Solidarity Archives - Friends of Socialist China

China gives emergency aid to Iran

China has decided to provide 58 tons of emergency humanitarian assistance to Iran. This was announced on April 15 by Ambassador Cong Peiwu at the headquarters of the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS).

Cong said China and Iran are good friends and partners with a long-standing friendship between their peoples. He added that China has always been concerned about the Iranian people, noting that China’s assistance reflects its commitment to international humanitarian obligations and the vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity.

IRCS President Pirhossein Kolivand expressed appreciation for China’s continued support and assistance to Iran in difficult times and for firmly supporting Iran in bilateral and multilateral occasions, emphasising that the friendship between the two countries has grown stronger over time. He also noted China’s earlier humanitarian donation following the US attack on the girls’ school in Minab, southern Iran, in which some 175 civilians, the majority of them young schoolgirls, were murdered.

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

TEHRAN, April 17 (Xinhua) — China has decided to provide 58 tons of emergency humanitarian assistance to Iran, a Chinese envoy said recently.

At the headquarters of the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS), Chinese Ambassador to Iran Cong Peiwu announced the decision during a signing ceremony for the handover certificates of China’s emergency humanitarian assistance to Iran on Wednesday, which was also attended by IRCS President Pirhossein Kolivand.

He said that since the outbreak of the conflict, China has been working to promote regional peace and end hostilities, and will continue to work with the international community to support peace and stability in the Middle East.

Kolivand expressed appreciation for China’s continued support and assistance to Iran in difficult times and for firmly supporting Iran in bilateral and multilateral occasions, emphasizing that the friendship between the two countries has grown stronger over time. He also noted China’s earlier humanitarian donation following an attack on a girls’ school in Minab, southern Iran.

He said that the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran have caused extensive damage to over 137,000 infrastructure facilities, including airports, fuel storage facilities, bridges, and railways, all of which violate international humanitarian law.

JVP delegation visits China

A high-level delegation from the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP – People’s Liberation Front) of Sri Lanka recently visited China. The JVP is Sri Lanka’s largest Marxist party and leads the current coalition government.

The delegation was led by Wasantha Samarasinghe, Central Committee Member of the JVP and Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development of Sri Lanka. On March 31, it met with Liu Haixing, Minister of the International Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee (IDCPC).

Liu said, in January last year, President Xi Jinping held a successful meeting with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, providing strategic guidance for the development of China-Sri Lanka relations. As Marxist governing parties, the CPC and the JVP have played an important role in promoting China-Sri Lanka relations. Liu shared the CPC’s history of struggle, particularly the achievements and experience since the new era, and said that the CPC stands ready to work with the JVP, guided by the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, to implement the memorandum of exchange and cooperation between the CPC and the JVP, deepen exchanges of experience in state governance and administration, jointly explore development paths suited to respective national conditions, tap the potential of the “political party+” cooperation model, and promote the building of a China-Sri Lanka community with a shared future that carries strategic significance.

Samarasinghe said, China has always been a trustworthy partner and sincere friend of Sri Lanka. In recent years, relations between the JVP and the CPC have been steadily deepened. The remarkable development achievements made by the Chinese people under the leadership of the CPC demonstrate the strong vitality of the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics and provide an important reference for Global South countries, including Sri Lanka. The JVP cherishes its friendly relations with the CPC and stands ready to fully implement the memorandum, learn from China’s experience and practices in strengthening party building and promoting national development, and better enhance its governance capacity.

The following article was originally published on the IDCPC website.

Beijing, March 31st — Liu Haixing, Minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee (IDCPC), met here today with a delegation of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP ) of Sri Lanka led by Wasantha Samarasinghe, Central Committee Member of the JVP and Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development of Sri Lanka.

China and Cuba’s solar revolution: solidarity in practice

As Donald Trump tightens his energy stranglehold on Cuba – severing oil supplies, threatening countries that dare to help, and following the Kissinger playbook of “making the economy scream” – a remarkable story of socialist solidarity is unfolding.

Writing in the Morning Star, Carlos Martinez documents how China has stepped into the breach, assisting Cuba with its energy sovereignty and its green transition. Chinese solar exports to Cuba have rocketed from $5 million in 2023 to $117 million in 2025. Beijing has committed to building 92 solar parks on the island by 2028, with a combined capacity equivalent to Cuba’s entire current fossil fuel generation. Already, Cuba’s share of solar power has risen from 5.8 percent to over 20 percent in a single year – a pace of transition that energy analysts describe as one of the fastest ever achieved by a developing nation.

But as this article shows, China’s solidarity extends far beyond megawatts and megaprojects. Ten thousand photovoltaic systems have been donated for rural homes, maternity wards and health clinics. Five thousand solar kits installed across 168 municipalities are keeping medicines refrigerated and families powered through the blackouts. President Xi Jinping personally approved $80 million in emergency aid for electrical equipment. Chinese Ambassador Hua Xin has pledged “firm support under all circumstances.”

This, Carlos argues, is what South-South cooperation looks like in practice: technology, financing and humanitarian assistance with no conditionalities, no structural adjustment, no strings attached. Fidel Castro said in 2004 that China had become “the most promising hope and the best example for all Third World countries.” Cuba’s solar revolution
suggests his assessment has only become more prescient.

When the lights go out in Havana — as they have done for up to 20 hours a day in the worst months of Cuba’s current energy crisis — the causes are not difficult to identify.

The United States’ economic blockade, in place since 1962 and systematically tightened under successive administrations, has cost Cuba an estimated $160 billion ($2 trillion in current prices, which is equivalent to around 20 years of Cuba’s annual GDP).

The latest escalation of this cruel and illegal blockade has involved a full-scale energy embargo, with the US attempting to completely cut off Cuba’s access to oil.

The kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro three months ago resulted in the severing of by far Cuba’s most important energy supplier.

Trump’s tariff threats then forced Mexico to cancel emergency oil shipments.
The result has been blackouts, fuel shortages and severe disruption to daily life across the island. The Trump regime is following the Kissinger playbook of “making the economy scream” in order to force regime change.

And life is unquestionably being made difficult. As a Cuban hairdresser told Medea Benjamin of CodePink in February: “You can’t imagine how it touches every part of our lives. With no gasoline, buses don’t run, so we can’t get to work. We have electricity only three to six hours a day. There’s no gas for cooking, so we’re burning wood and charcoal in our apartments. It’s like going back 100 years.”

