communist Party of Britain, hosted a round-table discussion with a delegation from the Academy of Marxism at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) at London’s Marx Memorial Library.

Introducing the discussion, Friends of Socialist China co-editor Carlos Martinez noted that the Academy of Marxism is the leading Marxist think tank in China, and that it plays an important role in developing the ideological principles underpinning policymaking in China. He emphasised the importance of engaging with Chinese Marxists, who are making some of the most important contributions to the development of Marxism in the 21st century. Carlos also highlighted the need for people-to-people ties, at a time when Western governments are pursuing policies of containment, encirclement, decoupling and New Cold War.

The five delegates from CASS were led by Professor Chen Zhigang, Vice President of the Academy of Marxism, who gave a detailed presentation on the development of Chinese Marxism, stating that it’s because of Marxism that China has been able to achieve remarkable successes. Chen discussed the meaning and relevance of Xi Jinping Thought, as the latest development of Marxism in China; a Marxism adapted to the conditions prevailing in the 21st century and the array of new challenges that present themselves.

Professor Chen pointed to what should be a well-understood and obvious truth: that as society develops, theory must develop along with it. “If Marxism does not evolve, its vitality will be limited”. He also noted that Socialism with Chinese Characteristics has thrived by combining Marxist ideas with Chinese culture and traditions, hence Chinese people do not think of Marxism as a foreign phenomenon.

Regarding the global applicability of Xi Jinping Thought, Chen said that China seeks to offer Chinese wisdom towards the solution of problems of global governance. The concept of a Global Community of Shared Future, the Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Civilisation Initiative and the Global Security Initiative are all based on the principles of mutual learning, exchanges and dialogue, and all seek to promote peace, sustainability, development, cooperation and friendship.

The discussion then opened up to the 20 British participants. There was a rich and lively exchange of ideas, with contributions on topics including how to cultivate a new generation of Marxist thinkers; the need to overcome dollar hegemony; the significance of the concept of Common Prosperity; the relevance of China’s development model for the Global South; China’s foreign policy; the need to develop a more profound understanding of Chinese socialism in the West; and the reasons why socialist revolution has succeeded first in relatively underdeveloped countries rather than the advanced capitalist countries of Western Europe and North America.

Following the discussion, the CASS delegation was given a tour of the Marx Memorial Library, after which the delegates joined the British comrades for a dinner at Hiba Palestinian restaurant in London.

The following is a short report by Bhabani Shankar Nayak, who participated in the discussion.

An Evening with Chinese Comrades in London

As dusk settled over the cloudy British sky above London, summer humidity lingered in the air, clinging to the busy streets and concrete jungle of a decadent city shaped by colonial legacies, capitalist wealth and imperialist power. A few drops of rain brought a sense of calm to a mind otherwise clouded by the busyness of the day. Comrades gathered to reflect on developments in China, aiming to demystify the anti-Chinese propaganda that seeks to undermine the revolutionary achievements of the Chinese people and to expose the hypocrisy of Western capitalist development models, which prioritise profit over people.

The media trials and various forms of anti-Chinese propaganda reveal the racist, colonial, capitalist and imperialist character of American, British and European capitalism and their ruling elites. They prefer to see China as merely the world’s factory and the Chinese people as passive workers, incapable of developing revolutionary consciousness for their own emancipation. As a result, Western media and its backers promote fraudulent and illiberal visions of democracy, wrapped in the illusion of individual freedom and the delirium of the American Dream.  In contrast, the Chinese system promotes a form of decentralised working-class democracy that guides China’s unique path of democratic, socialist and peaceful development. At the heart of this system—led by the Communist Party of China—is the pursuit of human emancipation from poverty, hunger, homelessness, illiteracy, unemployment, insecurity, and everyday risks.

