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Hands off China! Full solidarity with Palestine!

The following article by Sara Flounders, based on a talk given at our event Peace delegates report back from China: Building solidarity and opposing the New Cold War, calls for a joined-up anti-imperialism, positing that “the best way to oppose the new Cold War with China is to be the most militant opponent of every US war.”

Sara observes that the events of 7 October 2023 “opened a new chapter in the worldwide class war”. US imperialism is backing Israel to the hilt, desperate to protect its interests in the region – part of defending and expanding US global hegemony. “That means Palestine fights for all of us”, and those that oppose the US-led program to encircle and contain China should also stand with the people of Palestine.

Further, we should be standing firmly against the US’s unilateral sanctions, which are being used to undermine and destabilise a total of 40 countries currently.

The US and its allies are also engaged in a proxy war against Russia in Ukraine. The over-arching strategy is to “impose regime change on Russia, which would be a key step to their next move — against China.”

The basic dynamic in geopolitics today is the contest between a moribund imperialism and a rising multipolarity. As Sara writes, “China’s very existence as a prosperous, developing country confirms that humanity has another choice. The developing world, the Global South, looks to China — not to U.S. imperialism. That is a threat to imperialism.”

Sara concludes by calling on our movement to unite behind the slogans: “Hands off China! Full solidarity with Palestine!”

This article appeared first in Workers World.

With U.S. wars coming thick and fast, the best way to oppose the new Cold War with China is to be the most militant opponent of every U.S. war.

If Israel succeeds in crushing Palestinian resistance, based on U.S. financial, political and military support, then U.S. imperialism is stronger on a world scale. That means Palestine fights for all of us. Palestine’s resistance has ignited a global resistance.

Before October 7, Israel, after 75 years of U.S. backing, seemed all powerful. Now the Israeli military has been frustrated at every turn by the indomitable spirit of Palestinian resistance. The Israelis face ambushes without end.

There is a sea change in the U.S. working class. For the first time, a majority of the population supports Palestine. There is sharp opposition to U.S. policy, shown by mass marches, shutdowns, walkouts. Let’s build on this global outrage over the U.S. role as the “enabler” of this genocide!

Global support for Palestine

On a world scale, people side with Palestine, whose resistance is our resistance. The liberation of Palestine is an important step in the liberation of humanity.

October 7 opened a new chapter in the worldwide class war. The Israeli regime’s genocidal crimes against the people of Gaza demand our international solidarity.

Faced with an unwinnable quagmire, the U.S. and Israel have expanded this war. Just this week, they bombed Muslims in Syria, Iraq and Yemen. Three days ago, they blew up two main natural gas pipelines in Iran, leaving millions of Iranians without heat and cooking fuel in winter. This is the way the U.S. and Israel fight wars — they target essential civilian infrastructure.

The U.S. and NATO countries cut off all food, medical care and schools to all Palestinians — even in Jordan and Lebanon, and on the West Bank, by cutting off funding to UNRWA [United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East].

I raise all of this, because the U.S. media and politicians claim they want to protect Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. The sheer hypocrisy of this claim is blatant. Yet it is the basis of the sanctions! This false charge is a big weapon in the war on China and in lining up and demanding compliance of all U.S. allies against China.

Thousands of Volkswagen, Audi, and Porsche cars are impounded on ships at U.S. ports, just because they include a small Chinese electronic part. These German auto corporations are told they must pay U.S. fines, remove the offending part and agree to U.S. charges against China regarding Xinjiang.

Bales of clothing made in Vietnam and Malaysia go through isotopic testing at U.S. Customs. If even a thread of cotton comes from Xinjiang, the clothing is destroyed. This is because the U.S. authorities allege there is slave labor in Xinjiang — even though Xinjiang’s cotton industry is fully mechanized.

Anti-war activists need to militantly oppose the wanton use of economic sanctions, which are used against not only China but a total of 40 countries, inhabited by one-third of the world’s population. Applying sanctions is a powerful weapon of economic destabilization.

However, this is a double-edged sword. Enforcement of these sanctions now widens U.S. isolation. They intensify trade wars with Washington’s imperialist “partners” — or are they better called imperialist rivals?

