Category: Speeches

The traditional friendship between Laos and China is at its best in history

The opening session of our China Conference 2025, held in London on September 27, was addressed by senior diplomats from the embassies of the People’s Republic of China, Republic of Cuba, Russian Federation, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and Lao People’s Democratic Republic.

We are very pleased to print below the warm speech given by Comrade Thavone Singharaj, Counsellor and Deputy Head of Mission of the Lao Embassy.

The speech outlines the thriving bilateral relations, across various sectors, between the two socialist neighbours as Laos prepares for its 12th national party congress, due to be held in early 2026, and to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the people’s democratic republic on December 2nd this year.

It is a profound privilege and honour for me to join comrades today, and I would like to thank Comrade Keith Bennett for giving this opportunity.

As you may know, this year marks the 76th Anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China whereby we are about to hear stories of both the past and current development of China later today. While I am taking the floor, I would like to express my congratulations and appreciation for the successful hosting of the 25th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit 2025, as well as the commemorations marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War held earlier this month. These two historical events organised by the Party and State of China are considered to elevate the role of the Communist Party of China and the People’s Republic of China on the international stage, showing the world community the strength and growth of the People’s Republic of China amidst the complex changes in the regional and international situation in recent years.

I would also like to congratulate the outstanding achievements that the Party, State and people of China have achieved under the leadership of the Communist Party of China with General Secretary and President Xi Jinping at the core, especially the implementation of the Resolutions of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the 14th Five-Year Plan for Socio-Economic Development of the Chinese Government, just to name some.

Back to 25 April 1961, Laos and China established bilateral relations making this year the 64th anniversary of diplomatic relations. Since then, our bilateral relations and cooperation have gradually enhanced from strength to strength. Our two nations have stood side-by-side through times of struggle and currently work together to advance socialist development and prosperity.

The latest visit to China by H.E. Thongloun Sisoulith, General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) and President of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (LPDR) on 4-6 September has brought our bilateral relations to a greater height. Our two nations have signed a total of 11 cooperation documents in order to pave the way for our future directions. The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to work together and also agreed to focus on the operation of the China-Laos Railway and development along the route to upgrade key projects in defence, law enforcement and security, and other fields. In addition, both sides valued that the Laos-China and China-Laos relationship is now at the best in history and will work together to implement a new shared future Master Plan (2024-2028) and pledged to accelerate its implementation for even greater success, which has laid a strong foundation for cooperation across multiple sectors.

Continue reading The traditional friendship between Laos and China is at its best in history

Li Qiang issues rallying call for development at UN

During his recent visit to New York to attend the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Chinese Premier Li Qiang also addressed a high-level meeting on the Global Development Initiative (GDI), proposed by China.

Held on September 23, the meeting was attended by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid, Angolan President Joao Lourenco, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda Gaston Browne, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Nigerien Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, as well as ministerial-level officials from more than 30 countries and heads of international organisations.

In his speech, Li Qiang noted that: “Development is a timeless theme for human society. At its very inception, the United Nations embedded the promotion of global development into its Charter… The Global Development Initiative (GDI) put forward by President Xi Jinping at the UN General Assembly in 2021 aims to advance the broadest common interests of all humanity.”

He said that a review of history shows that when countries worked together in solidarity for shared benefits, global development would advance steadily and everyone would gain; when zero-sum mentality reared its head and division and confrontation rose, global development would come to a halt, and everyone would lose. Saying that China stands ready to work with all parties to further implement the GDI, advance the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at a faster pace, and reinvigorate global development, he put forward four points as follows:

  • We need to foster a stable and open international environment for development. Peace and stability underpin development and prosperity; openness and cooperation sustain economic growth. Decoupling, severing supply chains and bloc confrontation would only hurt the global economy, disrupt global order and create greater risks.
  • We need to build balanced and universally beneficial partnerships for development. Behind the growing North-South development gap in recent years are the inequalities and inequity in rights, opportunities and rules. Certain developed countries are reluctant to fulfill their pledges of development financing, and even cut off funding to global development institutions, which has seriously undermined North-South cooperation.
  • We need to cultivate future-oriented drivers for innovation-driven development. At present, rapid advances in technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and big data are becoming a powerful driver of global development. We need to seize the opportunities to enhance international cooperation on scientific and technological innovation and oppose such moves as putting up walls and barriers and blocking the flow of technology.
  • We need to promote green and low-carbon development with greater sustainability. Climate change, environmental degradation and overconsumption of resources are major challenges facing the world. Development is in urgent need of a green transition. Climate and ecosystem know no borders, and homeland Earth should be jointly preserved.

He added that China will continue to strengthen scientific and technological cooperation to empower global development. Over the years, China has readily shared its scientific and technological innovation outcomes and advanced the AI Capacity-Building Action Plan for Good and for All, to help countries across the Global South enhance digital and intelligence capabilities. In the next five years, China will establish a funding program dedicated to digital capacity-building within the Global Development Capital Pool to support the ‘Digital South’ initiative under the GDI. China will also initiate an International Alliance of Sustainable Development Satellites to provide solid support of space observation data for global development.

Continue reading Li Qiang issues rallying call for development at UN

China and Cuba show that a better world is not only possible – it is being built day by day

The opening session of our China Conference 2025, held in London on September 27, was addressed by senior diplomats from the embassies of the People’s Republic of China, Republic of Cuba, Russian Federation, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and Lao People’s Democratic Republic.

Below we reprint the main body of the inspiring speech delivered by Pablo Arturo Ginarte Sampedro, First Secretary of the Embassy of the Republic of Cuba. He notes that: “This year we celebrate a momentous milestone: the 65th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the People’s Republic of China. In 1960, revolutionary Cuba became the first nation in the Western Hemisphere to recognise the People’s Republic. That decision was an act of sovereignty and principle, and it laid the foundation for what has become an unbreakable, ironclad friendship. That friendship was forged by the historic leaders of our revolutions, Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz and Chairman Mao Zedong.”

It is a profound honor to address you today from this historic place, Bolívar Hall, a beacon of Latin American culture and resistance here in London, graciously hosted by our dear Venezuelan comrades. On behalf of the people and government of the Republic of Cuba, I bring you the warmest, most fraternal greetings.

This year we celebrate a momentous milestone: the 65th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the People’s Republic of China. In 1960, revolutionary Cuba became the first nation in the Western Hemisphere to recognise the People’s Republic. That decision was an act of sovereignty and principle, and it laid the foundation for what has become an unbreakable, ironclad friendship.

That friendship was forged by the historic leaders of our revolutions, Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz and Chairman Mao Zedong. From those early days it has grown into a comprehensive strategic partnership. Today we work hand in hand to build a China-Cuba community with a shared future.

Our partnership extends well beyond trade and infrastructure. Equally important is our collaboration in science and technology. Together we are building sovereign scientific capacity in the Global South so the benefits of the fourth industrial revolution serve people, not only the profits of a few multinational corporations. This scientific solidarity is essential for achieving genuine independence in the 21st century.

For Cuba, these are not abstract ideals. For more than 60 years my country has resisted the most brutal and prolonged economic, commercial, and financial blockade in human history, a criminal policy imposed by the United States. In that struggle our friendship with China has been a vital pillar of support. Through trade, investment, and solidarity, China has offered a crucial lifeline and shown the world a model of relations based on sincere mutual assistance rather than imperial domination.

Continue reading China and Cuba show that a better world is not only possible – it is being built day by day

China’s Premier champions peace, justice and development at UN General Assembly

Chinese Premier Li Qiang spoke in the general debate of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 26.

He began by noting that: “This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War. It is also the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations (UN). Eighty years ago, fascism was defeated in fearless battles by countless heroic men and women around the world, and the UN was created upon their ideal of a world free of war.

“An important outcome of the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War, the UN was born out of a deep reflection on the scourge of two world wars. Its founding initiated a historic experiment to escape the law of the jungle, and marked the beginning of an extraordinary journey, i.e. building the postwar international order and pursuing peace and development. The past 80 years have been tortuous but purposeful.”

The last eight decades, he continued, have seen, “human society leapfrog from the age of electricity and computers into a digital intelligence era. While the world we live in has changed enormously, the ideal of making it a better place remains unchanged.”

In this regard he identified three key aspects:

  • Peace and development are the strongest aspirations shared by the people of all countries. Throughout history, while the shadows of war and conflict have never fully gone away, no force has ever stopped humanity in its quest for peace and development. Having gone through two world wars, we must never forget the bitter lessons learned through bloodshed and loss of lives.
  • Solidarity and cooperation are the most powerful drivers for human progress. In the ferocious years of the World Anti-Fascist War, countries with different social systems, histories and cultures rose above their differences, fought side by side, and prevailed together. All this proves a simple yet powerful point – solidarity lifts everyone up, while division drags all down.
  • Fairness and justice are the most important values pursued by the international community. In the past 80 years, the world saw the demise of the old colonial system, the establishment of the existing international order, and the strengthening of international rule of law. History keeps reminding us that when might dictates right, the world risks division and regression; when fairness and justice prevail, societies enjoy stability and thrive. Should the era of the law of the jungle return and the weak be left as prey to the strong, human society would face even more bloodshed and brutality.