On 15th of July 2025, Friends of Socialist China in the UK, led by Comrade Carlos Martinez and Comrade Keith Bennett, organised a roundtable at the Marx Memorial Library in London. The event brought together comrades, researchers, and professors from the Institute of Marxism at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS)—a research institution established by the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2005. Comrade Professor Chen Zhigang, Vice President of the Institute, led the discussion, offering valuable insights into the workings of the CPC and its role in China’s development. He addressed the challenges facing rural development in China and elaborated on the concept of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the guiding principles of Xi Jinping thoughts, and its fundamental opposition to the Western model of globalisation and imperialist agendas. Professor Chen advocated for a model of inclusive globalisation that benefits all nations.

Throughout the discussion, he reiterated China’s commitment to building an ecological civilisation grounded in world peace and inclusive development. Comrade Han Dongjun translated Professor Chen’s remarks, while comrades Liu Yan, Fang Tao, and Zhuo Mingliang highlighted various achievements of China under the leadership of the CPC.

During the roundtable, comrades from the UK posed a range of ideological questions on various issues, which were thoughtfully addressed by the delegates from CASS. The discussion concluded with a shared commitment to developing and coordinating a new generation of Marxist thinkers, intellectuals, and organisations dedicated to the empowerment and emancipation of working people around the world. It was agreed that more such exchanges should be organised to help the Western left gain a deeper understanding of Chinese socialism and its revolutionary praxis.

The roundtable concluded at the Hiba Restaurant in Holborn, where the Chinese comrades shared their revolutionary praxis in a relaxed social setting over generous portions of Palestinian and Lebanese food, accompanied by Gaza Cola drinks, real ales, and a few bottles of white and red wine. The Chinese comrades represented a range of age groups and held various political and professional positions within their organisational hierarchy. Yet, there was absolutely no observable power distance among them. They interacted with one another as equals—with warmth, confidence, and camaraderie—sharing food and conversation as comrades and friends. This experience laid bare the hollowness of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, which are widely taught in universities around the world. These frameworks are not only flawed but stem from a supercilious, Eurocentric misreading of Chinese society, politics, and culture. The revolutionary praxis of the Communist Party of China has transformed a historically feudal, unequal and poverty ridden society into one that is modern, progressive, prosperous, and fundamentally egalitarian.

This revolutionary praxis has enabled China to emerge as a bankable state for the working poor in both rural and urban areas, while offering emancipatory hope to working people around the world. From toys to supercomputers, from agricultural science to space technology, from needles to iPhones, and from modern medicine to traditional and alternative health practices, China’s development demonstrates that there is a viable alternative to capitalism, imperialism, and their hegemonic control over people and the planet. Yet, imperialist powers and their capitalist regimes remain determined and working actively every day to undermine China, its people, and their revolutionary achievements.

As the evening came to an end and we prepared to leave Hiba Restaurant, Comrade Professor Chen and Comrade Zhuo Mingliang warmly wished, “Goodbye, comrade,” followed by the words, “Long live Indo-China friendship.” This self-reflective, harmonious and memorable evening with Chinese comrades in London renewed the collective commitment to the revolutionary and emancipatory politics of the working class—and to the belief in its potential to offer a genuine alternative to racialised capitalism and its warmongering, imperialist hegemony, which undermine peace and disempower people. In contrast, China stands as a model of peaceful and progressive development, dedicated to the empowerment and emancipation of working people.

Reject Western Marxism, defend the socialist countries, and stand with the peoples of the world against imperialism

On Saturday 5 July 2025, Friends of Socialist China hosted – along with the Morning Star, the International Manifesto Group, Critical Theory Workshop and Iskra books – a discussion of Domenico Losurdo’s crucial book, Western Marxism: How it was Born, How it Died, How it can be Reborn, in which the legendary Italian philosopher charts the long and complex history of Marxism’s bifurcation into ‘Western’ and ‘Eastern’ – a division based primarily on the national question and the relative prioritisation of anti-colonial, anti-imperialist struggles.