Thankfully, at the end of March, a Russian tanker carrying an estimated 730,000 barrels of crude oil docked in Havana, providing some urgently needed relief. But Cuba’s energy import situation continues to be highly precarious and uncertain.

Nobody can blockade the sun

The Cuban people’s response to this siege has not been surrender. It has been transformation — and at the heart of that transformation is a remarkable programme of solar energy development, driven by one of the most significant acts of international solidarity in the history of the global green transition.

China’s support for the Cuban renewable energy programme has accelerated dramatically in recent years. Chinese solar exports to Cuba rose from $5 million in 2023 to $117m in 2025. A report in the Financial Times on April 6 notes that “thanks to Chinese technology, the Caribbean island has 34 solar parks in operation with a capacity of almost 1.2 gigawatts (GW), a 350 per cent increase on 2024, enabling Cuba to more than quadruple its proportion of solar-powered generation by the end of last year.”

Beijing has committed to building 92 solar parks in Cuba by 2028, with a combined capacity of approximately 2GW — equivalent to Cuba’s entire current fossil fuel generation capacity. The solar parks already connected to the grid are contributing 1GW. As a result, Cuba’s share of solar in total electricity generation has risen from 5.8 per cent a year ago to over 20 per cent today.

Energy analysts have described this as one of the most rapid solar transitions ever achieved by a developing nation.

Cuba has set official targets of generating 24 per cent of its electricity from renewables by 2030, rising to 40 per cent by 2035 and 100 per cent by 2050. At the current pace of buildout, the 2030 target looks well within reach — and may be exceeded considerably sooner.

Battery storage — currently in place at only four of Cuba’s 55 solar parks — will need to be expanded significantly to address the evening peak demand. Wind energy will also make a growing contribution, with 19 wind farms totaling 415 MW currently being built, again with Chinese support. But the pace of the solar buildout, measured against where Cuba was just months ago, is already extraordinary.

Chinese support at all levels China’s contribution extends beyond large-scale infrastructure. Beijing has also donated 10,000 photovoltaic systems for deployment in isolated rural homes and critical facilities — including maternity wards and health clinics — ensuring that medical equipment can continue to function and medicines can be refrigerated even during power cuts.

A further 5,000 solar kits have been installed in health centres across 168 municipalities, each comprising panels, inverters and storage batteries. The head of Cuba’s Electric Union described the household-level systems as life-changing: enabling families to run a refrigerator, a fan and a television, and reducing the rural-to-urban migration that energy poverty drives.

Furthermore, in January 2026, President Xi Jinping personally approved $80 million in emergency financial aid for electrical equipment, alongside a donation of 60,000 tons of emergency rice aid.

China has been involved in Cuba’s energy sector for many years — supplying wind turbines since 2018, providing electric buses through Yutong since 2005, and supporting the assembly of Chinese electric cars, scooters and bicycles in Cuba through the Caribbean Electric Vehicles (VEDCA) programme.

In 2021, Cuba joined the Belt and Road Energy Partnership, the Chinese-led international framework for clean energy investment. But the current programme represents a qualitative leap, driven in large part by the urgency of Cuba’s situation and the depth of the bilateral relationship.

As Chinese ambassador Hua Xin stated at the handover ceremony for a recent tranche of solar parks: China stands with Cuba in “firm support under all circumstances.” Cuban Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy stated that the co-operation between the two socialist countries represents “a joint commitment to energy sovereignty.”

Socialist solidarity

What is taking shape in Cuba is a demonstration, in the most concrete terms, of what South-South co-operation and socialist solidarity look like in practice: China is providing technology, financing, expertise, training and humanitarian assistance to a country under siege, with no conditionalities, no structural adjustment requirements, no demand for market access.

Hugo Chavez one described the flourishing ties between progressive Latin America and China as a “Great Wall against US hegemonism.” Cuba’s solar revolution is a powerful example of that wall in action.

Fidel Castro said in 2004 that China had become “the most promising hope and the best example for all Third World countries.” Two decades later, the US is raining bombs on Iranian civilian infrastructure, tightening its cruel blockade on Cuba, kidnapping Venezuela’s elected president, and supporting an ongoing genocide in Gaza.

China meanwhile is emerging as the major trading partner of the vast majority of global South nations; has become the world’s only renewable energy superpower; and consistently demonstrates its commitment to peace, international law and global prosperity.

Fidel’s assessment looks more prescient than ever.

Chinese martyrs remembered in Tanzania

The Qingming Festival, when Chinese people traditionally remember their dead and their ancestors, this year fell on April 5.

Far away from China, in Tanzania, east Africa, the festival acquired particular poignancy. On its eve, China and Tanzania jointly commemorated the Chinese experts who sacrificed their lives during the construction of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway (TAZARA), the occasion also marking 50 years since the railway’s commercial operations began. Dignitaries from both countries gathered at the Chinese Expert Cemetery in Dar es Salaam, where they solemnly laid wreaths at the graves of the fallen heroes in a gesture of remembrance and respect.

Chinese Ambassador to Tanzania Chen Mingjian noted that more than 50,000 Chinese workers participated in the railway’s construction in the 1970s, with 70 losing their lives in the process.

Together with Tanzanian and Zambian counterparts, they carved a railway through mountains, valleys, and wilderness, overcoming immense logistical and environmental challenges.

“They are heroes who built a monument of China-Tanzania and China-Africa friendship,” she said.

Reporting the occasion, the Xinhua News Agency wrote: “What emerged was not just infrastructure, but a powerful symbol of solidarity among developing nations… For many in Zambia and Tanzania, TAZARA is not an abstract symbol; it is a lifeline woven into personal and national histories.”

Bruno Ching’andu, managing director of TAZARA, reflected on its importance to Zambia’s survival during the early years of independence.

“Without this railway, we would have suffered greatly,” the Zambian national said. “It gave us access to the port of Dar es Salaam when we needed it most.”

The railway enabled the movement of copper exports, agricultural goods, and essential supplies at a time when all land-locked Zambia’s neighbours to the south were under white racist colonial and apartheid rule, while Zambia, as one of the ‘frontline states’ that had itself just shaken off the yoke of British colonialism, was supporting its sister liberation movements whilst itself facing constant threats of aggression.

Tanzania’s Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation James Kinyasi Millya highlighted that China’s support came at a time when it was itself still developing.