Turning to the present situation, he made this appeal:

“At present, the world has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation. Unilateralism and Cold War mentality are resurfacing, the international rules and order built over the past 80 years are under serious challenge, and the once-effective international system is constantly disrupted. The various problems induced are distressing and worrying. Humanity has once again come to a crossroads. Anyone who cares about the state of affairs in the world would want to ask: Why couldn’t we humans, having emerged from tribulations, adopt a greater sense of conscience and rationality, and treat each other with kindness and coexist in peace? How could we, in the face of deplorable incidents such as humanitarian disasters, turn a blind eye to atrocities that trample blatantly on fairness and justice and sit on our hands? How could we, when confronted with unscrupulous acts of hegemonism and bullying, remain silent and submissive for fear of might?”

Li explained that the Global Governance Initiative proposed at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s Tianjin Summit at the beginning of September underscores the principles of adhering to sovereign equality, abiding by international rule of law, practicing multilateralism, advocating the people-centred approach and focusing on taking real actions. China, he said, is ready to take coordinated and effective actions together with all sides to offer more concrete solutions and promote world peace and development.

Continue reading China’s Premier champions peace, justice and development at UN General Assembly

Xi Jinping at the UN Climate Summit: Green and low-carbon transition is the trend of the time

In video remarks to the United Nations Climate Summit on 24 September 2025, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for a renewed global commitment to climate action. He stressed that green and low-carbon transition is the “trend of our time”, urging countries not to be swayed by the backsliding of “some country” (presumably referring to the United States) and to deliver ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

Xi outlined three key principles. First, confidence: the world must stay resolute and consistent in its climate efforts. Second, responsibility: fairness requires that developed nations lead in emissions cuts while providing financial and technological support to developing countries, respecting their right to development. Third, cooperation: countries should strengthen coordination in green technology and industry, ensure open trade in green products, and share the benefits of sustainable growth worldwide.

Announcing China’s new NDCs, Xi pledged that by 2035 China will: reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by 7 to 10 percent from peak levels; raise non-fossil fuels to over 30 percent of energy consumption; expand wind and solar capacity to 3,600 GW (six times 2020 levels); increase forest stock to 24 billion cubic meters; make new energy vehicles dominant in new sales; extend its carbon trading market; and basically establish a climate-adaptive society. He concluded:

Great visions require concrete actions. Climate response is an urgent yet long-term task. Let’s all step up our actions to realize the beautiful vision of harmony between man and nature, and preserve planet Earth—the place we call home.

In a blog post, veteran educator and activist Mike Klonsky contrasted President Xi’s vision with Donald Trump’s speech at the UN General Assembly – “a long and humiliating rant, filled with personal grievances and attacks on the UN, European leaders, migration policies, and clean energy.” Mike observes that Trump “spent about a quarter of his speech undermining UN-led efforts to address climate change and ridiculing renewable energy policies”. Meanwhile, “China is quietly rewriting the global energy script. The numbers aren’t just staggering—they’re humiliating for any nation like the US, still tethered to fossil-fuelled delusions”.

A Morning Star report of 25 September quotes UN climate chief Simon Stiell saying that plan announced by President Xi “is a clear signal that the future global economy will run on clean energy.”

In a separate opinion piece for the Morning Star on 25 September, London-based climate activist Paul Atkin describes the extraordinary progress China is making in relation to green energy:

• China has 17.2 per cent of the world’s people but half of the world’s solar, wind power and EVs.
• Last year, China installed as much renewable power as the US has in its entire history.
• Three out of four offshore wind turbines in 2025 are being installed in China.
• This April, China installed solar power at a rate equivalent to a new power station every eight minutes.
• Enormous solar and wind farms are being built. One of these, in Tibet, is the size of Chicago.

Paul points to the urgent necessity of working closely with China in pursuit of a sustainable future: “As the climate crisis deepens, the cost of being shackled to the US and its cold war stance against China will become more and more apparent — a point we have to make in and through the unions, Labour, the Greens and Your Party.”

Paul is among the speakers at the Socialist China Conference on Saturday 27 September.

We republish below President Xi’s speech at the UN Climate Summit, followed by the text of Paul Atkin’s article.

Honoring Commitments with Concrete Actions and Jointly Writing a New Chapter in Global Climate Governance

Remarks by H.E. Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China
At the United Nations Climate Summit
September 24, 2025

Your Excellency Secretary General António Guterres,

Your Excellency President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva,

Colleagues,

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement, a pivotal year for countries to submit their new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Global climate governance is entering a key stage.

I wish to share with you three points.

First, we must firm up confidence. Green and low-carbon transition is the trend of our time. While some country is acting against it, the international community should stay focused on the right direction, remain unwavering in confidence, unremitting in actions and unrelenting in intensity, and push for formulation and delivery on NDCs, with a view to providing more positive energy to the cooperation on global climate governance.

Second, we must live up to responsibilities. In the course of global green transition, fairness and equity should be upheld and the right to development of developing countries fully respected. The transition should serve to narrow rather than widen the North-South gap. Countries need to honor the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, whereby developed countries should take the lead in fulfilling emission reduction obligations and provide more financial and technological support to developing countries.

Third, we must deepen cooperation. The world now faces a huge demand for green development. It is important that countries strengthen international coordination in green technologies and industries to address the shortfall in green production capacity and ensure free flow of quality green products globally, so that the benefits of green development can reach all corners of the world.

Colleagues,

Let me take this opportunity to announce China’s new NDCs as follows: China will, by 2035, reduce economy-wide net greenhouse gas emissions by 7% to 10% from peak levels, striving to do better; increase the share of non-fossil fuels in total energy consumption to over 30%; expand the installed capacity of wind and solar power to over six times the 2020 levels, striving to bring the total to 3,600 gigawatts; scale up the total forest stock volume to over 24 billion cubic meters; make new energy vehicles the mainstream in the sales of new vehicles; expand the National Carbon Emissions Trading Market to cover major high-emission sectors; and basically establish a climate adaptive society.

These targets represent China’s best efforts based on the requirements of the Paris Agreement. Meeting these targets requires both painstaking efforts by China itself and a supportive and open international environment. We have the resolve and confidence to deliver on our commitments.

Colleagues,

Great visions require concrete actions. Climate response is an urgent yet long-term task. Let’s all step up our actions to realize the beautiful vision of harmony between man and nature, and preserve planet Earth—the place we call home.

Thank you.

Time to follow China’s climate leadership

The climate crisis is happening now. We are in a crucial decade in the century that will make or break human civilisation. 

It will not follow a path of Fabian gradualism. In physics as in politics, long periods of apparent stasis, in which forces build, hit a tipping point, setting off sudden, dramatic shifts; unimaginable until they happen, but making the previous period unimaginable once they have. 

China aims to build a moderately prosperous socialist society as an ecological civilisation, expressed in the “Two Mountains” proposition — that green mountains with clear water are as valuable as mountains of gold. 

So, as China grows, it will be green; not socialism with a green component, but green socialism. As one Canadian commentator put it: “China is pushing power sector transformation through central planning. It can build clean infrastructure quickly.” 

So, if you have socialist planning, you can put social and ecological priorities in command in a way that the West can’t. 

“China sees the old fossil fuel growth model as … unable to sustain long-term prosperity.” 

If the socialism that’s built isn’t green, it can’t survive. Investment in solar power, electric vehicles, batteries, and wind power is now the core driver of China’s economy.

• China has 17.2 per cent of the world’s people but half of the world’s solar, wind power and EVs. 
• Last year, China installed as much renewable power as the US has in its entire history.
• Three out of four offshore wind turbines in 2025 are being installed in China.
• This April, China installed solar power at a rate equivalent to a new power station every eight minutes.
• Enormous solar and wind farms are being built. One of these, in Tibet, is the size of Chicago.

China now has 57 per cent of its electricity generated by renewables, compared to 50.8 per cent for Britain. China’s domestic emissions are peaking, even as demand for energy increases. Emissions were down 1.6 per cent, and coal consumption dropped by 2.6 per cent, in the first half of this year. 

The International Energy Agency expects China to hit peak oil in 2027. As China had driven two-thirds of global oil demand growth from 2013 to 2023, it is set to plateau then drop before 2030.

This makes investment in fossil fuel exploration or power plants increasingly risky. Banks that have traditionally put huge resources into them are beginning to get cold feet. This is putting the US fossil fuel drive at odds with markets. China’s decision to stop coal investment overseas has been pivotal. 

• China’s clean energy exports in 2024 shaved 1 per cent off global emissions outside of China.
• Three-quarters of global fossil fuel demand is now in nations where this has already peaked.
• More than 60 per cent of emerging and developing economies like Brazil and Vietnam are leapfrogging the US and Europe in clean electrification.
• Pakistan doubled its previous grid capacity with new rooftop solar last year.
• Solar panel exports from China to Africa are up 60 per cent this year. 

Three factors underlie this. 

Physics: fossil fuels are wasteful. Two-thirds of their energy is lost to heat or inefficiency. Solar, electric motors, and heat pumps are two to four times as efficient. 

Economics: as fossil fuel reserves deplete, they become more expensive to access. The more electric technology is manufactured, the cheaper and better it becomes.

