The text below is an edited version of a talk given by Alex C during a launch event for the book “China Changes Everything” held at the SHAPE (Self Help for African People Everywhere) Center in Houston and online on March 28, 2026.
The speech observes that, as the US escalates its wars of aggression against the Global South – invading Venezuela, bombing Iran and tightening its stranglehold on Cuba – the People’s Republic of China has stood firmly alongside the peoples under attack. Alex C traces China’s concrete solidarity with three revolutionary nations on the frontlines of the struggle against imperialism. In Venezuela, China defended Maduro’s government against US-backed coup attempts, and provided critical economic assistance and diplomatic support.
In Iran, China has been a lifeline, purchasing Iranian oil to offset the impact of sanctions, supplying military components, and building a comprehensive strategic partnership that has fundamentally undermined Washington’s efforts to economically strangle the Islamic Republic.
In Cuba, China has contributed $80 million toward the island’s electrical grid, forgiven substantial debt, and partnered with Havana on an ambitious transition to renewable energy.
Drawing on the lessons of Lenin and Mao, the speech reminds us that “nations which embrace revolutionary socialism can and will endure the onslaught of imperialism” – and calls on those of us in the imperial core to stand with the anti-imperialist camp.
The text of the speech first appeared on Workers World. The text is followed by a video of the full launch event.
Venezuela — like China, Iran, Cuba and so many other countries under siege by the United States — is one of many links in the chain of international proletarian revolution. To paraphrase China’s Chairman Mao Zedong, the Venezuelan people stood up in 1999, proclaiming that from that day forth, they would be the masters of Venezuela’s destiny, not international capital.
Continue reading China’s solidarity with Venezuela, Iran and Cuba