The meeting was held in-person at Marx Memorial Library in London (and online via Zoom and YouTube), and the packed room was addressed by Gabriel Rockhill (Editor of the English edition), Jennifer Ponce de León (Co-author of the introduction to the English edition), Alex Gordon (Chair, Marx Memorial Library) and Carlos Martinez (Co-editor, Friends of Socialist China), and was chaired by Francisco Domínguez (National secretary, Venezuela Solidarity Campaign).

Embedded below is the video of the event, followed by the text of Carlos’s speech. Carlos describes the journey Marxism has taken since its inception around the world – “a journey to the East and South”, transforming it “from being a liberatory framework for the industrial proletariat in Western Europe and North America, to being a liberatory framework for the working and oppressed peoples around the world”.

He goes on to define academic Western Marxism on the basis of its rejection of this globalisation of class struggle, and explores the material and ideological reasons for this trend’s refusal to support the socialist states and to prioritise the struggle against colonialism and imperialism.

The speech concludes with a plan of action:

Reject dogmatism and purism, reject Eurocentrism and chauvinism, and get back to playing our part in a global united front composed of the socialist countries, the oppressed nations, and the working classes and progressive forces in the imperialist countries. That’s what will get us on the path to a socialist future.

I’ve been involved in the Marxist movement in the West in some way or another since I was a teenager, but thankfully have never got particularly close to Western Marxism.

The political tradition I grew up in emphasised the importance of supporting the socialist states, and always prioritised the struggle against imperialism, colonialism and racism. To support China, to support the DPRK, to support Cuba, to support the national liberation struggles of the Irish, Palestinian, Zimbabwean, Vietnamese and other peoples were very much part of that tradition.

So despite being a Marxist in the West, I haven’t had all that much exposure to the Western Marxist academics described by Losurdo, and haven’t had to go through that extremely difficult “unlearning” process that many others have. I’ve read a lot of Lenin; I’ve read very little Adorno, Zizek and Perry Anderson.

Nevertheless, Losurdo’s book was really clarifying for me, and helped me understand the ideological roots of some of the objectively reactionary positions that you come up against all the time. Because although Western Marxism exists mainly in an academic ivory tower, it seeps into the wider movement for revolutionary change, which it seems to find quite fertile soil.

Marxism moves East and South

Marxism is, obviously, Western by birth. The first line of the Communist Manifesto is after all: “A spectre is haunting Europe — the spectre of communism”.

The nascent communist movement was geographically limited to Europe and North America, and focused almost exclusively on the industrial working class.

But from the beginning, it’s been on a journey to the East and South, including in Marx’s own lifetime.

Continue reading Reject Western Marxism, defend the socialist countries, and stand with the peoples of the world against imperialism

Book discussion: Domenico Losurdo – Western Marxism (5 July)

📆  Saturday 5 July 2025, 6pm Britain, 1pm US Eastern, 10am US Pacific

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Join us at the historic Marx Memorial Library (or online) for a discussion of Domenico Losurdo’s crucial book, “Western Marxism: How it was Born, How it Died, How it can be Reborn”, in which the legendary Italian philosopher charts the long and complex history of Marxism’s bifurcation into ‘Western’ and ‘Eastern’ – a division based primarily on the national question and the relative prioritisation of anti-colonial, anti-imperialist struggles.

Only translated into English in 2024, Western Marxism presents a powerful critique of our movement’s historic eurocentrism, and provides a timely challenge to those of us in the West seeking to move forward the struggle for socialism and against imperialism.

Speakers

  • Gabriel Rockhill (Editor of the English edition)
  • Jennifer Ponce de León (Co-author of the introduction to the English edition)
  • Alex Gordon (Chair, Marx Memorial Library)
  • Carlos Martinez (Co-editor, Friends of Socialist China)
  • Chair: Francisco Domínguez (National secretary, Venezuela Solidarity Campaign)

Organisers

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FoSC joins annual Karl Marx commemoration in London

A delegation from Friends of Socialist China joined the annual commemoration of the death of Karl Marx, organised by the Marx Memorial Library and the Communist Party of Britain (CPB), at his tomb in north London’s Highgate Cemetery, on Sunday, 16 March 2025.