Geopolitics: the old energy system left three-quarters of humanity dependent on expensive, imported fuels. Electric technologies unlock local resources. 

So, the Western model of development is outmoded, and the future does not, and cannot, look like the US. China is not following the US in a race to the bottom. Ma Zhaoxu, China’s vice-foreign minister, says: “Regardless of how the international situation evolves, China’s proactive actions to address climate change will not slow down.”

In rolling back Joe Biden’s attempt to suck green investment into the US, Donald Trump has abandoned the future. 

This doesn’t simply involve domestic economic self-sabotage, with more expensive fossil fuel plants pushing up bills, offshore wind farms cancelled, imperilling supply in regions like New England, but also a wrecking ball taken to disaster emergency relief and scientific research monitoring the climate.

As the world’s leading petrostate, US policy now actively suppresses the truth about climate change. Their aim is to lock as much of the world as possible into fossil fuel bondage.

Success for the US would lock the world, and the US itself, into climate collapse. But, while the US still makes some of the weather — literally in this case — it’s no longer able to determine the direction of the world.

As climate scientist and 350.org founder Bill McKibben puts it in his article Here Comes the Sun: “Big Oil spent more money on last year’s election cycle in my country than they’ve ever done before. And it’s why they’re now being rewarded with a whole variety of measures designed to slow this transition down, which may succeed.

“I mean, it’s possible that 20 years from now, the US will be a kind of museum of internal combustion that other people will visit to see what the olden days were like. But it’s not going to slow the rest of the world down much, I don’t think.” 

There is a tension in the British government, with its attempt to dodge tariffs by bending the knee and committing to an annual £77 billion black hole in “defence” spending, and the stated direction of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to make Britain an “electrostate.” This involves some co-operation with China, but would require more investment than the military spend will allow. 

Reform UK and the Conservative Party aim at consolidating energy dependence on the US, no matter how ruinous the cost. As the climate crisis deepens, the cost of being shackled to the US and its cold war stance against China will become more and more apparent — a point we have to make in and through the unions, Labour, the Greens and Your Party.

Is China a threat?

On 24 September 2025, Friends of Socialist China supporters in Yorkshire, Britain, organised a webinar on the theme of Is China Really a Threat?

The main speakers at the webinar were Jacquie Luqman (activist, journalist, radio host, and Coordinating Committee Chair of Black Alliance for Peace) and Carlos Martinez (author, and co-editor of Friends of Socialist China).

In her contribution, Jacquie argues that China’s achievements building socialism and a better life for the Chinese people are an outstanding example of what can be achieved when power is taken away from the exploiting class. China shows that it’s possible to achieve development and modernisation without recourse to colonialism and imperialism. She notes that China is vilified by the Western media because it provides the “threat of a good example”, disproving the lie which constitutes the whole foundation of capitalist ideology: that socialism doesn’t work.

Carlos’s contribution addresses the accusations that China is an aggressive, expansionist power intent on disrupting the “rules-based international order”, and compares the reality of China’s peaceful rise with that of the imperialist powers. He concludes that, rather than being a threat, China stands at the core of a multipolar trajectory providing a desperately needed alternative to the destructive hegemony of the United States — an alternative based on peace, co-operation, friendship and sustainable development.

The two speeches are embedded below, along with an article based on Carlos’s contribution, which appeared in the Morning Star on 26 September, in advance of the Socialist China Conference being held in London on Saturday 27 September.

Continue reading Is China a threat?

Communist forces played the main role in defeating Japanese militarism

On Sunday 21 September, Friends of Socialist China (FoSC) and the International Manifesto Group (IMG) jointly organised a webinar on the theme, ‘World War Against Fascism: Remembering China’s Role in Victory 80 Years On’.

Speakers were:

  • Ken Hammond (Historian and China scholar)
  • Chen Weihua (Former EU bureau chief of China Daily)
  • Jodie Evans (Co-founder of Code Pink)
  • Jenny Clegg (Author and peace activist)
  • Keith Bennett (Co-editor of Friends of Socialist China)
  • KJ Noh (Journalist, writer and educator)
  • Radhika Desai (International Manifesto Group), Moderator.

Below we carry the full text of Keith’s contribution. (It was shortened somewhat on delivery due to time constraints.)

The livestream of the webinar may be viewed here. And all the individual speeches as delivered may be found on the IMG’s YouTube channel.

On May 8, 1945, people in Britain celebrated VE Day. Six years of all-out war in Europe against Nazi and fascist tyranny had come to a victorious conclusion.

But whilst the nation struggled with a collective hangover the next day, it did so with the knowledge that the war in East and Southeast Asia, and in the Pacific, continued. And, at that point, nobody could be sure for how long.

Given the circumstances of the time, the war in the East may have seemed remote to many. But not to those whose loved ones were fighting in Burma or elsewhere or worse still were enduring the dreadful cruelty that characterised being a Japanese Prisoner of War.

While, as events transpired, the war in Asia-Pacific was to last just a few more months – due not least to the decisive intervention of the Soviet Red Army rather than to the criminal bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki – this does serve to underline that the world anti-fascist war began first in the East, specifically in China, and that it lasted the longest.

Conventional British history would have us believe that the war began on September 3, 1939. Although it may not have seemed that way to the peoples of Spain, whose courageous fight against fascism began in 1936. Or to the people of Ethiopia – their country invaded by fascist Italy the previous year.

But the Chinese people’s war of resistance against Japanese aggression began in 1931, after Japan rigged up the puppet state of Manchukuo in northeast China.

This in turn became a nationwide war of resistance in 1937, with the Marco Polo, or Lugou, Bridge Incident heralding Japan’s all out invasion.

At that time, while progressive people around the world rallied to the support of China, the only state to take a clear stand in support of the Chinese people’s resistance was the USSR. And this clearly impacted on the entire geopolitical pattern in the region.

As President Xi Jinping noted in his article for the Russian media, published just prior to his state visit to attend the victory celebrations in Moscow this May: “In the darkest hours of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Soviet Volunteer Group, which was part of the Soviet Air Force, came to Nanjing, Wuhan and Chongqing to fight alongside the Chinese people, bravely engaging Japanese invaders in aerial combat—many sacrificing their precious lives.”

Continue reading Communist forces played the main role in defeating Japanese militarism

Xi Jinping: At all times, our work must be for the people and we must do our best to improve the well-being of all the people

Chinese President Xi Jinping addressed the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, held on September 3 in Beijing’s Tienanmen Square, just prior to the commencement of the military parade.

Xi described it as “an occasion for us to remember history, honour fallen heroes, cherish peace, and create a better future” and paid “high tribute to our veteran soldiers and comrades, patriots, and officers who fought in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and to the Chinese nationals from home and abroad who made important contributions to our victory. I express my sincere thanks to foreign governments and friends that supported and assisted the Chinese people in resisting aggression. I also extend a warm welcome to our guests from around the world who are with us today.”

He added: “The Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was a great war fought with tenacity and valour. Under the banner of the national united front against Japanese aggression established at the initiative of the Communist Party of China, the Chinese people stood up to fight the formidable enemy with an iron will, formed a great wall with flesh and blood to defend the nation, and ultimately achieved the first complete victory in resisting foreign aggression in modern times… The Chinese nation is a great nation that is never intimidated by any bullies and always values independence and forges ahead. In the past, when faced with critical struggles between good and evil, light and darkness, progress and reaction, the Chinese people rallied together to defy the enemy. They fought for the survival of the country, for the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and for justice for the whole of humanity. Today, humanity again has to choose between peace and war, dialogue and confrontation, win-win cooperation and zero-sum game. The Chinese people firmly stand on the right side of history and the progress of human civilisation. We will remain committed to the path of peaceful development and join hands with all peoples around the world in building a community with a shared future for humanity.”

Towards the conclusion of his remarks he stated: “On the new journey in the new era, the Chinese people of all ethnic groups should, under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China, follow Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the Theory of Three Represents and the Scientific Outlook on Development, and fully implement the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for the New Era.”

Shortly afterwards, Xi hosted a lunch in the Great Hall of the People for visiting foreign heads of state and government, other prominent politicians, and the relatives of international friends and comrades who had supported the Chinese people during the war, among others.

He noted: “Eighty years ago, the Chinese people thoroughly defeated the Japanese militarist aggressors after fighting a bitter and heroic war of resistance for 14 years. This marked the complete victory of the World Anti-Fascist War. It was a historic turning point for the Chinese nation emerging from the grave crises in modern times to embark on the journey toward great rejuvenation; it was also a major turning point in the course of world history.

“The Chinese people won the great victory through their united efforts with the anti-fascist allied forces and the people around the world. The Chinese government and people will never forget the foreign governments and international friends who supported and assisted the Chinese people in resisting aggression.”

He said the purpose of the commemoration was to “remember history, honour fallen heroes, cherish peace, and create a better future,” adding:

“Might may rule the moment but right prevails forever. Justice, light and progress will inevitably triumph over evil, darkness, and regression. At all times, we must advocate the common values of humanity, resolutely defend international fairness and justice, and ensure righteousness prevails and brightness shines in our world.

“The people are the creators of history, and the pursuit of a better life is a shared aspiration of all nations. At all times, our hearts must be with the people, our work must be for the people, and we must do our best to improve the well-being of all the people.”