“They gave assistance purely as a gesture of friendship,” he said. “No conditions, no demands, just solidarity.”

He contrasted this with colonial-era railways, which were often built to extract resources rather than empower local populations. That difference, officials said, continues to define the spirit of China-Tanzania relations today.

A fresh agreement signed between China, Tanzania and Zambia in 2025 aims to revitalise the railway. Millya said:

“To honour those who sacrificed, we must ensure this railway continues to serve future generations. Generation after generation will remember. This is a friendship written not just in history, but in blood.”

Wang Yi visits DPRK

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), visited the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) on April 9-10 at the invitation of his DPRK counterpart Choe Son Hui, who is Foreign Minister and also a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK).

In their talks on April 9, Wang said that in early September last year, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, and Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the WPK, held a historic meeting in Beijing, reaching important consensus on the overall, strategic and directional issues concerning bilateral ties.

Their meeting provides important strategic guidance for further developing China-DPRK relations, pushes bilateral ties into a new stage and opens a new chapter in friendly exchanges between the two countries, which is of great and far-reaching significance, Wang added.

The past year has witnessed a series of highlights in China-DPRK exchanges, which strongly demonstrated that the two countries’ traditional friendship forged in blood remains everlasting and unbreakable, the Chinese Foreign Minister said, noting that this year marks the 65th anniversary of the signing of the China-DPRK Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance. (The DPRK is the only country with which China has a treaty of this type.)

Over the past 65 years, Wang said, no matter how the international and regional situations have changed, China and the DPRK, as good neighbours, good friends and good comrades, have always trusted and supported each other, making unremitting efforts to maintain regional and world peace and stability and promote their respective development.

Wang added that China is willing to work with the DPRK side to hold commemorative events for the 65th anniversary of the signing of the treaty, strengthen high-level exchanges, enhance dialogue and practical cooperation at all levels and in various fields, deepen people-to-people exchanges and mutual understanding, and contribute to their respective economic and social development.

For her part, Choe said that the DPRK-China friendship is based on the common socialist system and traditional friendship, describing bilateral relations as deep-rooted, solid and sustainable. It is the unwavering position of the WPK and the nation to advance DPRK-China friendship and cooperation following the trend of the times and the will of the two peoples.

The DPRK, Choe said, fully supports the one-China principle, firmly opposes any interference in China’s internal affairs, and resolutely supports China’s position on safeguarding sovereignty and territorial integrity concerning Taiwan, Xizang [Tibet], Xinjiang, and other issues of China’s core interests.

She also said that the DPRK side fully endorses the vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity and the four global initiatives proposed by Xi, and highly values China’s just position on and important role in international and regional affairs.

The DPRK government hosted a reception for Wang Yi and his delegation that evening.

In her speech, Choe Son Hui said that it is the consistent policy of the WPK and the DPRK government to value and steadily develop the friendly relations with China, which have given steady continuity to the good traditions of unity and cooperation with socialism as their core, overcoming all the tempests of history.

The historical bonds between Namibia and China continue to underpin a deepening strategic partnership – SWAPO secretary general

The Republic of Namibia celebrated the 36^th anniversary of its independence on March 21 – an independence won after years of armed struggle against the imperialist-backed South African apartheid racist regime.

Marking the occasion, Sophia Shaningwa, secretary general of the country’s South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO), gave an interview to China’s Xinhua News Agency. SWAPO led the liberation struggle and has governed the country since independence.

Shaningwa said that the historical bonds between Namibia and China continue to underpin a deepening strategic partnership, reflecting a model of South-South cooperation rooted in solidarity, equality and shared development goals.

China’s solidarity with Namibia dates back to a time “when the forces of apartheid and imperialism sought to crush our legitimate quest for self-determination. This solidarity was not merely rhetorical; it was concrete, consistent and rooted in the shared anti-imperialist principles that define South-South cooperation.”

Noting that China played a pivotal role on multiple fronts during Namibia’s liberation struggle, the secretary general said that what distinguished China’s support from that of some other partners was its principled and consistent nature.

“Unlike some partners whose assistance was sometimes tempered by geopolitical calculations or conditionalities, China’s solidarity was rooted in genuine anti-imperialist conviction and mutual respect for national sovereignty. It combined political advocacy, diplomatic engagement and practical aid without seeking influence or concessions.”

Since independence, China’s role in Namibia’s infrastructure development has been particularly visible, with projects delivered by Chinese companies, including major road networks, port expansions at Walvis Bay and energy infrastructure, she noted. “These projects have significantly improved connectivity, facilitated trade, and contributed to employment creation and energy security.”

South African Communist Party visits China

A delegation of the South African Communist Party (SACP) led by Solly Afrika Mapaila, the general secretary of the party, recently visited China.

On March 18, the delegation met with Liu Haixing, Minister of the International Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee (IDCPC).

Liu said, under the strategic guidance of President Xi Jinping and President Cyril Ramaphosa, China-South Africa relations have maintained a high level of operation and continuously gained new connotations. The CPC and the SACP are the pioneering forces of the respective countries and important representatives of the world’s progressive forces. The CPC is willing to work with the SACP to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, strengthen strategic communication, deepen exchanges and mutual learning on party governance and state administration, promote cooperation in various fields and multilateral coordination through inter-party channels, drive greater development of China-South Africa and China-Africa relations, and work constantly to turn the vision of a community with a shared future for humanity into reality.

Mapaila said, the SACP highly appreciates the tremendous achievements of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics under the leadership of the CPC and is willing to learn from China’s experience in strengthening Party building, combating corruption, consolidating popular support, and leading economic and social development. South Africa firmly adheres to the one-China principle and supports China’s reunification cause.

The following article was originally published on the IDCPC website.

Beijing, March 18th—Liu Haixing, Minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee (IDCPC), met here today with a delegation led by Solly Afrika Mapaila, General Secretary of the South African Communist Party (SACP).

Chinese and Vietnamese Defence Ministers commemorate Ho Chi Minh Trail at Sea

Following the First Ministerial Meeting of the China-Vietnam “3+3” Strategic Dialogue on Diplomacy, Defence and Public Security held in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi on March 16, Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun led a programme of joint military-related activities with his Vietnamese counterpart Phan Van Giang.

The 10th Vietnam – China Border Defence Friendship Exchange got underway on March 18, launching a two-day programme aimed at strengthening defence cooperation between the two countries. Events were held in Vietnam’s Quang Ninh province on the first day and in China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region the following day.