In her address to the ceremony, which was attended by hundreds of people, Ismara M. Vargas Walter, the Ambassador of Cuba, said that “the triumph of the Cuban Revolution in 1959 was not just the fall of a tyrant; it was the birth of a socialist project inspired by Marxism, by the belief that the workers and peasants must be the true owners of their destiny… Marxism is not a relic in Cuba; it is a living practice… Despite the relentless attacks against our right to self-determination, Cuba stands firm, proving that socialism is not only viable but necessary in the face of capitalist crises, growing economic inequality and environmental destruction… When Cuba sends doctors, not bombs; when we develop vaccines, not monopolies; when we educate, not exploit, this is Marxism in action. Marxism is not a dogma; it is a tool for liberation… We must continue to innovate in how we teach and apply Marxist principles, ensuring that they speak to the challenges of our time: digital capitalism, climate change and the need for a multipolar world.

“Cuba’s Marxist Revolution stands with Palestine, demanding an end to genocide. Cuba’s Marxist Revolution stands with Venezuela and Nicaragua against US criminal unilateral coercive measures. Cuba’s Marxist Revolution stands with all nations resisting imperialism because Marx taught us that capitalism’s exploitation is global, and so too must be our solidarity.

“From Havana to Gaza, young people are rediscovering Marxism not as a 19th century doctrine but as a road map for survival and resistance. And they are proving that the fight is not over, that the revolution is not a relic, but a necessity.”

The Cuban Ambassador was followed by Dr. Ashok Dhawale, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPIM) and National President of the All India Kisan Sabha (All India Farmers Union).

He referred to the rightward shift in many countries, “which sometimes takes the form of far-right and neo-fascist attacks on racial, religious and other minorities, including immigrants,” adding that “the political and ideological bankruptcy of social democratic parties and their unprincipled compromises have helped the far-right to advance.

“The opposite trend is the leftward shift in some countries of Latin America, Asia and Europe, where left forces could win over sections of the people.

“On this occasion, we salute the socialist countries like Cuba, China, Vietnam, Laos, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and the left-led countries of Latin America and Siri Lanka, who are working hard to ensure the rapid and just socio-economic progress of their people.”

Following the speeches, floral tributes were laid by the CPB, the Marx Memorial Library, the Young Communist League and the Morning Star, followed by the diplomatic representatives of China, Vietnam, Laos and Sri Lanka. Flowers from Friends of Socialist China were presented by Professor Radhika Desai, a member of our Britain Committee as well as our Advisory Group. Other tributes were paid by representatives from communist parties of Iran, Chile, Cyprus, Iraq, Spain, Sudan, Greece, Palestine, Malaya and Italy, as well as the New Communist Party (NCP) of Britain and the London District of the CPB.

The ceremony, which was chaired by Professor Mary Davis, the Secretary of the Marx Memorial Library and of the Marx Grave Trust, concluded with the singing of the Internationale.

Communicating the principles of Marxism-Leninism to the young generation

What follows is the text of a speech given by Fiona Sim (co-founder of the Black Liberation Alliance and member of the Friends of Socialist China Britain Committee) at our recent bilateral webinar with Renmin University of China, held on 26 February 2026.

Fiona describes the economic, political and ideological conditions faced by young people in the West in the present era: a brutal neoliberalism, characterised by rising poverty, inequality and alienation; witnessing devastating wars and seemingly inevitable climate collapse; and being fed relentless propaganda fomenting “a culture of nihilism and pessimism”.

In academia, ruling class ideology prevails and seeks to either ignore Marxism or to paint it as some sort of failed experiment. Certainly young people are “protected” from the fact that “there is another world possible and it is being built now – by China, Cuba, Vietnam, DPRK, Laos, and many more entering their own revolutionary processes” that people can take inspiration from. And yet objective reality is increasingly radicalising young people; increasingly they understand that they “can organise, unite, and work together to resolve the contradictions and build a socialist alternative”.