Much to the frustration of U.S. imperialism, sanctioned countries are finding new roads to cooperation and trade.

Zhang Jun: Israel must halt its collective punishment of the Palestinian people

The following is the full text of the statement by Zhang Jun, China’s Ambassador to the United Nations, at a UN Security Council briefing on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, held on February 22, 2024, in which he forcefully addresses the dire humanitarian situation facing the people of Gaza as a result of Israel’s genocidal war.

Ambassador Zhang notes that the veto cast by the United States two days previously meant that the council had missed yet another opportunity to push for a ceasefire in Gaza: “The continuation of the conflict even for another day would cause even more civilian casualties and lead to a greater catastrophe…

“We need to point out that the essence of any action of this Council is to achieve an immediate ceasefire. Any message sent out via our action must be clear, unequivocal, unambiguous, and unmistakable, rather than prevaricate or beat about the bush… The military offensive into Rafah must cease immediately. Over 1.5 million Gazans are packed into Rafah having nowhere else to go. Escalated Israeli military incursions into Rafah will result in unthinkable civilian casualties and humanitarian disasters and cause irreparable damage to regional peace. We strongly oppose such actions. Israel should immediately cancel its plan to attack Rafah and halt its collective punishment of the Palestinian people. The International Court of Justice requires that the provisional measures issued to prevent genocide be effectively implemented without delay.”

Endorsing the testimony of the Director General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Zhang said that, “Gaza is becoming a death zone. Millions of people in Gaza lack the basic necessities for survival and are languishing in hunger, in disease, and in despair. Meanwhile, humanitarian relief is hampered by man-made barriers, so much so that it is becoming unsustainable… Israel must take concrete action to open all land, sea, and air routes into Gaza, provide all that is required by humanitarian agencies for their relief operations, and ensure the safety and security of the staff and facilities of humanitarian agencies.”

Turning to the national rights of the Palestinian people, Zhang said: “Independent Palestinian statehood is not a gift given by one party to another in charity, but an inalienable right of the Palestinian people as a nation… The historical wrongs suffered by Palestine must be righted. Palestine’s long aspiration for independent statehood must be fulfilled.”

The below article first appeared on the website of the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Editor’s Note: Christopher Lockyear, to whom Ambassador Zhang refers at the start of his remarks, is the Secretary General of the NGO Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders).

Zhang Jun at the UN Security Council Briefing on the Situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian Question

Madam President,

I thank the two briefers for their briefings. We were left appalled by Mr. Christopher Lockyear’s briefing. We hope the tragic picture in Gaza that he painted for us can touch the conscience of a certain member of this Council.

The veto by the United States two days ago meant that the Council missed yet another opportunity to push for a ceasefire in Gaza. The continuation of the conflict even for another day would cause even more civilian casualties and lead to a greater catastrophe. An immediate ceasefire in Gaza is an urgent imperative to save innocent lives and to prevent a wider war. An immediate ceasefire is the common wish voiced by the international community and the consensus of the Council’s overwhelming majority. We are aware that the United States has tabled a new draft resolution. We hope the US will show a responsible attitude, respond positively to the international voice, and respect the established consensus among Council members.

We need to point out that the essence of any action of this Council is to achieve an immediate ceasefire. Any message sent out via our action must be clear, unequivocal, unambiguous, and unmistakable, rather than prevaricate or beat about the bush. At this point, the Council needs to demonstrate a strong resolve rather than negotiating skills only.

Madam President,

More than four months have passed since the conflict in Gaza began. It is the bounden duty of this Council to slam on the brakes to head off a greater calamity.

The military offensive into Rafah must cease immediately. Over 1.5 million Gazans are packed into Rafah having nowhere else to go. Escalated Israeli military incursions into Rafah will result in unthinkable civilian casualties and humanitarian disasters and cause irreparable damage to regional peace. We strongly oppose such actions. Israel should immediately cancel its plan to attack Rafah and halt its collective punishment of the Palestinian people. The International Court of Justice requires that the provisional measures issued to prevent genocide be effectively implemented without delay.