In Quang Ninh, activities began with a welcome ceremony for the Chinese defence minister at the Mong Cai International Border Gate. The two ministers then took part in a range of joint engagements, including a friendship tree-planting ceremony at the border gate, the start of work on a medical station in Hai Son commune, and visits to the Tran Phu High School and Tra Co Border Guard Station.

In China, the main activities included a welcome ceremony for the Vietnamese delegation at the Dongxing International Border Gate; a visit by the two defence ministers to a border guard company, where they also planted friendship trees; and the launch of a joint patrol and training exercise in the Gulf of Tonkin.

The two sides also visited an exhibition wall highlighting the starting point of the Ho Chi Minh Sea Trail, as well as local enterprises. In addition, they laid wreaths at a monument to fallen soldiers of the Vietnam – China people’s revolutionary forces, before a farewell ceremony for the Vietnamese delegation at the Dongxing International Border Gate.

Another highlight of this year’s exchange was the joint patrol and training exercise in the Gulf of Tonkin involving the two countries’ navies.

The two defence ministers held talks on March 18.

Reviewing a decade of the exchange since its launch in 2014, the Vietnamese minister described the mechanism as a bright spot in bilateral defence relations, evolving steadily in both scope and substance. Initially focused on military-to-military activities, the programme has expanded to include local authorities and mass organisations, with regular initiatives such as free medical services for border residents and cultural exchanges among communities and students on both sides. Notably, this year’s edition marks the first time the two navies have conducted joint training activities.

For his part, Dong expressed thanks to the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence for its thorough preparations and warm reception. He noted that both ministers had recently participated in the first “3+3” strategic dialogue, where defence cooperation was a key topic of discussion. Affirming that relations between the two countries and their militaries have continued to grow stronger, Dong emphasised the need to expand exchanges to contribute to regional and global stability. Since its inception in 2014, the border defence friendship exchange has fostered goodwill and driven forward bilateral ties, while playing an important role in maintaining border security, he emphasised.

China and Vietnam initiate strategic dialogue as “an indispensable and pivotal move towards rejuvenating the global socialist cause”

In a highly significant move to strengthen the unity and solidarity between the socialist countries on both a strategic and tactical level in the face of the present capricious international situation, as well as with a view to advancing the global socialist cause, China and Vietnam held the First Ministerial Meeting of the China-Vietnam “3+3” Strategic Dialogue on Diplomacy, Defence and Public Security in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi on March 16.

The meeting was jointly chaired by Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong, and Minister of National Defence Dong Jun, together with Vietnamese Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung, Defence Minister Phan Van Giang and Minister of Public Security Luong Tam Quang. Centred on the theme “Coordinating Development and Security, Advancing on the Socialist Road with Unwavering Commitment, and Forging United Fronts to Confront Shared Challenges,” the two sides engaged in an in-depth exchange of views regarding the dynamic shifts in the global landscape, the maintenance of political security, and the advancement of defence and law enforcement cooperation.

Wang Yi remarked that last year, General Secretary and President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to Vietnam, where he forged pivotal consensus with Vietnamese leaders on convening the ministerial meeting of the China-Vietnam “3+3” strategic dialogue. This mechanism stands as a groundbreaking and vital strategic communication platform, jointly pioneered by both nations in the global arena. It is a major measure with strategic significance, designed to safeguard the security of political systems and deepen strategic collaboration. It stands not merely as an intrinsic facet in propelling the building of a China-Vietnam community with a shared future, but also as an indispensable and pivotal move towards rejuvenating the global socialist cause.

Wang Yi stated that the contemporary global landscape is beset by intertwined turmoil and chaos, with the international architecture undergoing accelerated realignment, while unilateral bullying gets more rampant. Conversely, the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics is advancing with strides, witnessing the smooth commencement of the 15th Five-Year Plan. Simultaneously, Vietnam has ushered in a new epoch of national development, accelerating the implementation of the resolutions of the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam. The stability and development of both China and Vietnam will manifest to the world the distinct superiority of the socialist system, the robust vitality of the socialist cause, and the bright prospects for human development and progress.

Wang Yi emphasised that as friendly socialist neighbours, China and Vietnam must not only focus on the fundamental well-being of their peoples, effectively coordinate the dual imperatives of development and security, and steadfastly pursue their respective development paths, but also keep foremost in mind the shared interests of all humanity, steer the correct direction of historical progress, and jointly promote an equal and orderly multipolar world, and an economic globalisation that is inclusive and beneficial to all through the building of a China-Vietnam community with a shared future carrying strategic significance.

Wang Xiaohong stated that the public security departments of the two nations must focus on the overarching goal of “six mores,” prioritising political security and enhance efforts to prevent and resist “colour revolutions.” Strategic planning should be placed at the forefront, serving as a catalyst to galvanise a formidable and united front. Moreover, we should anchor efforts in the people’s interests, pursuing more tangible and substantive cooperation outcomes to effectively bolster the respective socialist endeavours of the two countries and the construction of a strategically significant China-Vietnam community with a shared future.

Dong Jun stated that, confronted with unprecedented external security risks and challenges, the armed forces of China and Vietnam, steadfastly under the absolute leadership of their respective Communist Parties, shoulder a profound and sacred duty in fortifying the Party’s enduring governance and safeguarding the socialist red regime. Under the guidance of the supreme leaders of both parties, they must unite to forge a strong defence and security shield. China stands ready to collaborate closely with Vietnam, continuously deepening mutual trust in military security, further expand cooperation areas, improve the quality and effectiveness of cooperation, jointly safeguard maritime security and stability through positive interaction, and push bilateral defence exchanges and cooperation to a new level, setting an example of unity and self-reliance for the armed forces of socialist countries.

China extends support to bereaved parents of Iranian schoolgirls

Following the bestial war crime committed by the United States on February 28, when it murdered at least 175 civilians, the overwhelming majority of them young schoolgirls, in its missile attack on the Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School in the southern Iranian town of Minab, the Red Cross Society of China has decided to provide the Red Crescent Society of Iran with US$200,000 in emergency humanitarian assistance as special funds to support the bereaved parents.

Announcing the measure at the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s March 13 press conference in Beijing, in response to a question from the Beijing Youth Daily, spokesperson Guo Jiakun added:

“China stands ready to continue providing necessary assistance to Iran in a humanitarian spirit to help the Iranian people get through this difficult time.”