We reprint the full texts of both speeches below as originally published on the website of the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Continue reading Xi Jinping: At all times, our work must be for the people and we must do our best to improve the well-being of all the people

BRICS countries seek common stand on ‘tariff wars’

On the evening of September 8, 2025, (Beijing Time) Chinese President Xi Jinping attended a Virtual Summit of the ten full members of the BRICS cooperation mechanism and delivered a speech entitled “Forging Ahead in Solidarity and Cooperation.”

The summit was convened and chaired by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, whose country holds the current rotating Chair of BRICS. Lula’s initiative was largely triggered by the economic, political and psychological warfare currently being waged by the US Trump administration against many BRICS members, including Brazil, South Africa, India, Russia and China.  Besides Presidents Xi and Lula, it was also attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Khaled bin Mohamed representing the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the representatives of India and Ethiopia. India was represented by Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, with the absence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi being widely interpreted as indicating his continued vacillation between the interests of the Global South and those of the imperialist camp headed by the United States.

In his speech, President Xi noted that transformation unseen in a century is accelerating across the world. Hegemonism, unilateralism, and protectionism are getting more and more rampant. BRICS countries, standing at the forefront of the Global South, should act on the BRICS Spirit of openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation, jointly defend multilateralism and the multilateral trading system, advance greater BRICS cooperation, and build a community with a shared future for humanity.

To this end, President Xi made three proposals:

  • Upholding multilateralism to defend international fairness and justice. Multilateralism is the shared aspiration of the people and the overarching trend of our time. It provides an important underpinning for world peace and development. The Global Governance Initiative that President Xi recently proposed is aimed at galvanising joint global action for a more just and equitable system. Active efforts should be made to promote greater democracy in international relations and increase the representation and voice of Global South countries.
  • Upholding openness and win-win cooperation to safeguard the international economic and trade order. BRICS countries should promote a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalisation, place development at the heart of the international agenda, and ensure that Global South countries participate in international cooperation as equals and share in the fruits of development.
  • Upholding solidarity and cooperation to foster synergy for common development. BRICS countries account for nearly half of the world’s population, around 30 percent of global economic output, and one-fifth of global trade. The more closely they work together, the more resilient, resourceful and effective they are in addressing external risks and challenges.

Other participating leaders said that unilateralist and bullying acts are disrupting the international order, international law and international rules are under threat, and trade is being used as a tool to interfere in other countries’ internal affairs, which severely jeopardises world peace and development. BRICS countries need to strengthen solidarity and collaboration, jointly respond to crises and challenges, safeguard multilateralism, uphold the international system of free and open trade, and protect the common interests of the Global South.

The Bloomberg financial news service further reported  Lula as stating that, “Tariff blackmail is being normalised as an instrument to seize markets and interfere in domestic affairs… Our countries have become victims of unjustified and illegal trade practices.”

Calling for unity, he added: “It is up to BRICS to show that cooperation overcomes any form of rivalry. We have the necessary legitimacy to lead the renewal of the multilateral trading system on modern, flexible foundations geared to our development needs.”

South African President Ramaphosa said developing nations are facing “great hardships and danger” and that South Africa has already experienced negative economic effects from the trade upheaval. He called on BRICS to “play a critical role in strengthening the multilateral system.”

The following articles were originally published on the website of the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Continue reading BRICS countries seek common stand on ‘tariff wars’

Li Qiang: The Global South should stand at the forefront of global governance reform

The 17th Summit of the BRICS cooperation mechanism was held in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, July 6-7.

On July 6, Chinese Premier Li Qiang delivered a speech at the plenary session focused on the theme of Peace and Security and Reform of Global Governance.

He noted that: “Today, transformations unseen in a century are accelerating in the world. Geopolitical conflicts and economic and trade frictions keep emerging, flames of war continue to rage in some regions, international rules and order face serious challenges, and the authority and efficacy of multilateral mechanisms are weakening.”

Faced with the growing necessity and urgency to reform the global governance system, China believes that in this process, one must firmly safeguard the shared interests of the international community and always stand on the right side of history. This is the only way to avoid taking a wrong turn or backpedalling, and to march forward in big strides toward peace, security, prosperity and sustainable development.

“There should be less arrogance and prejudice, and more sincerity and understanding. We need to look for the best answer that serves the interests of all through friendly consultation conducted on the basis of equality… Humanity lives in the same global village, and countries have increasingly become one community with a shared future. Whether it is tackling global challenges or promoting long-term development, no country can do it alone. Only by standing together in solidarity and working in close collaboration can we build a better home for us all… Development should not be a zero-sum game where one profits at the expense of the other, but a win-win story where all can benefit through mutual assistance. Countries’ development ought to be opportunities, not threats to each other.”

Observing that over the years, Global South countries have grown stronger and become champions of and contributors to the reform and improvement of the global governance system, Li said that, “standing at the forefront of the Global South, we BRICS countries should uphold independence, act with a sense of responsibility, take bigger steps to build consensus and synergy, and strive to be the pioneering force in advancing global governance reform.”

To this end, he made three key points:

  • We should uphold justice and safeguard world peace and tranquillity. When international rules are being undermined and bullying practices are on the rise, we need to stand up for what is right and speak up for justice.
  • We should focus on development and bolster the driving forces of economic growth. China’s journey of reform and opening up shows that in solving all problems, development is the foundation and key. This year, China will establish the China-BRICS New Quality Productive Forces Research Centre and the BRICS New Industry Golden Egret Excellence Scholarships, which will help BRICS countries train talents in areas such as industry and telecommunication and pursue innovation-driven development.
  • We should uphold inclusiveness and promote exchange and mutual learning among civilisations. With rich histories and cultures, BRICS countries should be advocates of harmonious coexistence of civilisations. We need to call for respect for cultural diversity in the world, and work to ensure that different civilisations inspire each other and prosper together.

The following is the full text of the speech. It was originally published by the Xinhua News Agency.

The summit adopted a detailed declaration. The full text may be read here.

RIO DE JANEIRO, July 6 (Xinhua) — Chinese Premier Li Qiang delivered a speech on Sunday at the plenary session of “Peace and Security and Reform of Global Governance” of the 17th BRICS Summit.

Continue reading Li Qiang: The Global South should stand at the forefront of global governance reform

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

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

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

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

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

The speech concludes with a plan of action:

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

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

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

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

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

Marxism moves East and South

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

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

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

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

Young people can build improved people-to-people relations between China and Britain

The recent Friends of Socialist China delegation to China contributed to a parallel session of the Dialogue on Exchanges and Mutual Learning Among Civilisations, organised by Schwarzman Scholars of Tsinghua University, on the theme of Youth power in dialogue among civilisations.

Callum Norris, a member of the Young Communist League of Britain and of Friends of Socialist China’s Britain committee, gave the following brief presentation focused on the challenges faced by young people in Britain, and how British youth can provide much-needed leadership in developing people-to-people relations and grassroots friendship with China.

I want to say thank you to our hosts for allowing me the privilege to speak at this event; it’s an honour to share the experiences of Britain’s youth alongside friends from around the world.

Britain’s youth are faced with numerous problems, many of which correlate closely with young people in other parts of the world.  It is common for young people to struggle to find long term, affordable and inadequate housing, dealing with endless rent increases and extortionate house prices. Houses and flats are often filled with mould and damp – in my own experience in tenant unions I have witnessed young people affected by serious, long term health conditions as a result of poor housing conditions.

Education is another big issue in Britain. Tuition fees continue to increase, discouraging many working class youth from attending university. For those able to attend, at the end of their studies they often find a hostile job market with few opportunities available. From personal experience, a close friend achieved a master’s degree in history, but now can only find work in McDonald’s. This is by no means an isolated case, but is increasingly common for people leaving higher education.

There is also the twin threats of war and global warming hanging over the heads of British youth, considering the context of three continuous years of war with Russia in Ukraine, as well as the horrific genocide in Gaza, which the British government has been directly involved in and supported. With regards to Ukraine, the British military has suggested that young people in Britain should prepare for war with Russia by 2030. This all alongside young people who have grown up amidst permanent war headed by NATO and western Imperialism across the Global South.

The issue of war also links into the threat of climate catastrophe; with every bomb dropped, we move a step closer to climate breakdown. The climate crisis has seen the formation of numerous environmental protest groups, their memberships largely made up of young people, which have come under continued state suppression.

This combination of issues has created a generally pessimistic attitude amongst the youth in Britain, who see diminishing prospects for a liveable and rewarding life. It is interesting then, to contrast this with the experiences of young people in China, where cures are often found for these issues. In terms of housing, the majority of people in China own their homes. Meanwhile, educational institutions continue to improve, attracting international recognition. Peace and not war has been the agenda for China since 1949, and China is leading the world in the battle against climate breakdown.

The question then must be how do we better spread this information to young people in Britain. On the positive side, many young people are no longer falling into the propaganda trap laid by Western media organisations. The use of social media, especially TikTok and most recently RedNote, has seen increased direct communication between young people in China and Britain, and has helped greatly to break down the pervasive anti-China narrative.