It is imperative to ensure sufficient unimpeded humanitarian deliveries into Gaza. As said by the Director General of WHO, Gaza is becoming a death zone. Millions of people in Gaza lack the basic necessities for survival and are languishing in hunger, in disease, and in despair. Meanwhile, humanitarian relief is hampered by man-made barriers, so much so that it is becoming unsustainable. The WFP announced that it had been forced to suspend its assistance to Northern Gaza because of security threats. Right now, Security Council Resolutions 2712 and 2720 must be fully implemented. Israel must take concrete action to open all land, sea, and air routes into Gaza, provide all that is required by humanitarian agencies for their relief operations, and ensure the safety and security of the staff and facilities of humanitarian agencies. UNRWA plays a vital role that is indispensable and irreplaceable in alleviating the humanitarian plight in Gaza. We call on the donors concerned to resume funding to UNRWA as soon as possible out of humanitarian considerations to keep the lifeline for the people of Gaza alive. All parties should give their full support to the work of Sigrid Kaag, UN senior humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza.

Every effort must be made to prevent the conflict from spilling over to the wider region. Right now, the Middle East is in turmoil. Exchanges of fire between Lebanon and Israel and between Syria and Israel are escalating. Tensions in the Red Sea are continuing. And the specter of the wider war is looming over the Middle East. We call on the parties concerned, especially those with significant influence, to exercise calm and restraint and to refrain from acts that would aggravate the tensions. Parties should endeavor to stop war through peace and break the vicious circle of violence and conflict.

The political horizon offered by the two-State solution must be given a new lease on life. Independent Palestinian statehood is not a gift given by one party to another in charity, but an inalienable right of the Palestinian people as a nation. We are gravely concerned by the recent repeated public dismissal of the two-State solution by some Israeli politicians and their rejection of any international effort towards independent Palestinian statehood. Gaza is an inalienable part of Palestine, and the two-State solution is the bottom line of international justice and the only viable path towards the settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli issue. China urges Israel to stop without delay eroding the foundation of the two-State solution, halt the forced displacement of Palestinian civilians, and cease the searches, arrests, and raids in the West Bank. The historical wrongs suffered by Palestine must be righted. Palestine’s long aspiration for independent statehood must be fulfilled. China supports Palestine in becoming a member of the United Nations as soon as possible and calls for the convening of a larger, more authoritative, and more effective international peace conference to push for a comprehensive, just, and lasting solution to the question of Palestine.

Thank you, President.

Chinese envoy urges nations to prevent further humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza

With the humanitarian situation in Gaza deteriorating by the day in the face of Israel’s genocidal war against the Palestinian people, a senior Chinese diplomat has again made a powerful call for action to “protect civilians, save lives, and make every effort to prevent an even greater humanitarian disaster.”

Dai Bing, Charge d’Affaires of China’s permanent mission to the United Nations, speaking at the Security Council briefing on the food security risks in Gaza on February 27, said that:

“Millions of people in Gaza are suffering the pain of losing their loved ones or are still unable to find safe shelter after multiple times of forced displacement.

“They lack the most basic safety guarantees and supplies for survival and are constantly faced with the threat of death, hunger, and disease. Even more so, women and children are living in fear and desperation every single day.”

He added that events in Gaza severely violate international law and international humanitarian law and go beyond the bottom line of human morality and conscience.

“The international community must take actions to protect civilians, save lives, and make every effort to prevent an even greater humanitarian disaster.”

Noting that the Security Council had already adopted two resolutions on protecting civilians and expanding humanitarian access, he continued:

“However, due to man-made obstacles, the entry of humanitarian supplies into Gaza has faced many difficulties. For nearly a month now, the humanitarian supplies received in Gaza have been far below the average of earlier periods, and Northern Gaza has not received any humanitarian supplies.

“We call on Israel to earnestly fulfill its obligations as the occupying power under the Geneva Convention, fully cooperate in the implementation of Security Council resolutions, open up all land, sea, and air access routes, and ensure the safe, rapid, and unimpeded entry of humanitarian supplies.”

He underscored that the International Court of Justice had ordered provisional measures that require Israel to take all measures to prevent genocide and provide the population in Gaza with urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance. “The order of provisional measures must be effectively implemented.”

The following article was originally published by the Xinhua News Agency.

UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) — A Chinese envoy urged the global community to take action to avert a more severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

“The international community must take actions to protect civilians, save lives, and make every effort to prevent an even greater humanitarian disaster,” Dai Bing, charge d’affaires of China’s permanent mission to the United Nations, said Tuesday at the UN Security Council briefing on the food security risks in Gaza.

Dai said Gaza has sunk into an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe since the conflict’s outbreak over four months ago, with nearly 30,000 civilians having lost their lives. “Millions of people in Gaza are suffering the pain of losing their loved ones or still unable to find safe shelter after multiple times of forced displacement.”

“They lack the most basic safety guarantees and supplies for survival and are constantly faced with the threat of death, hunger, and disease. Even more so, women and children are living in fear and desperation every single day,” he said.

He said events in Gaza severely violate international law and international humanitarian law and go beyond the bottom line of human morality and conscience.

“The international community must take actions to protect civilians, save lives, and make every effort to prevent an even greater humanitarian disaster,” said Dai.

The envoy stressed that humanitarian assistance is what the people in Gaza rely on for hope of survival.

“With the focus on protecting civilians and expanding humanitarian access, the council has adopted Resolutions 2712 and 2720.”

“However, due to man-made obstacles, the entry of humanitarian supplies into Gaza has faced many difficulties. For nearly a month now, the humanitarian supplies received in Gaza have been far below the average of earlier periods, and Northern Gaza has not received any humanitarian supplies,” the envoy added.

“We call on Israel to earnestly fulfill its obligations as the occupying power under the Geneva Convention, fully cooperate in the implementation of Security Council resolutions, open up all land, sea, and air access routes, and ensure the safe, rapid, and unimpeded entry of humanitarian supplies,” Dai said.

Dai pointed out that Israel should strictly comply with the requirements of deconfliction, effectively guarantee the safety of humanitarian agencies and personnel and provide necessary facilitation for humanitarian agencies to carry out assistance in Gaza.

He underscored that the International Court of Justice ordered provisional measures that require Israel to take all measures to prevent genocide and provide the population in Gaza with urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance. “The order of provisional measures must be effectively implemented.”

Noting that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) is the lifeline for the people in Gaza, the envoy said that “its role is indispensable and irreplaceable. We support the UN in conducting an independent and impartial investigation into the allegations against UNRWA staff. Israel should support and cooperate with the UN in the investigation.”

Dai said that the international community should continue to support UNRWA and other humanitarian agencies in their work.

“We call upon the international community, and in particular, the major donors, to promptly resume their funding for UNRWA.”

Dai quoted UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as saying that with Gaza under gunfire, conditions are impossible for the delivery of humanitarian aid.

The envoy stressed that an immediate ceasefire is necessary to protect civilians, deliver assistance and alleviate the humanitarian disaster.

“This is currently the overwhelming call of the international community and the overwhelming consensus among Council members.”

“We hope that the relevant country will adopt a responsible and constructive attitude and support the Council in taking action to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza,” he said.

“China will continue to work with the international community to make tireless efforts to restore peace and save lives, to end the fighting in Gaza, to implement the two-state solution, and to achieve lasting peace in the Middle East,” Dai said.

Message of greetings on the 55th anniversary of the founding of the DFLP

The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), a Marxist-Leninist party which forms part of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and which plays a full part in the resistance of the Palestinian people against Zionism and imperialism, marked its 55^th anniversary on February 22.

In this regard, the Foreign Affairs Department of the DFLP wrote to fraternal and friendly parties and organisations as follows:

On the occasion of the 55th anniversary of the founding and launch of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) on February 22, 1969, and in light of the Israeli genocidal crimes committed against the Palestinian people that have continued for more than 75 years, the DFLP continues its struggle and resistance in order to end the Israeli occupation of its lands and establish the independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, the return of refugees to their homes, and self-determination of the Palestinian people.

DFLP has sacrificed a large number of martyrs in the face of the Israeli occupation and its crimes against the Palestinian people, including members of the Central Committee and the Political Bureau, and it is still defending its Marxist-Leninist ideas in order to implement its political program.