Their exchange reads as follows:

Beijing Youth Daily: The US and Israel launched military strikes on Iran on February 28. Media reports say that air strikes on Shajarah Tayyebeh primary school in Iran’s Hormozgan province killed over 160 girls. Is China considering providing humanitarian assistance to Iran?

Guo Jiakun: China condemns all indiscriminate attacks against civilians and non-military targets. Attacks on schools and harm to the children, in particular, seriously violate the international humanitarian law and breach the fundamental principles of human conscience. We deeply mourn for the students from Shajarah Tayyebeh primary school in Iran’s Hormozgan province and extend sincere sympathies to their families. The Red Cross Society of China has decided to provide the Red Crescent Society of Iran with US$200,000 in emergency humanitarian assistance as special funds to support the bereaved parents. China stands ready to continue providing necessary assistance to Iran in a humanitarian spirit to help the Iranian people get through this difficult time.

The full press conference can be read here. A related report was carried by the Xinhua News Agency.

China invests in a bright future for Cuba

The Trump administration’s energy siege on Cuba – cutting off oil from Venezuela, threatening punitive tariffs on any country that dares sell fuel to the island – is designed to bring the Cuban Revolution to its knees. What it has produced instead is one of the fastest and most remarkable renewable energy transitions ever achieved by a developing country, carried out in close partnership with socialist China.

Facing blackouts lasting up to 20 hours a day, Cuba has responded not with capitulation but with transformation. In just twelve months, solar power’s share of Cuba’s electricity generation has tripled from 5.8 percent to over 20 percent, with 49 new solar parks now connected to the national grid. Wind energy, electric public transport and decentralised home solar systems are all expanding rapidly. The long-term goal is full energy sovereignty – complete independence from imported fossil fuels by 2050.

This article from Workers World surveys Cuba’s ongoing energy revolution, examining the extraordinary scope of China’s solidarity – from large-scale solar parks to individual kits for rural homes and maternity wards – and what it tells us about the real nature of the
China-Cuba relationship: not a relationship between patron and client, but a partnership between two socialist countries committed to each other’s development and determined to build a world beyond imperial domination.

Relations between the two countries continue to develop in all areas, with China providing emergency humanitarian aid in addition to its support in renewable energy. On 12 March, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla held a phone call with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in which the two highlighted the powerful links of friendship between the two socialist countries and reaffirmed their intention to continuing strengthening bilateral relations.

In a remarkable example of international solidarity, Cuba, with the aid of China, has more than tripled its solar power production — one of the fastest renewable energy transitions ever achieved by a developing country. China helped Cuba develop 49 new solar parks and committed to completing 92 solar parks by 2028. Cuba’s solar power production has jumped from 5.8% in early 2025 to over 20% of its total energy generation.

The goal is for Cuba to reduce reliance on foreign fuel, gain independence from the U.S. blockade and become completely carbon neutral by 2050.

In February of this year, solar energy accounted for 38% of electricity generation, during daytime hours. However, peak demand is from 7-8 p.m., and Cuba is unable to afford battery storage capacity — the most expensive component of a solar energy system. But China is racing to improve the technology, and “progress in recent months has been incredible,” according to Ember, a global energy think tank. Chinese battery exports last year hit a record high. (Washington Post, March 1)

In addition to large solar parks, China sent 10,000 solar panel kit systems for individual homes and public buildings; 5,000 systems for critical facilities, including maternity homes, nursing homes, emergency rooms and municipal radio stations; and 5,000 kits specifically for rural and “isolated” homes that are not connected to the national grid.

“If you install a 2kW system for these people there, so they can have a refrigerator, a fan, a television, their lives change completely, and then we contribute to preventing these people from migrating from their communities,” said Elena Maidelín Ortiz Fernández, head of the Electric Union’s installation project. (bellyofthebeastcuba.com, March 6)

Cuba is also boosting renewable energy production by restoring thermal generation capacity, production of crude oil and petroleum gas and increasing their natural gas supply. China has provided Cuba with wind turbines and helped with their installation and maintenance since 2018.

Xinhua News Agency reported that Cuba has four small experimental wind farms with a fifth on the way. They have generated enough energy to save Cuba 29,630 tons of petroleum oil and about 96,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) from being released into the atmosphere.

Socialist planning in energy technology

As an example of socialist planning, data is being gathered from Cuba’s experimental wind farms to determine which technology is the most feasible for each region in Cuba. Cuba’s largest wind farm being completed in La Tunas will contribute 1% of total energy production by 2028 and save 40,000 tons of fossil fuels. Cuba also plans on building another 12 wind farms along the northern central and eastern coasts.

In 2005, China sent the first electric bus to Havana. It was manufactured by Yutong, a leading global producer of electric buses. Between 2015 and 2017, China sent Cuba a fleet of electric vehicles. Since 2021, after escalating fuel shortages imposed by the U.S. blockade, Cuba increased the imports of Chinese electric scooters, tricycles and cars.

China continues to support Cuban public transport by supplying parts, components and equipment to rehabilitate the Yutong bus fleet. In a joint venture, Havana’s Caribbean Electric Vehicles (VEDCA) is assembling thousands of Chinese parts into Cuban EVs.

Dave Jones, an energy analyst with Ember, said that Cuba is in the middle of one of the most rapid solar revolutions anywhere and ahead of most countries, including the U.S., in the share of electricity generated by sun power.

Cuba’s goal is to have 26% to 37% renewable energy generation by 2030-2035. Cuban Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy said that with China’s help, the project represents “a joint commitment to energy sovereignty.” (socialistchina.org, Feb. 25)

Kim Jong Un says ties between China and DPRK will get closer advancing the common cause of socialism

General Secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) Kim Jong Un sent a reply message to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on March 9, thanking him for his message of greetings on his reelection at the recent Ninth Congress of the WPK.

Kim described Xi’s message as “an expression of support and encouragement to me and all our Party members”, adding:

“It is the unshakable stand of our Party and the government of the Republic to continue to consolidate and develop the traditional DPRK-China friendship in conformity with the requirements of the new era and the aspirations of the peoples of the two countries.

“I believe that the cooperation between the two parties and the two countries will get closer in the future on the road of advancing the common cause of socialism.”

At time of writing, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) has also reported similar reply messages from Kim to To Lam, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, and Thongloun Sisoulith, General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party.