On the other hand, there are still many who have not been able to see past these lies and smears. It seems to me that the remedy to this is a continued push on digital media in order to foster continued direct people-to-people relationships between China and Britain, with a specific focus on those issues which young people in Britain are most affected by: the aforementioned housing crisis, educational crisis, permanent war and the climate crisis, and contrasting them with China’s continued success in these areas.

I would again like to thank our hosts for allowing me to speak at such an important event, which I hope will continue to foster people-to-people relations between China and the rest of the world, and look forward to the day when young people in China, Britain and the rest of the world can unite together to overcome the many challenges facing the world today and build a brighter future.

China is a force for peace and progress, that’s why the world needs China

Friends of Socialist China was among the organisers of a hybrid event in Portland, Oregon (US), held on 22 June 2025, discussing Kyle Ferrana’s important book Why the World Needs China.

In his speech (delivered via Zoom), Carlos Martinez endorsed the central thesis of the book, arguing that China represents a global vision centred around peace, progress and sustainable development; whereas the US and its allies represent a global vision centred around imperialism, hegemony, war, ecocide and chaos.

Discussing recent developments in West Asia, in particular the US-Israeli criminal attacks on Iran and the ongoing genocide in Gaza, Carlos highlighted China’s constructive role in the region, including its mediation between Iran and Saudi Arabia and its support for Palestinian unity. He linked the attacks on Iran with the West’s continuing efforts to destabilise China and broader imperialist resistance against a rising multipolar world.

Emphasising the need for global solidarity, Carlos called for building “a global united front composed of the socialist countries, the national liberation movements, the anti-imperialist forces of the Global South, and the progressive forces in the advanced capitalist countries”, for supporting the forces of liberation worldwide, and for supporting the socialist countries – “and particularly China, as the largest and most advanced socialist country, as the country which is at the core of the emerging multipolar system”.

The video of the speech is embedded below, followed by the text.

“Why the World Needs China” is the somewhat provocative title of Kyle’s book.

But in my view the essential correctness of this title is becoming clearer and clearer with every passing day, and specifically with every despicable act of aggression carried out by the United States and its Israeli proxy against the people of Palestine, of Iran, of Yemen and of Lebanon.

As you all know, last night the US military openly joined Israel’s criminal war against Iran, bombing three nuclear facilities. I say “openly joined the war”, because the fact is that the US and its allies been providing weapons, intelligence, logistical support, war propaganda and diplomatic cover from the very beginning – both for this war on Iran and for the genocidal assault on Gaza.

The whole world can increasingly see what the United States and its allies represent, and increasingly the whole world can see what China represents. And these are two vastly different visions of the future of the world, one put forward by the capitalist class in the United States, one put forward by the working class in China.

The US is proposing a Project for a New American Century. This neoconservative notion – originally associated with notorious hawks such as Paul Wolfowitz, Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney – has become a consensus position in mainstream US politics, adhered to by all administrations, Republican and Democrat alike. It’s a fundamentally hegemonist, imperialist proposal; a proposal for spreading death and destruction for the sake of projecting the US’s domination of the 20th century into the 21st century.

Continue reading China is a force for peace and progress, that’s why the world needs China

Xi Jinping sets out programme for heightened cooperation with Central Asia

Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, from June 16-18, at the invitation of his Kazakh counterpart Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, to attend the Second China-Central Asia Summit. They were also joined by the Presidents of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. The first China-Central Asian Summit was hosted by President Xi in Xi’an in May 2023.

Xi Jinping made a keynote speech at the summit on June 17.

Recalling the Xi’an gathering, he said:

  • Two years on, China and Central Asian countries have further deepened and substantiated Belt and Road cooperation. Our trade has grown by 35 percent, and we have made important progress in industrial investment, green mining, technological innovation, and other fields of cooperation.
  • Two years on, the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project has been officially launched. We are making steady progress in planning for the third railway link between China and Kazakhstan, in phase-II restoration of the China-Tajikistan highway, and in China-Turkmenistan energy cooperation.

The Chinese President went on to note that: “Our cooperation is rooted in more than 2,000 years of friendly exchanges, cemented by solidarity and mutual trust cultivated through more than three decades of diplomatic ties, and taken forward via openness and win-win cooperation of the new era.”

Building on our collective efforts over the years, we have forged a China-Central Asia Spirit of “mutual respect, mutual trust, mutual benefit, and mutual assistance for the joint pursuit of modernization through high-quality development”:

  • We practice mutual respect and treat each other as equals. All countries, big or small, are equal. We handle issues through consultation and make decisions by consensus.
  • We seek to deepen mutual trust and enhance mutual support. We firmly support each other in safeguarding independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national dignity.
  • We pursue mutual benefit and win-win cooperation and strive for common development. We view each other as priority partners and share development opportunities together.
  • We help each other in time of need and stand together through thick and thin. We support each other in choosing development paths suitable to our respective national conditions and in taking domestic matters into our own hands.

“Today, unprecedented changes are unfolding at a faster pace across the globe, thrusting the world into a new state of heightened turbulence and volatility. A strong belief in fairness and justice and an unyielding commitment to mutual benefit and win-win cooperation are the only way to maintain world peace and achieve common development. There is no winner in tariff wars or trade wars. Unilateralism, protectionism and hegemonism will surely backfire while hurting others.” Going forward:

  • We should stay committed to our fundamental goal of unity and always trust and support each other. Today, we will sign together a treaty on eternal good-neighborliness, friendship and cooperation to enshrine the principle of everlasting friendship in the form of law. This is a new landmark in the history of the relations between our six countries and a pioneering initiative in China’s diplomatic engagement with its neighbors. It is a milestone for today and a foundation for tomorrow.
  • We should optimize our cooperation framework to make it more results-oriented, more efficient, and more deeply integrated. We have agreed to designate 2025 and 2026 as the Years of High-Quality Development of China-Central Asia Cooperation. We should focus our cooperation on smooth trade, industrial investment, connectivity, green mining, agricultural modernization and personnel exchanges, and roll out more projects on the ground. In order to promote relevant cooperation, China has decided to establish three cooperation centers, i.e. on poverty reduction, on education exchange, and on desertification prevention and control, as well as a cooperation platform on smooth trade under the China-Central Asia cooperation framework.
  • We should develop a security framework for peace, tranquility and solidarity. We should step up regional security governance, deepen law enforcement and security cooperation, jointly prevent and thwart extreme ideologies, and resolutely fight terrorism, separatism and extremism, so as to maintain peace and stability in our region. Afghanistan is our close neighbor. We should strengthen coordination to help the country boost its development capacity and achieve peace, stability, reconstruction and development at an early date.
  • We should cement the bonds of shared vision, mutual understanding and mutual affection between our peoples. We will make good use of sister-city relations and people-to-people exchanges to nurture heart-to-heart connections at central and subnational levels, [and] between official and non-governmental actors.
  • We should uphold a fair and equitable international order and an equal and orderly world structure. China supports Central Asian countries in playing a bigger role in international affairs. We stand ready to work with all parties to defend international fairness and justice, oppose hegemonism and power politics, and promote an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, and the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. In the strenuous times of war, Chinese and Central Asian peoples supported each other through adversity, and jointly made important contributions to the cause of justice of humanity. We should promote the correct view of history, defend the fruits of the victory of World War II, uphold the UN-centered international system, and provide more stability and certainty for world peace and development.

Concluding, Xi said: “China is building a great modern socialist country in all respects and advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through Chinese modernization. No matter how the international situation changes, China will remain unwavering in opening up to the outside world and embrace higher-quality cooperation with Central Asian countries to deepen the integration of interests and achieve common development.”

We reprint below the full text of President Xi’s speech. It was originally published by the Xinhua News Agency.

Championing the China-Central Asia Spirit For High-Quality Cooperation in the Region

Keynote Speech by H.E. Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China, at the Second China-Central Asia Summit, Astana, June 17, 2025.

Your Excellency President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev,

Distinguished Colleagues,

Friends,

I am delighted to join you at the second China-Central Asia Summit in the beautiful city of Astana. I’d like to thank President Tokayev and the government of Kazakhstan for the gracious hospitality and thoughtful arrangement.

During our meeting in Xi’an two years ago, we jointly outlined the Xi’an Vision for China-Central Asia cooperation. The six pomegranate trees we planted together are in full bloom today, auguring the vitality of the cooperation among the six nations.

Two years on, China and Central Asian countries have further deepened and substantiated Belt and Road cooperation. Our trade has grown by 35 percent, and we have made important progress in industrial investment, green mining, technological innovation, and other fields of cooperation. The package of projects with Chinese financial support are well underway. While more and more Chinese new energy vehicles and photovoltaic products are entering Central Asian markets, Central Asian agricultural products, including honey, fruits, wheat and poultry, are diversifying the dinner tables of Chinese families.

Two years on, the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project has been officially launched. We are making steady progress in planning for the third railway link between China and Kazakhstan, in phase-II restoration of the China-Tajikistan highway, and in China-Turkmenistan energy cooperation. Freight train services are connecting more and more Chinese cities to Central Asia. The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route has been upgraded and expanded. Green industries, digital economy, artificial intelligence, aviation and space are becoming new drivers of our cooperation. Cross-border e-commerce, online education, and other new business models are benefiting more and more people in China and Central Asia.