Based on the extent of the real suffering and tragedy that the Palestinian people are experiencing in the Gaza Strip, DFLP will suspend its celebrations on the 55th anniversary of its launch, and activities will be limited to support the resistance and struggle of the Palestinian people.

In response, Friends of Socialist China sent the following message to the DFLP:

Please accept our warmest fraternal greetings on the 55^th anniversary of the founding of your party. We greet you with particularly intense and heartfelt feelings of solidarity at this time, in particular, when the heroic Palestinian people are facing the sternest of tests and the most arduous of trials in the face of the rabid genocidal onslaught of the Israeli Zionists and their masters and backers among the imperialist powers led by the United States.

Our hearts are broken as we witness the unspeakable cruelty visited upon the Palestinian people, women, and children, the old, the sick and the young, in flagrant violation of the tenets of international law, international humanitarian law in particular, as well as the most basic principles of humanitarianism and human conscience.

This is not a time for celebration. It is a time for resistance. The fighters of the DFLP are standing in their place, defending their people and struggling for liberation, and we salute them.

We know that throughout the last 55 years the comrades of the DFLP have never wavered in their anti-imperialist and socialist struggle. Comrade Mao Zedong observed that the party, the people’s army and the united front were the three magic weapons with which the Chinese people were able to defeat their enemies and win their liberation. The DFLP has also embodied this idea, building its ranks as a Marxist-Leninist party, persisting in armed struggle, and standing for a principled unity among all national Palestinian political forces and institutions.

Faithful to proletarian internationalism, your party has also maintained unity and solidarity with the socialist countries, as well as with revolutionary states, national liberation movements, and communist, workers and left-wing political parties and organisations worldwide. We appreciate the hand of friendship that you have extended to Friends of Socialist China even at this most difficult moment.

The Irish revolutionary martyr Bobby Sands once wrote: “Our revenge will be the laughter of our children.” We stand with you until the trauma etched on the faces of the children of Gaza, the West Bank and the whole of historic Palestine is replaced with smiles and laughter. Until all the children of Palestine can live a happy life and realise their dreams in a free and independent country.

Until then we join with you in saying:

Victory to the Palestinian Resistance!
Revolution until victory!

Once again, dear comrades, please accept our warmest and most comradely greetings.

China affirms Palestinian people’s right to wage armed struggle for liberation

The government of China has made an extremely important statement affirming the right of the Palestinian people to engage in armed struggle for liberation.

Speaking on February 22, on the second day of the International Court of Justice (ICJ)’s hearings on ‘The Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jersusalem’, held at the Hague, Holland, Ma Xinmin, Legal Adviser to China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said, referring to the results of the ‘Six Day War’ in June 1967, that 57 years have passed since Israel began its occupation and that the unlawful nature of the occupation as well as the sovereignty over the occupied territory remain unchanged. The Palestinians must not be denied justice, he added. “Justice has been long delayed, but it must not be denied.”

In the section of his speech released as a short clip by Al Jazeera, Ma said that the “Palestinian people’s use of force to resist foreign oppression and complete the establishment of an independent state is an inalienable right. This recognition is also [having previously referred to a resolution of the United Nations General Assembly] reflected in international conventions. For example, the Arab Convention for the Suppression of Terrorism of 1998 affirms, ‘the right of peoples to combat foreign occupation and aggression by whatever means, including armed struggle, in order to liberate their territories and secure their right to self-determination and independence.’ Armed struggle in this context is distinguished from acts of terrorism.”

Telesur reported that: “Besides mentioning the United Nations General Assembly’s resolutions related to the Palestinian case, the Chinese ambassador indicated that the armed struggle is usually one of the means to which nations resort when seeking to achieve their self-determination.”

“The 1973 UNGA Resolution 3070 reaffirms the legitimacy of the people’s struggle for liberation from colonial and foreign domination and alien subjugation by all available means, including armed struggle,” he stressed.

The Palestine Chronicle described the Chinese statement as the strongest made in the day’s proceedings.

It quoted Ma as saying that: “The struggle waged by peoples for their liberation, right to self-determination, including armed struggle against colonialism, occupation, aggression, domination against foreign forces should not be considered terror acts.”