Meanwhile, on March 12, regular passenger train services were resumed between China and the DPRK.

Reporting this, China Daily noted that on March 10, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said that China and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea are friendly neighbours, and that maintaining regular passenger train operations is important for making travel between the two countries more convenient.

It added that according to China State Railway Group, international passenger train services between Beijing and Pyongyang will run four times a week in both directions — on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays — while services between Dandong in Liaoning province and Pyongyang will operate daily.

The Xinhua News Agency reported on the first service between Dandong and Pyongyang on March 12.

According to the report, Song Ping, a staff member with the Dandong exit-entry frontier inspection station, said authorities had introduced measures to ensure smooth clearance on the first day of operations. The inspection process for the entire train has been shortened to within 30 minutes.

Reporting the train’s arrival in Pyongyang, Xinhua said that the regular service would facilitate cross-border travel and boost economic, trade and cultural exchanges between the two countries.

Regular passenger transport between China and the DPRK was suspended early in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Regular air links were restored in 2023.

The following articles were originally published by KCNA, China Daily and the Xinhua News Agency.

With Chinese support, Cuba triples solar power in one year

The following article, originally published in Microgrid Media (an independent news platform dedicated to covering the global shift toward renewable energy) details how, over the last 12 months alone, Cuba has managed to increase its solar-generated electricity from 5.8 percent to over 20 percent of total generation. “The Caribbean nation connected 49 new solar parks to its grid between early 2025 and early 2026, adding more than 1,000 megawatts of capacity with equipment and financing from China. The expansion represents one of the fastest renewable energy transitions ever achieved by a developing country.”

The author notes that China’s support has been indispensable to these efforts. “The rapid expansion would have been impossible without sustained support from Beijing. China committed to building 92 solar parks by 2028 with combined capacity of approximately 2,000 megawatts, nearly matching Cuba’s entire current fossil fuel generation capacity. Beyond large solar farms, China donated approximately 70 tons of power generator parts and committed to installing 10,000 photovoltaic systems for isolated homes and critical facilities including maternity wards and clinics.”

In the face of a cruel, criminal and escalating US energy blockade, Cuba’s rapid progress in solar power represents a substantial boost for defending the country’s sovereignty and its socialist development path. The article observes: “If Cuba sustains installation pace, achieves adequate battery storage, and maintains Chinese support through 2028, it could reach energy independence that renders oil blockades economically irrelevant.”

We have previously covered China’s support helping Cuba advance towards energy sovereignty and sustainability, as well as China’s recent emergency aid to the island.

Cuba has transformed its electricity system in just 12 months, increasing solar power from 5.8% to over 20% of total generation as the country races to escape dependence on oil imports now blocked by US sanctions.

The Caribbean nation connected 49 new solar parks to its grid between early 2025 and early 2026, adding more than 1,000 megawatts of capacity with equipment and financing from China. The expansion represents one of the fastest renewable energy transitions ever achieved by a developing country.

The dramatic shift comes as Cuba faces what officials call an “energy siege.” President Donald Trump signed an executive order in early 2026 threatening tariffs against any country providing oil to the island, cutting fuel imports by approximately 90 percent and triggering blackouts lasting up to 20 hours per day in some regions.

Xi Jinping greets Kim Jong Un’s re-election at WPK Congress

Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Chinese President, sent a message of greetings on February 23 to his Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) counterpart Kim Jong Un on his election as General Secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) during the WPK’s ninth congress.

Xi wrote that the re-election of Comrade Kim Jong Un as General Secretary of the WPK manifests the profound trust and wholehearted support accorded to him from the WPK, government, and the DPRK people. He further expressed the hope that under the strong leadership of the WPK Central Committee headed by Kim Jong Un, the WPK and the people of the DPRK will, taking the momentum of this congress, propel their socialist cause to unprecedented heights.

He added: “China and the DPRK are socialist friendly neighbours committed to mutual assistance and mutual support. To safeguard, solidify, and develop China-DPRK relations has always been the steadfast strategic policy of the Communist Party of the CPC and the Chinese government. In recent years, my multiple meetings with Kim Jong Un, General Secretary of the WPK, have effectively steered the positive development of bilateral relations. Confronted with the accelerated global changes unseen in a century and an international landscape fraught with turmoil and uncertainty, I stand ready to collaborate closely with Kim Jong Un… This endeavour will not only advance the work of socialist construction of both nations but also deepen the bonds of friendship and enhance the well-being of our peoples, thereby contributing significantly to the peace, stability, development, and prosperity of the region and the world at large.”

The following articles were originally published on the website of the Chinese Foreign Ministry and by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Xi Jinping Sends a Congratulatory Message to Kim Jong Un on His Election as General Secretary of WPK

February 23 (MFA) – On February 23, 2026, Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a message to Kim Jong Un, extending warm congratulations on his election as General Secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) during the Ninth Congress of the WPK.

In his congratulatory message, Xi Jinping stated that since the Eighth Congress of the WPK, the WPK Central Committee headed by Kim Jong Un has united and led the people of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in their dedicated endeavors, continuously achieving new triumphs in the cause of socialist construction of DPRK. The re-election of Comrade Kim Jong Un as General Secretary of the WPK manifests the profound trust and wholehearted support accorded to him from the WPK, government, and the DPRK people. The Ninth Congress of the WPK was held at a pivotal juncture when the WPK and the DPRK are poised to carry forward the past and usher in the future, and its successful convening assumes great significance. It is hoped that under the strong leadership of the WPK Central Committee headed by Kim Jong Un, the WPK and the people of the DPRK will, taking the momentum of this congress, propel their socialist cause to unprecedented heights.

Jim Lane, 1938-2026 – Lifelong Irish revolutionary and supporter of Mao Zedong

The struggle for national liberation and socialism in Ireland lost one of its great figures on February 16, 2026, with the passing of James Anthony Lane, universally known as Jim Lane, at the age of 88.

Born in Cork in 1938, Jim joined the Irish Republican Army (IRA), Sinn Féin and the Cork Volunteers’ Pipe Band in 1954. A key area of his early political work was in the city’s unemployed workers movement. He was an active participant in Operation Harvest, the 1956-62 IRA ‘border campaign’, being one of the first volunteers to be sent north to participate in the armed struggle.