Two years on, China and Central Asian countries have made progress in establishing cultural centers in each other as well as in opening branches of Chinese universities and Luban Workshops. China has made mutual visa-free arrangements with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, facilitating more than 1.2 million travels between China and Kazakhstan alone in 2024. Tourism and culture years and art festivals of Central Asian countries are very popular in China. Chinese films and TV dramas, such as Min-Ning Town and To the Wonder, have become great hits in Central Asia. The China-Central Asia train services for cultural tourism have been successfully inaugurated. And today, we will witness the number of sister cities between China and Central Asia reach the milestone of 100 pairs.

Two years on, we have launched 13 ministerial cooperation platforms under the China-Central Asia mechanism. The Secretariat is fully functioning, and the core framework of the mechanism is largely in place.

I am pleased to see that our consensus at the first Summit has been implemented across the board — from the millennium-old Xi’an to Astana “the pearl of the steppe,” from the coast of the Yellow Sea to the shores of the Caspian Sea, from the Tianshan Mountain Range to the Pamir Plateau. The path of our cooperation is steadily widening, and our friendship is blooming ever more brightly.

Distinguished Colleagues,

Friends,

Our cooperation is rooted in more than 2,000 years of friendly exchanges, cemented by solidarity and mutual trust cultivated through more than three decades of diplomatic ties, and taken forward via openness and win-win cooperation of the new era. Building on our collective efforts over the years, we have forged a China-Central Asia Spirit of “mutual respect, mutual trust, mutual benefit, and mutual assistance for the joint pursuit of modernization through high-quality development.”

— We practice mutual respect and treat each other as equals. All countries, big or small, are equal. We handle issues through consultation and make decisions by consensus.

— We seek to deepen mutual trust and enhance mutual support. We firmly support each other in safeguarding independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national dignity. We do not do anything harmful to the core interests of any party.

— We pursue mutual benefit and win-win cooperation and strive for common development. We view each other as priority partners, and share development opportunities together. We accommodate each other’s interests, and work to build a win-win and symbiotic relationship.

— We help each other in time of need and stand together through thick and thin. We support each other in choosing development paths suitable to our respective national conditions and in taking domestic matters into our own hands. We work together to address various risks and challenges, and uphold regional security and stability.

This China-Central Asia Spirit is an important guideline for our endeavor to carry forward friendship and cooperation from generation to generation. We should always uphold it and let it shine forever.

Distinguished Colleagues,

Friends,

Today, unprecedented changes are unfolding at a faster pace across the globe, thrusting the world into a new state of heightened turbulence and volatility. A strong belief in fairness and justice and an unyielding commitment to mutual benefit and win-win cooperation are the only way to maintain world peace and achieve common development. There is no winner in tariff wars or trade wars. Unilateralism, protectionism and hegemonism will surely backfire while hurting others.

I always maintain that history should move forward, not backward; and the world should be united, not divided. Humanity must not regress to the law of the jungle. Instead, we should build a community with a shared future for mankind.

Three years ago, we announced together that we would build a China-Central Asia community with a shared future, setting out the goal and direction of our six nations in building consensus, overcoming challenges and pursuing development. We should act on the China-Central Asia Spirit, enhance cooperation with renewed vigor and more practical measures, promote high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative, and forge ahead toward our goal of a community with a shared future for the region.

First, we should stay committed to our fundamental goal of unity, and always trust and support each other. China consistently takes Central Asia as a priority in its neighborhood diplomacy. With a firm belief in an amicable, secure and prosperous neighborhood as well as a strong dedication to amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness, China interacts with Central Asian countries on the basis of equality and sincerity. We always wish our neighbors well.

Today, we will sign together a treaty on eternal good-neighborliness, friendship and cooperation to enshrine the principle of everlasting friendship in the form of law. This is a new landmark in the history of the relations between our six countries and a pioneering initiative in China’s diplomatic engagement with its neighbors. It is a milestone for today and a foundation for tomorrow.

Second, we should optimize our cooperation framework to make it more results-oriented, more efficient, and more deeply integrated. We have agreed to designate 2025 and 2026 as the Years of High-Quality Development of China-Central Asia Cooperation. We should focus our cooperation on smooth trade, industrial investment, connectivity, green mining, agricultural modernization and personnel exchanges, and roll out more projects on the ground. We should do our best to get early harvests as soon as possible.

China is ready to share with Central Asian countries development experience and latest technological advances, promote connectivity in digital infrastructure, enhance cooperation on artificial intelligence, and foster new quality productive forces.

In order to promote relevant cooperation, China has decided to establish three cooperation centers, i.e. on poverty reduction, on education exchange, and on desertification prevention and control, as well as a cooperation platform on smooth trade under the China-Central Asia cooperation framework. China will provide a grant of RMB 1.5 billion yuan to Central Asian countries this year to be used in livelihood and development projects high on their agenda. China will also provide 3,000 training opportunities to Central Asian countries in the next two years.

Third, we should develop a security framework for peace, tranquility and solidarity. We should step up regional security governance, deepen law enforcement and security cooperation, jointly prevent and thwart extreme ideologies, and resolutely fight terrorism, separatism and extremism, so as to maintain peace and stability in our region.

China supports Central Asian countries in modernizing their national defense, law enforcement and security capacities. We will do our best to help Central Asian countries combat terrorism and transnational organized crime and safeguard cybersecurity and biosecurity. We will launch more Safe City projects, and conduct more joint exercises and joint training cooperation.

Afghanistan is our close neighbor. We should strengthen coordination to help the country boost its development capacity and achieve peace, stability, reconstruction and development at an early date.

Fourth, we should cement the bonds of shared vision, mutual understanding and mutual affection between our peoples. China will enhance cooperation between legislatures, political parties, women, youth, media and think tanks with Central Asian countries, conduct in-depth exchange of governance experience, and share experience in green development, poverty reduction and anti-corruption.

China is ready to set up more cultural centers, university branches and Luban Workshops in Central Asia, and launch new majors in Central Asian languages in Chinese universities. We will continue to carry out effectively the “China-Central Asia technology and skills improvement scheme” to train more high-caliber talent for Central Asian countries.

China supports deepening subnational cooperation with Central Asia. We will make good use of sister-city relations and people-to-people exchanges to nurture heart-to-heart connections at central and subnational levels, between official and non-governmental actors, and from adjacent to broader areas.

I hope that the travel-facilitation measures we adopt today will be implemented as soon as possible to help our people visit each other more conveniently, efficiently and frequently like relatives, and in the course help them become ever closer to each other.

Fifth, we should uphold a fair and equitable international order and an equal and orderly world structure. China supports Central Asian countries in playing a bigger role in international affairs. We stand ready to work with all parties to defend international fairness and justice, oppose hegemonism and power politics, and promote an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, and the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. In the strenuous times of war, Chinese and Central Asian peoples supported each other through adversity, and jointly made important contributions to the cause of justice of humanity. We should promote the correct view of history, defend the fruits of the victory of World War II, uphold the UN-centered international system, and provide more stability and certainty for world peace and development.

Distinguished Colleagues,

Friends,

China is building a great modern socialist country in all respects and advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through Chinese modernization. No matter how the international situation changes, China will remain unwavering in opening up to the outside world, and embrace higher-quality cooperation with Central Asian countries to deepen the integration of interests and achieve common development.

Distinguished Colleagues,

Friends,

Ancient Chinese philosophy advocates “mutual care and mutual benefit.” Similarly, a Central Asian proverb compares harmony and unity to happiness and wealth. China is ready to work with all parties to carry forward the China-Central Asia Spirit, pursue the goal of a community with a shared future, and strive for new progress in China-Central Asia cooperation.

Thank you. 

China provides a powerful counterexample to the moral rot and immiseration of the capitalist imperial core

The recent Friends of Socialist China delegation to China contributed to a parallel session of the Dialogue on Exchanges and Mutual Learning Among Civilisations, organised by Schwarzman Scholars of Tsinghua University, on the theme of Youth power in dialogue among civilisations.

Creighton Ward, a member of Qiao Collective and of Friends of Socialist China’s US committee, gave the following brief presentation focused on the deteriorating economic, social and political conditions faced by young people in the US, and highlighting all that oppressed and working class communities in the West can learn from Socialist China.

Thank you to the hosts and organizers of this event, I am honored to join you as a representative of Friends of Socialist China and the Qiao Collective. Thank you for your interest in a youth perspective and for convening this dialogue.

The majority of youth in the US, including myself, face a variety of challenges even in the rich imperial core: crumbling infrastructure, the gutting of the administrative state, austerity, the evaporation of pandemic welfare programs and regressive health policies that openly embrace eugenics, skyrocketing rent and food prices, the deregulation of agencies tasked with monitoring food safety and infectious disease.

We are dealing with a social atmosphere of climate nihilism, social atomization to the highest degree, depoliticization, and counterinsurgency.

The imperialist reorganization underway in the second Trump administration has been accompanied by the rapid degradation in quality of life for workers, brazenly genocidal moves domestically and abroad, and a pivot away from the US’ proxy wars in Palestine and Ukraine in preparation for war with China. We should not underestimate the degree of ideological defeat instilled in the western left, or its problems of racial chauvinism and anticommunism.