In a separate article, The Palestine Chronicle reports that, “Ma also noted that the conflict stems ‘from Israel’s prolonged occupation of Palestinian territory and Israel’s longstanding oppression of the Palestinian people.’

Therefore, according to the Chinese representative, “‘the Palestinian peoples’ fight against Israeli oppression and their struggle for completing the establishment of an independent state under occupied territory are essentially just actions.’”

Dismantling Western hypocrisy on Xinjiang and Gaza

We are pleased to republish below a valuable article by Arjae Red, a union activist and Workers World Party leader, on the attempts by the imperialist media to misdirect pro-Palestinian sentiments on the left towards an anti-China narrative based on slanders about the treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang.

Arjae observes that Western propagandists are “making bogus comparisons between the Israeli settler regime’s treatment of Palestinians and the treatment of Uyghur people by the Chinese government and Communist Party.” He points out that, however, not a single government in a majority-Muslim country has backed these slanders against China, whereas they do unequivocally condemn Israel’s genocidal acts.

The article explores the national question as it relates to both situations. The US views Palestine as a “strategic staging ground for US military and economic domination of West Asia”, and the Palestinian people as “an obstacle in the way of the accumulation of superprofits”. This provides the clear context for the sustained national oppression of the Palestinians. The People’s Republic of China, on the other hand, was founded “as a multinational workers’ state, forged through the overthrow of feudal and capitalist ruling classes and by ousting parasitic forces, such as Japanese and British imperialism.” From the beginning, the PRC has promoted the rights and cultures of minority nationalities. Indeed, “the Chinese People’s Republic inscribed into its political framework regional autonomy for formerly oppressed nationalities, like the Uyghurs in Xinjiang.”

Comparing the Israeli state’s treatment of Palestinians with the Chinese state’s treatment of Uyghurs, the difference could hardly be starker. While Palestinians experience blockade, occupation, siege, apartheid, ethnic cleansing and bombardment, “Uyghur and other ethnic minorities enjoy government grants and other affirmative action programs in education and job opportunities… Rather than destruction and extraction in Xinjiang, Beijing’s policies promote development. Major infrastructure projects have built housing, schools, hospitals and high-speed public transport.”

Arjae further notes that the US-led sanctions over Xinjiang have a dual purpose: to disrupt Xinjiang’s integration into the Belt and Road Initiative; and to cause economic hardship and discontent among the local population.

The author concludes with two key slogans of our time: “Free Palestine from the river to the sea! US hands off China!”

This article was originally published in Workers World on 16 January 2024.

The movement in the U.S. supporting Palestinian national liberation has drawn truly massive numbers of people in action. On Jan. 13, for example, a reported 400,000 people marched on the White House, marking the largest pro-Palestine demonstration in U.S. history.

To counter this growing outpouring of support for Palestine in the center of world imperialism, Western propagandists are trying to misdirect the popular outrage towards People’s China. They are trying to revive the discredited “Uyghur genocide” narrative, making bogus comparisons between the Israeli settler regime’s treatment of Palestinians and the treatment of Uyghur people by the Chinese government and Communist Party. A closer look at each situation reveals enormous differences.

Who do we believe?

The intense propaganda charging “Uyghur genocide,” starting in 2016, saturated the U.S. corporate media, quoting statements by U.S.-funded NGOs and U.S. politicians. The statements aimed to slam through heavy sanctions against China.

Following a fact-finding trip to the region, however, a 2019 delegation from the Council of Foreign Ministers — a key decision-making body of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) — endorsed and commended China’s treatment of its Muslim citizens (hongkongfp.com, March 3, 2019). With 57 member states, the OIC is one of the largest intergovernmental bodies in the world.

A week after our trip to Xinjiang last year, a large delegation from the League of Arab States, including top official representatives from more than 16 Arab/Muslim countries, visited Xinjiang. In a June 2023 press statement, the delegation praised “the social harmony, economic development, people of all ethnic groups living in harmony in Xinjiang and accelerated progress.” They urged caution toward “international forces who smear and even demonize Xinjiang.”

No governments in majority-Muslim countries support the U.S. charge of “genocide” of a Muslim minority population in Xinjiang. Meanwhile, these governments publicly criticize U.S.-supported Israeli genocide in Gaza.

