The following is a report back from the recent Friends of Socialist China delegation, written by Callum Norris and Twm Draper of the Young Communist League of Britain.
Callum and Twm note that delegates explored revolutionary history in Yan’an, where Mao and other leaders developed the core ideas of Mao Zedong Thought, and in Shanghai, at the site of the CPC’s first congress. These visits highlighted China’s transformation from one of the world’s poorest countries in 1949 into a modern socialist state that has eliminated extreme poverty.
At the Fourth Dialogue on Exchanges and Mutual Learning Among Civilisations in Dunhuang, speakers from over 60 countries celebrated China’s role fostering cooperation and infrastructure development in the Global South. Concrete examples from Botswana, Laos, Nepal, and Egypt countered Western claims of “debt traps.”
The authors note China’s strong cultural preservation, accessible public spaces, and vibrant use of history, contrasting this with commodified cultural access in the West. They also commend China’s commitment to green development, evidenced by the Dunhuang Salt Tower solar plant and the extensive system of parks and green belts.
Discussions at Fudan University reflected growing confidence in the concept of Chinese socialism as a model with global relevance. Delegates also observed how technology is applied for social benefit, from AI-driven renewable energy management to robotics in industry.
Callum and Twm conclude that Chinese socialism offers valuable lessons in poverty eradication, ecological development, and international solidarity; and that British leftists should “take inspiration from Chinese socialism … but build socialism based on the conditions in Britain”.
Introduction
We were fortunate to be part of Friends of Socialist China’s delegation, including delegates from Britain and the US, involved in a range of organisations including the Young Communist League/Communist Party of Britain, Progressive International, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Workers World Party, Black Liberation Alliance and Qiao Collective. We were hosted by the China NGO Network for International Exchanges (CNIE).
We visited a number of cities in Shaanxi and Gansu provinces, as well as Shanghai.
The themes of the trip were building people to people relations between China and the rest of the world, and China’s construction of n ecological civilisation.
History
In 1949, when the Communist Party of China (CPC) declared the establishment of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), it was one of the poorest countries in the world. Average life expectancy was below 35. Illiteracy was rife and disease was common. Imperialist aggression contributed to all this, as the world’s colonial powers sought to carve up China for their own interests, culminating in the Japanese invasion , which claimed the lives of tens of millions of people.
The delegates were able to witness this history first hand and see the success of 76 years of Chinese Socialism, with visits to important revolutionary and historical sites across the country. This began in Yan’an where, more than 90 years ago, the communist forces concluded the Long March, when tens of thousands of party members marched the length of China in a strategic retreat from the encroaching Nationalist Party (Kuomintang (KMT)). They arrived in Yan’an with greatly depleted numbers and held the 7th National Congress, more than a decade later in 1945, during which the party adopted a number of important resolutions, including an endorsement of the guerrilla warfare strategy which contributed decisively to victories in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the ensuing Revolutionary Civil War.
Yan’an is also where Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Lui Shaoqi, Zhu De and other leaders lived in cave homes, which are meticulously preserved to this day. Here party school students, and people from across China and beyond, come to see where Mao developed much of what would become known as Mao Zedong Thought, including important documents such as, On New Democracy, In Memory of Norman Bethune, Rectify the Party’s Style of Work, among many other important writings.
Finally, we visited the site of the 1st National Congress of the CPC in Shanghai. The small, modest room, alongside the cave homes in Yan’an, showed the humble beginnings of the CPC which stand in stark contrast to the success of 76 years of socialist construction, where cave homes have been replaced with modern apartments which ensure not a single person goes without a roof over their head.
Exchanges and mutual learning among civilisations, Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) and carrying forward the silk road spirit
We arrived in Dunhuang, Gansu province, on 29 May to attend the Fourth Dialogue on Exchanges and Mutual Learning Among Civilisations, together with delegates from over 60 countries. The dialogue demonstrated China’s successes with the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The BRI is rooted in the ancient Silk Road, which spanned many countries, and came to fruition through cooperation and dialogue among civilisations. The BRI is rapidly developing infrastructure, energy and telecoms cooperation between countries, particularly in the Global South, on the basis of equality and mutual benefit, from which numerous countries across Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas are already benefitting.