Yet despite the bleak conditions that youth are confronted with, it is obvious that there have been significant shifts in the global balance of power against US hegemony. We are fortunate to live in a time when the second-largest political party in the world is an experienced and highly capable communist party, and I find myself thinking frequently about how much worse off we would all be if China had not taken the socialist path.

China provides a powerful counterexample to the moral rot and immiseration of the capitalist imperial core. We have much to learn from its antipoverty measures, commitment to building ecological civilization, and autonomous development. Its successes reflect the historical agency of labor in the world’s largest socialist state and the necessity of socialism to restore ecologically harmonious social and economic relations. The Chinese experience demystifies the fact that mass communist politics are the only thing capable of responding to the contradictions of our time.

In the introduction to The Long Transition Towards Socialism and the End of Capitalism, Danish communist Torkil Lauesen said,

“To see the struggle for socialism as a long process of global transformation since the mid-nineteenth century is also somehow comforting on a psychological level for an old man. The struggle and suffering of millions of communists and socialists for the past two hundred years have not been in vain…to be part of this process–a tiny cogwheel in the machinery of transformation–and give it a little push in the right direction seems to be ‘the meaning of life.’”

I hope that my generation and those to come find the necessary courage to accept our place in an intergenerational struggle for peace and ecological society.

China will continue to be a stabilising force for peace and progress

From May 13-14, the Chinese People’s Association for Peace and Disarmament (CPAPD), which works under the direction of the International Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee (IDCPC) hosted the Fourth Wanshou Dialogue on Global Security, themed as “Universal Security in a Turbulent World: The Responsibility of Major Countries”. Liu Jianchao, Minister of the IDCPC, attended the event and delivered a keynote speech.

More than 50 international security experts from over 30 countries, including Pino Arlacchi, former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, Andrey Kortunov, former director general of the Russian International Affairs Council, Benny Octaviar, former head of the Indonesian Military Research Centre, Douglas Bandow, a special assistant to former US president Ronald Reagan and a senior research fellow at the Cato Institute, and Zizi Kodwa, a member of the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress (ANC) and former Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture of South Africa, attended the event.

The participants held in-depth discussions around four topics, namely Pressing Issues of Global Security, The Responsibility of Major Countries Amidst Once in a Century Transformations, Major Country Relations and Security in the Asia Pacific and Pathways to Universal Security.

Friends of Socialist China was invited to participate in the dialogue and we were ably represented by Dr. Jenny Clegg, a Member of our Advisory Group, who is the author of ‘China’s Global Strategy: Towards a Multipolar World’, a Vice President of the Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding (SACU) and a leading member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and the Stop the War Coalition.

We reproduce below Jenny’s report of the event as well as the text of her speech, which was delivered to the panel session on Major Country Relations and Security in the Asia Pacific.

We also reprint the report of the opening session which was originally carried on the IDCPC website.

The CPAPD website carried a brief report on the event as well as a meeting with Peng Qinghua, Vice-Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC).

Labour Outlook also carried an article, based in part on Jenny’s speech.

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Remarks marking the 26th anniversary of the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia

Several hundred people packed the Bishop Nikolaj Community Centre in West London on the evening of Saturday May 24 for a remembrance and discussion event marking 26 years since NATO’s war of aggression against Serbia and the former Yugoslavia, organised by the Round Table of Serbian organisations and community groups in the United Kingdom. Among those present were Serbian Ambassador Goran Aleksić, diplomats from the Belarus Embassy and journalists from the Xinhua News Agency and China Daily.

The meeting was preceded by a memorial service in the adjacent Serbian Orthodox Church of Saint Sava, where prayers offered included those for the three Chinese journalists killed when US-led NATO bombed the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade.

A panel discussion, chaired by retired academic Michael Stenton, featured Misha Gavrilović and Marko Gasić, co-chairs of the British-Serbian Alliance for Peace; Dr. Kate Hudson, Vice-President of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and author of ‘Breaking the South Slav Dream’; and Laurie Mayer, former BBC and Sky News presenter and broadcast journalist. And, following a break for refreshments and networking, there were contributions from veteran peace activist Carol Turner, who co-founded and led the Committee for Peace in the Balkans with the late Alice Mahon MP in 1994; and Keith Bennett, co-editor of Friends of Socialist China.

The evening was closed with a brief recital from Zorka Maksimovic.

Speakers pointed out that, contrary to the propaganda advanced in Britain, there had been no threat of a Greater Serbia but rather of a Greater NATO. The real meaning of NATO expansion was exposed, namely military aggression beyond its borders. The war against Yugoslavia was neither humanitarian nor legal. Rather, it was what the Nuremburg trials established as the supreme international crime – a war of aggression. The war was characterised by numerous atrocities – the bombing of passenger trains, refugee convoys, factories, hospitals, the TV station and the Chinese Embassy. Depleted Uranium was used, condemning future generations and the environment to its lethal effects.

The wounds of the conflict have not healed. Serbian sovereignty is still being transgressed, for example on the question of Kosovo. Moreover, the war had opened Pandora’s Box – that the Western powers could attack whomever they wanted. This was soon seen in Iraq and is still ongoing – in NATO’s proxy war in Ukraine and Israel’s war against the Palestinian people. In Laurie Mayer’s words, the war against Yugoslavia represented raw imperialism run amuck.

The following is Keith’s message delivered at the meeting on behalf of Friends of Socialist China.

Your Excellency

Ladies and Gentlemen

Dear Friends

On behalf of Friends of Socialist China, I’d like to express our thanks to the organisers of this eventfor inviting us to join them in marking the solemn occasion of the 26th Anniversary of the NATO bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

With war raging in Europe and the Middle East, it is appropriate that we remember and mark this anniversary of the first time that full-scale war returned to our continent since the defeat of fascism in 1945.

This is also the 80th anniversary year of that victory. The peoples of both Serbia and China played heroic and indispensable parts in the defeat of fascism. They pinned down hundreds of thousands, indeed millions, of axis troops and liberated their countries, principally on the basis of self-reliance.

The enduring friendship between China and Serbia has its root in this common struggle on the eastern and western fronts. The 1969 Yugoslav film, The Bridge, vividly depicted those days. It was one of the first foreign films to be shown in China at the start of reform and opening up. Both the film, and through it the song Bella Ciao, became favourites of a generation of Chinese people, including President Xi Jinping.

Dear Friends

As you know, on May 7, 1999, in one of the gross violations of international law that characterised this war of aggression, US-led NATO brazenly bombed the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade. Three journalists, including a newly married couple, from the Xinhua News Agency and the Guangming Daily, were killed and many more people were injured. The husband of the third journalist was blinded.

The indestructible friendship between China and Serbia, which we might call China’s best friend in Europe, is the most fitting tribute to their memory, demonstrating as it does that their sacrifice was not in vain.

As President Xi said during his June 2016 state visit to Serbia, having paid tribute to the martyrs, “The Serbian people, with an indomitable spirit, have revived time and again in history… which the Chinese people admire very much.”

In today’s complicated and tense international situation, the friendship between China and Serbia is an important factor for peace and stability. As friends of China, it is completely natural and appropriate that we think of Serbia, too, as a brotherly and friendly country. And the Serbian diaspora and community here as our brothers and sisters.

This evening, we make new friends and renew old friendships with people with whom we campaigned and marched shoulder to shoulder back in 1999.

Let’s continue to work together for peace and justice.

Thank you once again.

Tongogara Memorial Talk: African liberation and China

On Saturday May 17, 2025, the Free Mumia Abu Jamal Campaign UK, which campaigns in solidarity with the African-American freedom fighter and revolutionary who has been imprisoned since 1981, the majority of that time on ‘death row’, held a meeting and social event in memory of Comrade Tongogara (born Danny Morrell), who passed away on May 11, 2023, after a lifetime of work in the anti-racist, anti-imperialist and Marxist-Leninist movements. The UK campaign in support of Mumia was launched on Tongogara’s initiative.

The meeting was held in Vida’s ‘My Social’, a community space in Brixton, south London, especially but not exclusively for seniors. It is named after Vida Walsh, a pioneering African-Caribbean community and social activist in the Brixton area in particular. In the 1970s, Vida set up and ran an informal ‘tea and chat club’ for pensioners in Brixton. Despite the support of Age Concern Lambeth and the local residents’ association, resources were limited. Because of this, members congregated in each other’s homes, enabling pensioners to meet on a regular basis to chat and to maintain contacts within the community. This was particularly important for those older residents who, for whatever reason, were unable to rely on familial support structures for advice or assistance. To have a dedicated community space for this work was Vida’s dream and mission.

The campaign invited Friends of Socialist China co-editor Keith Bennett, who was a friend and comrade of Tongogara since the 1970s, to give a talk on the theme of African liberation and China, combining as it does two key aspects of Tongogara’s life and work.

Keith’s talk sought to weave together Tongogara’s own world outlook and political path with China’s historical support to the African revolution in the 1960s and 1970s in particular, citing examples especially from Zimbabwe, Eritrea, Congo, Guinea Bissau, Niger and South Africa.