Multinational workers’ state vs. Zionist settler colony

Central to the comparison is a class analysis of the social foundation of the states of Israel and the People’s Republic of China. Like the United States, Israel was founded as a settler colony, built upon the slaughter and forced removal of Indigenous peoples, theft of their lands and the settlement of a majority European population.

U.S. strategists viewed the Israeli state on Palestine’s land mainly as a strategic staging ground for U.S. military and economic domination of West Asia, and thus as a major contributor to the profits of the world imperialist ruling class. They saw Palestinians as an obstacle in the way of their accumulation of these superprofits. To accomplish this conquest, the Israeli state has threatened to appropriate or erase every vestige of Palestinian culture, including Palestine’s history and food.

Israel as a state is thoroughly exploitative, extractive, and oppressive to the core. The state and the settler population, if it subscribes to Zionist ideology, serve the ends of the global imperialist ruling class.

The People’s Republic of China, on the other hand, was founded as a multinational workers’ state, forged through the overthrow of feudal and capitalist ruling classes and by ousting parasitic forces, such as Japanese and British imperialism. The Chinese Revolution established a state based on the political rule of an alliance between the workers, peasants and other progressive classes, led by the Communist Party.

The Chinese People’s Republic inscribed into its political framework regional autonomy for formerly oppressed nationalities, like the Uyghurs in Xinjiang. Historic Uyghur cities, such as Ürümqi, which had been renamed “Dihua” (meaning “to civilize”) following a 1755 Qing Dynasty invasion, regained their original Uyghur names.

Uyghur culture is widespread and celebrated in today’s China, which includes teaching the Uyghur language, as well as the languages of other ethnic populations in the region, in public schools. Before the Chinese Revolution, these languages were suppressed.

The People’s Republic is thoroughly multinational, based on the political rule of the working class and guided by the Communist Party. Its public goals involve developing a socialist economy and maintaining social harmony between ethnicities.

Israel destroys, China builds

Videos abound of the unmitigated destruction of Gaza by Israeli Occupation Forces. The IOF have bombed and bulldozed entire city blocks to dirt and rubble, razing homes, hospitals and schools.

Over decades, Israel has kept Gaza under a brutal blockade and crushed Palestinian businesses. Now the attacks have left the population without food, water, medicine and electricity.

Rather than destruction and extraction in Xinjiang, Beijing’s policies promote development. Major infrastructure projects have built housing, schools, hospitals and high-speed public transport. These projects outdo anything U.S. business or government projects have done on U.S. territory.

Uyghur and other ethnic minorities enjoy government grants and other affirmative action programs in education and job opportunities, which enable them to establish their own thriving businesses and fully participate in the vibrant Chinese economy. All of this has gradually reduced the wealth and development gap between the western Xinjiang region and the eastern coastal region of China, where, historically, all of the heavy industry was concentrated.

Xinjiang experiences no economic blockade except what U.S. policies impose. The Chinese government ensures that the basic needs of the people are met. During the COVID-19 outbreak, for example, Communist Party organizations delivered food and other supplies to Uyghur communities.

Zhang Jun: While the US vetoes ceasefire resolution, innocent civilians in Gaza are dying

On February 20, the United States again vetoed a resolution in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) calling for a ceasefire in Israel’s war of aggression against the Palestinian people in Gaza. The resolution was moved by Algeria, currently the only Arab member of the Security Council. Thirteen countries voted in favour, Britain abstained and the United States, as one of the five permanent members, exercised its veto in flagrant defiance of the overwhelming view of the international community.

In a statement following the vote, China’s UN Ambassador Zhang Jun expressed “strong disappointment and dissatisfaction” with the US action.

Algeria, he noted, had held lengthy and extensive consultations on the draft resolution with all parties and taken many ideas on board. He added:

“The outcome of today’s vote clearly shows that on the issue of a ceasefire to halt the fight in Gaza, it is not that the Security Council does not have an overwhelming consensus, but rather it is the exercise of veto by the United States that stifles the Council consensus…

“While the Council ceasefire resolution has been vetoed, innocent civilians in Gaza are dying in the fighting and struggling on the brink of death. The US claimed that the Council resolution would interfere with the ongoing diplomatic efforts. Such a claim is totally untenable. Given the situation on the ground, the continued passive avoidance of an immediate ceasefire is nothing different from giving a green light to the continued slaughter.”