The young generation are rejecting the right-wing and neoliberal ideologies that shamelessly capitulate to the reactionary rhetoric of the far-right. In Venezuela, we have seen how young people formed the biggest demographic that voted for Maduro. In Britain, young people started encampments in support of Palestine and continue to turn out in their tens, if not hundreds of thousands to protest the fascists on the streets as well as the government’s war mongering policies in lieu of the “cost of living crisis” and plummeting employment rates. In China, we see how Socialism with Chinese Characteristics has shown the proof is in the proverbial pudding and the young people are drawn to the hope it brings, with 74 million young people as proud members of the Communist Youth League.

Fiona concludes:

Right now the contradictions of imperialism are at their sharpest. Presidents like Donald Trump expose the barefaced brutality of US hegemony and the capitalist system is leaving millions in destitution and despondence. The conditions could not be more ripe for revolution. To get there, the young people must be prepared. The young generation must be encouraged to study the revolutionary histories and ongoing resistance movements of the world because in a world so rife with despair, Marxism-Leninism remains humanity’s hope for the future. 

For young people, there is a lot of reason to be nihilistic about the future and the current state of the world. We have inherited a world that is heating up. With the global average temperature rise predicted to climb permanently above 1.5°C, a mass extinction event of thousands of species grows more likely by the day. In recent decades, millions have died in the wars and genocides in Palestine, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Ukraine, and so on. Millions more around the world have died from the sanctions regime of the United States government whether by Democrat or Republican. Many young people have been permanently displaced from their homelands as a result. 

The young people are the next generation, but will this next generation be the last of humanity? What will be left for the generations to come?

In the West, these are the logical questions for a generation that has been conditioned to believe that the everyday person has no influence on the systems of a society or the governance of the world. The neoliberal philosophy has poisoned the human psyche, presenting Capital as a god and capitalists as its angels. The proletariat make offerings of commodities to the bourgeois gods while driven to fight among themselves for the scraps that fall off the table. Here the idea of “meritocracy” takes root. 

In such a system, working class young people become cogs in the capitalist machine–taught to worship brands and TikTok trends while being forced into minimum-wage jobs that keep them trapped in poverty, living at the behest of slum-like landlords and lining the pockets of CEOs of privatised infrastructure (whether that be water, rail, or energy). This form of alienation is a means of crushing revolutionary spirit: separating the individual from the collective, from the community, from the vanguard. At its core, as Mao says in Combat Liberalism, liberalism is “a corrosive which eats away unity, undermines cohesion, causes apathy and creates dissension.” This is demonstrated in its highest form under neoliberalism. 

Continue reading Communicating the principles of Marxism-Leninism to the young generation

Promoting and developing Marxism in the 21st century

On Wednesday 26 February, Friends of Socialist China and Renmin University of China’s School of Marxism held a bilateral online seminar on the theme of Promoting and developing Marxism in the 21st century. The event was attended by around 50 people, and featured contributions on topics such as: key developments in Marxist theory in recent decades; communicating the principles of Marxism-Leninism to the young generation; Marxist education in China; Marxist perspectives on the digital economy; and the role of Chinese Marxists in consolidating and translating the complete works of Marx and Engels.

Carlos Martinez, Fiona Sim and Roger McKenzie made contributions on behalf of Friends of Socialist China, while professors Zhao Yulan, Wang Li and Ma Shenxiao spoke on behalf of Renmin University. The presentations were followed by a lively Q&A session, and the event concluded with a discussion of future collaboration between the two organisations.

The following is the text of Carlos Martinez’s contribution to the seminar, taking up the overall theme of promoting and developing Marxism in the 21st century.

The task of promoting and developing Marxism in the 21st century is an urgent one.