The talk was followed by a lively ‘Q&A’ and discussion, focused especially on events around Angola’s independence in November 1975 and on present-day relations between China and Africa.

The meeting also heard a heartfelt tribute to Tongogara from Cecil Gutzmore, veteran Pan-African community activist and historian, and a stalwart of the campaign, which was read on his behalf by Wilf Dixon, as well as a brief report from that day’s Palestine solidarity demonstration in central London, which was attended by an estimated 600,000 people.

The formal proceedings were followed by a social with music and delicious home-prepared food.

The following is the main body of Keith’s speech.

It is an honour for me to be invited by the Free Mumia Abu Jamal Campaign UK to give this first Tongogara Memorial Talk, just over two years since he joined the ancestors. I hope it will be the first of many and that this will in some small way help to keep his memory alive in the way he would surely have wanted – enabling others to be inspired by his life and work, to learn from his example and to carry on the cause to which he devoted the great majority of his years.

Let me take this opportunity, on behalf of Friends of Socialist China, to congratulate the Free Mumia Campaign for all the steadfast and unflinching work you have done over years, work in which Tongogara was at the heart, to ensure that this unyielding revolutionary and internationalist is not forgotten in the hell hole of the US prison system.

As Mumia himself has said: “Know this: throughout it all. I have never felt alone. To the eye, I was alone in solitary confinement, on death row, but the eye cannot really see all that is, for behind brick and steel, I felt our love, sometimes like a wave, sometimes like a whisper, but always there, ever present.”

Why should I be giving this talk today? Perhaps it’s for the organisers rather than me to say. But I’m the co-editor of Friends of Socialist China, a platform established four years ago to support the People’s Republic of China and promote understanding of Chinese socialism and the Chinese revolution.

The Chinese revolution and its impact on the world has fascinated me since my early teens. And that’s essentially how I came to know Tongogara. Anyone who knew him, would appreciate that for Tongogara, the Chinese revolution and the teachings of Mao Zedong were central to his outlook on life – a veritable political compass, alongside his unshakeable commitment to the liberation of African people worldwide. At home and abroad, to borrow Marcus Garvey’s expression.

I can’t remember exactly when I first met him, but we certainly knew each other by the summer of 1976, just before my 18th birthday. Danny Morrell, as he was then known, was at that time a member of a small communist organisation, which was going to start producing a factory newspaper for the engineering factory in north London where he and a couple of other comrades had taken jobs.

Obviously, it would have marked the end of their employment, and hence of the political project in which they were engaged, had they openly distributed the paper themselves. That was my job and the night before I stayed at Danny’s bedsit to be there for the early morning shift.

That night we talked – obviously – and that’s when I started to really get to know him. I was touched by the loving photos of family back in Jamaica, which held pride of place alongside the posters produced by the Youth Forces for National Liberation (YFNL), a vibrant Marxist-Leninist organisation in Jamaica at that time.  One of them commemorated the Morant Bay Rebellion of 1865.

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Lula: Latin America, the Caribbean and China show it is possible to fight climate change without sacrificing growth and justice

The Fourth Ministerial Meeting of the China-CELAC [Community of Latin American and Caribbean States] Forum, which was held in Beijing on May 13, 2025, saw Chinese President Xi Jinping joined by  Colombian President and current CELAC president Gustavo Petro, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Chilean President Gabriel Boric, and President of the New Development Bank and former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff in addressing the opening ceremony.

In his speech, President Lula da Silva said: “Over the past decade, ties between Latin America and the Caribbean and China have grown stronger. China is now CELAC’s second-largest trading partner and one of the region’s most important sources of foreign direct investment. Funds from Chinese financial institutions surpass the loans offered by the World Bank or the Inter-American Development Bank. Partnership with China has become a dynamic force in the regional economy.”

He added: “Chinese demand was one of the driving forces behind the growth we experienced at the beginning of the century. We made significant advances in reducing poverty and inequality. It was during this time that we finally looked around us and united to create UNASUR [Union of South American Nations] and CELAC.

 “During the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese vaccines and medical supplies helped us protect our populations. Only through greater coordination among ourselves can we fully harness the potential of Sino–Latin American and Caribbean cooperation.

“This is especially evident in infrastructure. Chinese support is decisive for moving forward with highways, railways, ports, and transmission lines. But the economic viability of these projects depends on our ability to coordinate as a region and give these initiatives regional scale.”

He noted that, “For centuries, resources extracted from Latin America and the Caribbean enriched other parts of the world. We now have a chance to do things differently”, and particularly emphasised: “Latin America, the Caribbean, and China can show the world that it is possible to fight climate change without sacrificing economic growth and social justice. COP30, to be held in Belém, in the state of Pará, at the heart of the Amazon, aspires to be a turning point in the implementation of climate commitments and in building trust in collective solutions.”

In concluding, he said that he wanted to, “issue a call to all comrades of Latin America: There is no way out for any country on its own. We have 500 years of history that prove this. Either we unite among ourselves and seek partners willing to build a shared world with us, or Latin America will remain a region synonymous with poverty in today’s world.”

In his address, Colombian President Gustavo Petro called for a rethinking of humanity’s path through a new international cooperation paradigm that transcends the nation-state model and embraces a “dialogue of civilisations” as a political, historical and anthropological foundation for the global future.

He noted that: “A dialogue among civilisations cannot be imposed. It is a guiding principle for the relationship between CELAC and China. It is a possibility that China wants, and we want as well.” Challenging the ‘Clash of Civilisations’ theory propounded by the late US political scientist Samuel Huntington, the Colombian president instead advocated for an integrative vision as promoted by China – one in which cultural differences are not sources of conflict, but of collective human development as a political subject.

“How could there be fruitful dialogue if we don’t talk about clean energy, for example? If we don’t talk about decarbonisation? If we don’t speak as equals about how to achieve, through support for decarbonisation in North America, the possibility of prosperity in the South, and therefore, the possibility of mutual cooperation?

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Xi Jinping: Writing a new chapter in building a China-LAC Community with a Shared Future

The Fourth Ministerial Meeting of the China-CELAC [Community of Latin American and Caribbean States] Forum was held in Beijing on May 13, 2025.

Of the 33 member states of CELAC, 28 attended, along with six regional organisations. Besides the 26 countries in the region with diplomatic relations with China, two of those still maintaining so-called ‘diplomatic relations’ with the Taiwan authorities, namely Saint Lucia and Haiti, also attended.

Reporting on the message of greetings sent by President Xi Jinping to the ninth summit meeting of CELAC Heads of State and Government, held in the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa on April 9, we drew attention to the significance of his clear statement that all member states would be welcome to attend the Beijing meeting.

Xi Jinping attended the opening ceremony of the Beijing meeting and delivered a keynote address.

He noted that: “Although China and the LAC [Latin America and Caribbean] region are geographically distant, the bonds of our friendship stretch back through centuries… From the 1960s onward, as New China established diplomatic ties with some LAC countries, exchanges and cooperation between the two sides became closer and closer. Since the turn of the century and in particular in recent years, China and LAC countries have ushered in a historic era of building a shared future.”

He went on to say that: “We stand shoulder to shoulder and support each other… In the 1960s, mass rallies and demonstrations took place across China in support of the Panamanian people’s rightful claim to sovereignty over the Panama Canal. In the 1970s, during the Latin American campaign for 200-nautical-mile maritime rights, China voiced its resolute and unequivocal support for the legitimate demands of developing countries. For 32 consecutive times since 1992, China has consistently voted for the United Nations General Assembly resolutions calling for an end to the US embargo against Cuba.

“We unite in tough times to conquer challenges through mutual support. China and LAC countries have collaborated on disaster prevention, mitigation and relief and on joint response to hurricanes, earthquakes and other natural disasters. Since 1993, China has dispatched 38 medical teams to the Caribbean. When the pandemic of the century struck, China was among the first to offer assistance to LAC countries, providing over 300 million doses of vaccines and nearly 40 million units of medical supplies and equipment, and sending multiple teams of medical experts. All this helped protect the lives of hundreds of millions across the region.

“We uphold solidarity and coordination and rise to global challenges with resolve. Together, China and LAC countries champion true multilateralism, uphold international fairness and justice, advance global governance reform, and promote multipolarisation of the world and greater democracy in international relations. We have worked together to address global challenges like climate change, and advance progress in global biodiversity governance. China and Brazil jointly issued a six-point common understanding on the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis, which has been endorsed by more than 110 countries, contributing our wisdom and strength to resolving international hotspot issues.”

Regarding the current situation, Xi said: “The century-defining transformation is accelerating across the globe, with multiple risks compounding one another. Such developments make unity and cooperation among nations indispensable for safeguarding global peace and stability and for promoting global development and prosperity. There are no winners in tariff wars or trade wars. Bullying or hegemonism only leads to self-isolation. China and LAC countries are important members of the Global South. Independence and autonomy are our glorious tradition. Development and revitalisation are our inherent right. And fairness and justice are our common pursuit. In the face of seething undercurrents of geopolitical and bloc confrontation and the surging tide of unilateralism and protectionism, China stands ready to join hands with our LAC partners to launch five programs that advance our shared development and revitalisation and contribute to a China-LAC community with a shared future.”

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