Vice President of the People’s Republic of China, Han Zheng, opened the conference and reiterated some key principles that President Xi Jinping has advanced to make dialogue and people to people communication more dynamic and respectful whilst recognising differences.
Anti-China propaganda claims that China is only pursuing the BRI to put countries in a debt trap and become dependent. However, Dithapelo Keorapetse, Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Botswana, gave clear examples of how BRI programmes have directly benefitted his country. Since Botswana gained independence from Britain in 1966, China has given grants and interest-free and concessional loans, financing over 60 projects, including the renovation of railways, construction of highways, residential houses and schools, donation of epidemic-prevention materials, and the provision of medical services. China was the first country to offer assistance during the COVID pandemic. Enabling Botswana to build road networks connecting towns and cities across the country has been an essential perquisite for the country’s development. Under British colonialism, there was only 10km of tarmac across the entire country, directing the country’s natural resources towards London.
We also heard speakers from Laos, Nepal and Egypt give concrete examples of how the BRI was driving towards world peace and stability, while recognising different cultures and managing differences.
Martin Woesler, a German Sinologist, spoke about how we now have multiple silk roads across the world, with opportunities for dialogue. He was referring to social media, which is increasingly becoming a useful tool for debunking western propaganda about China.
China is fully committed to mutual learning, people to people dialogue, and peace based on mutual respect. One example of this was how young people from Britain and the US had been invited all the way to China to discuss the issues facing us in ourrespective countries, despite never having been asked to share our opinions by our own governments.
Two delegates from Friends of Socialist China – one representing Qiao Collective in the US and the other the Young Communist League in Britain – were invited to speak at a parallel forum organised by Beijing’s Tsinghua University. They detailed the issues young people currently face in our countries and praised socialist China for achieving successes in eliminating similar problems for their younger generation.
Key takeaways from the delegation were that socialist China’s position on building civilisational links across widely divergent cultures stands in stark contrast to our respective governments, where other cultures have been disrespected, ignored and, in the worst instances, eradicated. What left a strong impression was a clear respect and desire to share and learn from other cultures.
Preservation of history and accessibility of culture
One of the biggest contrasts with the West was the preservation of history, accessibility of culture and the use of public spaces.
This was most noticeable during our time in Dunhuang. We were taken to the sand dunes of that desert city to partake in the Dragon Boat festival. The main event saw over 10,000 people climb a sand dune to witness a visual and musical performance projected onto an opposite dune. The scale of the event was extraordinary. Almost everyone seemed to be singing along to famous Chinese songs. But what truly shocked us was when our host said it was completely free!
This was consistent with many of the historical sites and cultural events we visited. The next day we visited the Dunhuang Seal Bureau, or printing press. A private company which appeared at first to be a simple cafe but which on the lower floor transforms into a creative hub. People can use it as a workspace, read a wide range of books on Dunhuang’s local culture and history, play the piano, stamp items, make mural paintings, etc. Again, most activities were completely free.
Later in the small city of Jiayuguan, we visited the westernmost section of the Great Wall of China and were surprised to see the approach to history. Videos were projected across the Great Wall telling the history of the region and the wall itself.
Drive to net zero and ecological development
Everywhere in China, it was evident the CPC is absolutely committed to dealing with the climate emergency and going beyond words to ensure it plays its part in achieving net zero by 2060. Whether we were in Shanghai, Xi’an or Jiayuguan, we saw thousands of trees lining the roads. This was especially impressive in Jiayuguan, which is in a desert area.
We also visited the Dunhuang Salt Tower CSP Plant, which is a major breakthrough in renewable energy. Some 12,000 solar panels are able to rotate 360° to capture as much of the sunlight as possible. The panels then channel the sunlight to a molten salt tower, which in turn heats the salt and then water to generate steam. Due to the efficiency of the operation, the salt stays hot for 11 hours, meaning that it can continue to generate electricity at night. The salt and water are both recycled.