From the point of view of addressing the existential threats that humanity faces – most notably climate breakdown, nuclear conflict and pandemics – and meeting the needs of the people of the world for peace and development, the diffusion, application and development of Marxism is of critical importance.

It was 110 years ago that the heroic Polish-German revolutionary and theoretician Rosa Luxemburg popularised the idea that humanity faced a stark choice: between socialism and barbarism. And in fact she was citing Engels from a generation before. So this notion of socialism or barbarism is not new, but today it resonates louder than ever.

The capitalist system is increasingly becoming a hindrance to human progress, and a threat to human survival. The capitalist countries no longer constitute the major driving force in the development of the productive forces, and the capitalist system is beset by intractable problems and insuperable contradictions: economic crisis, rising poverty, declining life expectancy, declining rate of profit, widening inequality, expanding unemployment, breakdown of social cohesion, war, racism, sexism, and environmental destruction.

And yet there is nothing inevitable about capitalism’s collapse being followed by the construction of global socialism. As the Danish Marxist Torkil Lauesen points out in his The Long Transition Towards Socialism and the End of Capitalism, recently released on Iskra Books: “Capitalism could collapse in a brutal, chaotic endgame of wars and natural disasters. To avoid this is our task; and to accomplish that task, we must fulfil the transition to socialism. To do this, we need to learn from the past and mobilise, organise, and develop a strategy for future struggles.”

In my view, this concisely encapsulates the tasks facing those seeking to develop Marxism in the 21st century.

It’s important to remember that the global socialist movement, in spite of setbacks, has scored remarkable successes, from 1917 onwards, and these should be studied and understood. The global working class must take ownership of its own history.

Reviewing the progress made by the Soviet Union since its formation in 1922, Yuri Andropov, then the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, said in 1982 that “history perhaps has never known such a spectacular advance from a condition of backwardness, misery and ruin to the grandeur of a modern great power with highly advanced culture and steadily growing welfare of the people.”

This was not simple hyperbole or hubris. Soviet socialism wiped out feudalism; defeated European fascism; built the world’s first comprehensive welfare state; made unprecedented advances in terms of building equality for women and supporting national rights; provided a bedrock of support for anti-colonial liberation movements; and modernised the country. And unlike in the advanced capitalist countries, this modernisation was achieved without recourse to colonialism, imperialism and war.

Continue reading Promoting and developing Marxism in the 21st century

A major milestone in socialist history – a review of People’s China at 75: The Flag Stays Red

We are very pleased to republish below a comprehensive review by Gabriel Rockhill of “People’s China at 75: The Flag Stays Red”, edited by Keith Bennett and Carlos Martinez, the co-editors of this website, and published by Praxis Press.

Recalling how Lenin rejoiced when the October Revolution outlasted the Paris Commune, Gabriel notes: “Karl Marx, writing on these events at the time, celebrated the unprecedented advances of the workers’ movement while lucidly identifying its principal limitation: it had not crushed the bourgeois state and founded a proletarian state capable of defending its interests. This is a lesson that Vladimir Lenin had taken to heart, and his reputed dance in the snow feted the practical success of a correct theoretical assessment.”

On October 1st, 2024, for which anniversary this book was published, the People’s Republic of China eclipsed the longevity of the Soviet state.

How should those “who support the struggle for a more egalitarian and ecologically sustainable world” respond?

Gabriel notes that the book “seeks to respond to these questions and others through rigorous materialist analysis and a coherent theoretical framing of the PRC’s place in world history. Comprised of eleven incisive analyses framed by a capacious introduction, the book serves as a useful guide to anyone interested in a crash course on China by some of the world’s leading experts on the question. Given its readability, with concise essays and a total length of just under 150 pages, it is particularly well suited for full-time organisers and a broad readership outside of academic circles. Since it covers so much terrain and tackles many pressing questions head-on, it is, in many ways, a perfect primer on China. At the same time, it is packed with empirical details, extensive references, and insightful analyses that will be of interest to those with a strong working knowledge of the PRC.”