Following the end of the border campaign, Jim was one of those who became disillusioned with the political evolution of the republican movement in that period. He became a leading figure in the Irish Revolutionary Forces and subsequently in Saor Éire. He was also instrumental in establishing the Cork Vietnamese Freedom Association in the 1960s, which became known in particular for demonstrating against the presence of a US warship in Cork Harbour, in defiance of Ireland’s supposed neutrality.

Jim was both an uncompromising Irish republican as well as an uncompromising Marxist. In the most bitter and difficult days of McCarthyite anti-communism and clerical reaction, he openly espoused his communist views and actively distributed the Marxist classics, the portraits of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin and Mao Zedong, and literature from socialist countries.

When the major split occurred in the international communist movement, Jim sided with the Communist Party of China and was a leading participant in attempts to form a Marxist-Leninist party in Ireland. When a key section of the anti-revisionist movement in Ireland adopted the anti-communist, pro-imperialist ‘two nations theory’, claiming that protestants in the north of Ireland constituted a separate nation distinct from the Irish people as a whole, Jim helped form the Cork Communist Organisation, which subsequently became the Cork Workers’ Club. The club’s Historic Reprints series played a key role in rediscovering and popularising some of the most important works of James Connolly, Jim Larkin and other Irish republican socialist classics. Their bookshop also distributed literature from socialist China and Albania.

With the revival of the armed liberation struggle in Ireland’s six occupied counties in the north east, when Derry’s Bogside came under siege, in what became known as the Battle of the Bogside, in 1969, Jim and his comrades brought arms and assistance, to the beleaguered nationalist community, working closely with the IRA, organisational and political differences notwithstanding.

CPC greets 9th congress of Workers’ Party of Korea

The Ninth Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) opened on February 19 in Pyongyang, capital of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

That day, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) sent a message of greetings to the congress, noting that the WPK is the strong leadership core of the DPRK’s revolutionary and construction undertakings. The party has long united and led the DPRK people in relentless progress, achieving significant accomplishments in advancing the DPRK’s socialist cause.

“We wish that, under the strong leadership of the WPK Central Committee with General Secretary Kim Jong Un at its helm, the DPRK people will continue to achieve new and greater accomplishments in their socialist construction,” it said.

It added that both China and the DPRK are socialist countries led by communist parties. In recent years, under the strategic guidance of the top leaders of both parties and countries, China-DPRK relations have entered a new historical period. The CPC has always placed great importance on developing a friendly and cooperative relationship with the WPK, and is willing to strengthen communication and exchanges with the WPK, deepen the exchange of experience in party-building and state governance, jointly lead the healthy and stable development of China-DPRK relations, and promote the steady and far-reaching advancement of the socialist cause in both countries to contribute to regional peace, stability, development and prosperity.

We reprint below the reports on the message as released by the Xinhua News Agency and the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). We also carry the text of the opening address to the congress delivered by General Secretary Kim Jong Un as carried by KCNA.

CPC holds video talks with Sri Lanka’s JVP

Liu Haixing, Minister of the International Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee (IDCPC), held a video meeting with Tilvin Silva, General Secretary of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) of Sri Lanka on February 13.

The JVP, or People’s Liberation Front, is Sri Lanka’s largest Marxist party and is currently the main governing party in the country at the head of an alliance of left and progressive forces.

Liu said that in January 2025, President Xi Jinping met with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake who was visiting China. They reached important consensus on building a China-Sri Lanka community with a shared future and deepening exchanges of governance experience between the two countries’ ruling parties. The CPC, he continued, stands ready to continue strengthening exchanges at all levels with the JVP, conduct in-depth theoretical discussions and experience sharing on such topics as party building, major national development strategies and sustainable development, and to promote practical cooperation and friendship between the two peoples.

Silva and other leading JVP members said that during their visit to China last year, they witnessed firsthand how the CPC has led the Chinese people to achieve remarkable development accomplishments and won people’s wholehearted support. As Marxist governing parties, the two parties share common goals and ideals. Learning from the CPC’s experience in state governance and administration is of vital importance to the JVP. In particular, China’s practices in comprehensively exercising rigorous governance over the party and pursuing a people-centred development philosophy have provided valuable reference for Sri Lanka. The JVP appreciates China’s valuable support and assistance and is willing to further strengthen inter-party exchanges with the CPC and deepen cooperation in such areas as cadre training, digital city development, poverty reduction and promoting national unity, so as to better serve national development and improve the well-being of the two peoples.

The following article was originally published on the website of the IDCPC.

Beijing, February 13th—Liu Haixing, Minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee (IDCPC), held here today a video meeting with Tilvin Silva, General Secretary of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) of Sri Lanka.

Liu said, in January 2025, President Xi Jinping met with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake who was visiting China. They reached important consensus on building a China-Sri Lanka community with a shared future and deepening exchanges of governance experience between the two countries’ ruling parties. The two leaders also witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on exchanges and cooperation between the two Parties. Over the past year, the CPC and the JVP have carried out diverse and fruitful exchanges and cooperation through inter-party channels to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state. The CPC stands ready to continue strengthening exchanges at all levels with the JVP, conduct in-depth theoretical discussions and experience sharing on such topics as Party building, major national development strategies and sustainable development, promote practical cooperation and friendship between the two peoples through the “political parties plus” platform, deepen multilateral coordination, and advance greater development of relations between the two countries and Parties.

Silva and others said, during the visit to China last year, we witnessed firsthand how the CPC has led the Chinese people to achieve remarkable development accomplishments and won people’s wholehearted support. As Marxist governing parties, the two Parties share common goals and ideals. Learning from the CPC’s experience in state governance and administration is of vital importance to the JVP. In particular, China’s practices in formulating medium- and long-term plans, comprehensively exercising rigorous governance over the Party, and pursuing a people-centered development philosophy have provided valuable reference for Sri Lanka. We appreciate China’s valuable support and assistance. The JVP is willing to further strengthen inter-party exchanges with the CPC and deepen cooperation in such areas as cadre training, digital city development, poverty reduction and promoting national unity, so as to better serve national development and improve the well-being of the two peoples. The Sri Lankan side also wishes the Chinese people a happy Spring Festival of the Year of the Horse.

Sun Haiyan, Vice-minister of the IDCPC; Qi Zhenhong, Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka; Bimal Rathnayake, Member of Political Bureau of the JVP, Head of the International Department, and Minister of Transport Highways and Urban Development, and Sunil Handunneththi, Member of the Political Bureau of the JVP and Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development of Sri Lanka; and others were present.