Noting that as the resolution has been vetoed, the spillover of the Gaza conflict is destabilising the entire region, Zhang said:

“Only by extinguishing the flames of war in Gaza, can we prevent the fires of hell from engulfing the entire region. The Council must act quickly to stop this carnage in the Middle East.”

With the US veto, “the basics of international law are being trampled upon, and the bedrock of the multilateral system is being eroded.”

According to the Chinese Ambassador:

“The Security Council must take actions to push for a ceasefire. This should not be a matter of debate, but rather a moral obligation that the Council cannot shy away from. It is a legal responsibility that the Council must assume. Even more so, this is a political requirement that the Council must fulfil in accordance with the Charter. The veto cannot muffle the strong call for a ceasefire and an end to the war. The Security Council cannot stop its work to uphold justice and fulfil its responsibilities just because of the veto.

“China urges Israel to heed the call of the international community, abandon its plan for a Rafah offensive, and stop its collective punishment of the people of Palestine.”

We reproduce the full text of Ambassador Zhang Jun’s statement below. It was originally published on the website of the Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the UN.

Madam President,

China has voted in favor of the draft resolution, and we express our strong disappointment by and dissatisfaction with the veto of the United States. Algeria, on behalf of the Arab states, put forward the draft resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, immediate release of all hostages, guaranteed access for humanitarian supplies, and the rejection of forced displacement. This is both urgently required by the situation on the ground and it is also based on the minimum requirements of humanity. It deserves the support of all Council members.

Algeria, demonstrating reason, sincerity, and an open attitude, held lengthy and extensive consultations with all parties on the draft resolution and took on board many constructive ideas, making the draft resolution more balanced. The outcome of today’s vote clearly shows that on the issue of a ceasefire to halt the fight in Gaza, it is not that the Security Council does not have an overwhelming consensus, but rather it is the exercise of veto by the United States that stifles the Council consensus. The US veto sends a wrong message, pushing the situation in Gaza into a more dangerous one.

While the Council ceasefire resolution has been vetoed, innocent civilians in Gaza are dying in the fighting and struggling on the brink of death. The US claimed that the Council resolution would interfere with the ongoing diplomatic efforts. Such a claim is totally untenable. Given the situation on the ground, the continued passive avoidance of an immediate ceasefire is nothing different from giving a green light to the continued slaughter.

While the Council ceasefire resolution has been vetoed, the spillover of the conflict is destabilizing the entire Middle East region, leading to rising risks of a wider war. Only by extinguishing the flames of war in Gaza, can we prevent the fires of hell from engulfing the entire region. The Council must act quickly to stop this carnage in the Middle East.

While the Council ceasefire resolution has been vetoed, the basics of international law are being trampled upon, and the bedrock of the multilateral system is being eroded. The Secretary-General of the United Nations has already written to the Council invoking Article 99 of the Charter and the International Court of Justice has issued provisional measures. The Council must respond forcefully to the serious violations of international law and international humanitarian law in the Gaza conflict and uphold the authority of international rule of order.

Madam President,

The Security Council must take actions to push for a ceasefire. This should not be a matter of debate, but rather a moral obligation that the Council cannot shy away from. It is a legal responsibility that the Council must assume. Even more so, this is a political requirement that the Council must fulfill in accordance with the Charter. The veto cannot muffle the strong call for a ceasefire and an end to the war. The Security Council cannot stop its work to uphold justice and fulfill its responsibilities just because of the veto.

China urges Israel to heed the call of the international community, abandon its plan for Rafah offensive, and stop its collective punishment of the people of Palestine. We expect country with significant influence to do less of its political calculations, to be truly impartial and responsible, and to make the right choice to push for a ceasefire in Gaza. We call on the international community to pool all diplomatic efforts to give the people of Gaza a chance to live, give the people of the entire Middle East region a chance to have peace, and give it a chance for justice to be upheld.

I thank you, Madam President.