He goes on to argue that every socialist project has had to chart new territory in its own unique circumstances and explore ways of eking out an existence in a hostile, imperialist world intent on destroying it. Implicit in the book’s argument is the rejection of the idealist approach to the question of socialism, which consists in defining it in the abstract and then dismissing anything in the real world that does not live up to this speculative abstraction. Instead, Bennett and Martinez invite us to approach the issue of socialism from a dialectical materialist vantage point. This means recognising that it is a process that takes on specific forms in different material circumstances, and we, therefore need to analyse the complexities of practical reality rather than simply relying on theoretical definitions from the sidelines of history.

Outlining some of China’s achievements, as presented in the book, he writes that:

“Since many of these facts are undeniable and even admitted by the imperialist powers, there has been an attempt to attribute China’s meteoric rise to its supposed embrace of capitalism in the post-Mao era. Many analysts, including self-proclaimed Marxists, embrace a schematic and reductivist version of history that simply juxtaposes a socialist age under Mao to a capitalist epoch begun with Deng Xiaoping. One of the many strengths of this book is its dialectical and materialist approach to the history of the People’s Republic, which provides a fine-grained elucidation of the concrete realities of the PRC’s developmental strategy rather than falling prey to metaphysical ‘all or nothing’ assumptions.”

Echoing the conclusion of Deng Xiaoping’s November 1989 talk with Julius Nyerere, the founding president of Tanzania, Gabriel summates:

“As long as China remains on the socialist path, approximately one sixth of the world’s population will be living under socialism and striving – against great odds – to chart uncharted territory. As one of the longest lasting and largest socialist experiments on planet Earth, there is much to learn from it. This book is an indispensable guide to understanding the PRC and appreciating its impressive accomplishments in only seventy-five years of existence.”

Gabriel Rockhill is the Founding Director of the Critical Theory Workshop / Atelier de Théorie Critique and Professor of Philosophy at Villanova University, USA.

“People’s China at 75: The Flag Stays Red” can be purchased from the publishers in paperback and digital formats.

This review was originally published by Black Agenda Report. It has also been republished by Popular Resistance and Internationalist 360°. An abbreviated version was published by the Morning Star.

One of the most legendary scenes of revolutionary joy in the history of the world socialist movement is said to have occurred when Vladimir Lenin reportedly went out to dance in the snow in order to celebrate the fact that the recently minted Soviet Republic had outlasted the Paris Commune. The workers who had taken over the French capital in 1871 and launched a collective project of self-governance were able to hold out for seventy-two days before the ruling class trounced this experiment in a more egalitarian world. Karl Marx, writing on these events at the time, celebrated the unprecedented advances of the workers’ movement while lucidly identifying its principal limitation: it had not crushed the bourgeois state and founded a proletarian state capable of defending its interests. This is a lesson that Vladimir Lenin had taken to heart, and his reputed dance in the snow feted the practical success of a correct theoretical assessment.

The Soviet Union lasted for seventy-four years if one includes the five years of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (1917-1922). The People’s Republic of China (PRC) recently outstripped it by celebrating its seventy-fifth birthday (1949-2024). Measured in years rather than days, the celebration organized in the Great Hall of the People was much more sober than Lenin’s purported frolic in the snow. It included a balanced appraisal of what has been accomplished thus far and what remains to be done. President Xi Jinping delivered a speech that stressed how the Communist Party of China (CPC) “has united and led the Chinese people of all ethnic groups in working tirelessly to bring about the two miracles of rapid economic growth and enduring social stability.”[1] Reactions in the imperial core, known for its histrionics regarding China’s imminent collapse, were markedly different. The title of one of the Associated Press’s articles directly contradicted Xi Jinping’s claim: “China marks 75 years of Communist Party rule as economic challenges and security threats linger.”[2]

Continue reading A major milestone in socialist history – a review of People’s China at 75: The Flag Stays Red