China and Vietnam exchange special envoys

Following the successful conclusion of its 14^th National Congress, the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) has intensified its strategic coordination with its Chinese counterpart with an exchange of special envoys between the two parties.

First, Liu Haixing, Minister of the International Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee (IDCPC), visited Vietnam as the Special Envoy of General Secretary Xi Jinping.

Liu met with To Lam, General Secretary of the CPV Central Committee, in Hanoi on January 30.

According to the website of the IDCPC, Liu delivered a congratulatory letter from General Secretary Xi Jinping to To Lam and conveyed Xi’s sincere greetings and best wishes to him. Liu said, China warmly congratulates Vietnam on the successful convening of the 14th National Congress of the CPV and Comrade To Lam on his re-election as General Secretary of the CPV. China is willing to work with Vietnam to earnestly implement the important consensus reached by the general secretaries of the two Parties, adhere to the six overarching goals of “stronger political mutual trust, more substantive security cooperation, deeper practical cooperation, more solid popular foundation, closer coordination and collaboration on multilateral affairs, and better management and resolution of differences”, firmly safeguard the security of governance, intensify high-level exchanges, enhance political mutual trust, expand common interests, jointly uphold international justice, and promote the continuous development of the China-Vietnam community with a shared future.

The Vietnam News Agency (VNA) added that, welcoming the special envoy, General Secretary Lam emphasised that the visit carries profound political significance, reflecting the high priority, deep respect, and sincere friendship of the Chinese party, state, and people towards their Vietnamese counterparts, as well as the long-standing solidarity and close bonds between the two Communist Parties.

He appreciated the very positive outcomes of the phone talks with General Secretary and President Xi immediately after the CPV’s 14th National Congress, which created a favourable starting point for relations between the two Parties and countries in the new term and Vietnam’s new development era.

Sharing with the special envoy the important outcomes of the 14th National Party Congress, the party chief underscored that its success marked a turning point and a particularly important milestone determining Vietnam’s future development in the new era. The congress not only reviewed the past five years and summed up 40 years of renewal, set goals and tasks for the next five years, but also shaped strategic mindset, vision, and long-term development orientations toward the mid-21st century. Vietnam will continue to play an active and responsible role in maintaining peace, stability, and development in the region and the world, he stressed.

On the same day, Liu Haixing held the first meeting of the mechanism for meetings between the Minister of the IDCPC and the Secretary of the Party Committee of Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs with Le Hoai Trung, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPV, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam.

The IDCPC reported Liu as saying that the two sides should walk hand in hand on the path of socialist modernisation and jointly create a brighter future for China and Vietnam, contributing positive energy to regional peace, stability, development and prosperity.

For his part, Le Hoai Trung thanked Special Envoy Liu Haixing for coming to Vietnam to extend congratulations. He said, Vietnam and China are like-minded partners on the socialist path. Vietnam always regards its relations with China as an objective requirement, strategic choice and top priority of its foreign policy. The development of bilateral relations is of great strategic significance to the socialist cause of the two countries. Under the new circumstances, Vietnam is willing to work with China to strengthen high-level exchanges between the two parties, deepen exchanges and mutual learning of experience in state governance and administration, expand exchanges and cooperation in various fields, and jointly build a Vietnam-China community with a shared future that carries strategic significance.

Roar, China! Langston Hughes in Shanghai

February is celebrated as Black History Month in a number of countries, including the United States and Canada, and February 1^st 2026 was the 125^th anniversary of the birth of Langston Hughes, the great African-American jazz poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist, who is widely considered to have been the key leader of the Harlem Renaissance in the 1930s.

Marking these anniversaries, the Historic Shanghai website, noting that the city “has a fascinating, hidden history of Black American poets, activists, and musicians” carried an article on the three months that Hughes spent there in the summer of 1933, during which he met with Soong Ching Ling, the widow of China’s first president Dr. Sun Yat-sen and later the Honorary President of the People’s Republic of China, as well as with the great revolutionary writer Lu Xun.

The article notes: “With barbed wire and guards separating the International Settlement and French Concession from the Chinese sections of Shanghai, and with American race laws (i.e. segregation) often applied in the International Settlement, the parallels between segregated Shanghai and segregated America were all too stark… As a Black American, Langston Hughes was not permitted to enter the Cathay Hotel or the Foreign YMCA, which he called the Whites’ YMCA.”

However, this was also “the era of Shanghai jazz, when Black Americans who had limited performing opportunities at home took their talent to the world, and Shanghai, said Hughes, ‘seemed to have a weakness for American Negro performers.’ There was the ‘sparkling’ Nora Holt at the Little Club, the radio singer Midge Williams, and Valaida Snow, who Louis Armstrong called the ‘second greatest trumpeter’ – after himself, of course!”

Chinese and Vietnamese leaders discuss after Vietnamese party congress

Following the 14^th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is also General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, held phone talks with To Lam, who was re-elected General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee at the first meeting of the incoming central committee immediately following the congress, on January 26.

According to the report published by the Xinhua News Agency, Xi expressed his congratulations over the successful convening of the 14^th congress and To Lam’s re-election as General Secretary of the CPV. He expressed his belief that under the leadership of the CPV Central Committee headed by To Lam, Vietnam will surely fulfill the goals and tasks set forth by the 14th National Congress and realise at an early date the two goals set for the centenary of the party (2030) and the country (2045) respectively.

Xi added that China and Vietnam should keep to their paths and not sway in their commitment, unite and cooperate to promote development, and work together towards a bright future. They should hold firm to their beliefs, uphold fundamental principles and break new ground, fend off and defuse various risks and challenges, jointly defend the cause of socialism, and preserve the political essence of China-Vietnam relations.

He also urged the two sides to strengthen coordination and collaboration in international and regional affairs, jointly oppose hegemonism and bloc confrontation, and work together to promote the building of a community with a shared future for humanity.

For his part, To Lam expressed appreciation to the CPC Central Committee for the congratulatory message on the successful convening of the 14th National Congress of the CPV and thanked General Secretary Xi for the good wishes on his re-election as General Secretary of the CPV Central Committee.

He outlined the main outcomes of the congress and said that Vietnam is willing to work side by side with China on a new journey and steadily deepen friendly cooperation between neighbouring socialist countries.