In China, arable land accounts for less than 15 percent of the total landmass. On our train journey from Xi’an to Yan’an, we saw solar panels on the hills generating renewable energy.
In Shanghai, the amount of green spaces and parks being used by ordinary people was very noticeable – group dance classes, karaoke and exercise throughout the day and night. Quite a contrast to Brighton, the town on England’s south coast where one of us lives, and where one public park has already been gated off by the private business next door, and another is in the process of doing the same. In socialist China, parks and public spaces are there to be used and enjoyed by the people.
Socialism with Chinese characteristics or Chinese socialism?
In Shanghai, our delegation was invited to visit Fudan University by its China Institute think tank. Our delegates Keith Bennett and Carlos Martinez took part in a panel alongside Zhang Weiwei, the well-known Chinese professor of international relations and sometime interpreter for Deng Xiaoping and Li Peng, before an open dialogue with our whole delegation.
This discussion revealed an increasingly confident tone from our Chinese comrades, specifically with regard to the term Chinese Socialism. For decades, China has described its own system as ‘Socialism with Chinese characteristics’. That is, Marxism applied to the concrete conditions in China. However, Zhang said many within the party and Marxist circles in China are discussing whether the term ‘Chinese socialism’ now better describes it.
The term ‘Chinese socialism’, as Zhang explained, doesn’t refute the previous definition of Marxism applied to the specific conditions of China but additionally draws attention to its role as a point of reference for others, both theoretically and practically.
It must be understood that China’s socialist system is not just Marxism applied to China, with nothing for the rest of the world to learn. Applying Marxism to China has enriched scientific socialism as a whole, giving it much greater value and increasingly universal applicability, most especially for the Global South. The term ‘Chinese socialism’ may therefore be more appropriate in the new era.
Contradictions and common prosperity
It’s common to hear people on the ‘left’ in Britain, and the west, dismissing China’s socialism and asserting that it has become a fully capitalist country. Or disparaging China as a dirty and polluted country doing nothing to tackle the climate emergency.
However, even before the founding of the PRC in 1949, the CPC was already tackling poverty in the liberated areas, starting with the Jiangxi Soviet Republic (1931-1934). This was subsequently rolled out throughout China and in 2020, it was announced that extreme poverty had been completely eliminated. During Deng Xiaoping’s opening up and reform period, a number of new contradictions emerged alongside its overwhelmingly positive achievements. By sticking to socialist principles and correctly grasping the key task at any given moment, China has been able to eradicate extreme poverty and greatly improve the living standards of all Chinese people. Whilst we were in Jiayuguan, we had a conversation with a university teacher who told us his current income is almost 40 times more than it was 30 years ago, and that the development he had seen in his city made him “satisfied and very proud”. There are some people with great wealth, but you cannot ignore the main achievement, which was to alleviate poverty and improve the lives of all.
Similarly, China’s industrialisation came at a cost to the environment, in the same way as when Britain and other countries industrialised. However, the difference is that China was tackling poverty, illiteracy and the legacy of imperialism, whereas Britain was only serving the interests of the ruling class whilst plundering vast swathes of the world.
The negative effects on the environment have not been ignored by the CPC. General Secretary Xi Jinping has stated: “We must strike a balance between economic growth and environmental protection. We will be more conscientious in promoting green, circular and low-carbon development. We will never again seek economic growth at the cost of the environment.”
Technological advancement
We witnessed technology being used beneficially. In Jiayuguan, a state-run energy company is utilising AI in its electricity grid to predict the weather and in turn increase or decrease the generation of electricity from wind or solar renewable energy sources according to demand.
At Lenovo in Shanghai, which contributes actively to the CPC’s goals of rural rejuvenation, robot hands, controlled remotely, can spray paint cars and keep workers away from the toxic fumes, putting their welfare first. They also had a hi-tech coffee machine that could make your coffee and add the Friends of Socialist China logo on top, because, why not!
We also visited a state-run artificial intelligence and robotics hub where we were able to see the latest developments they were working on, including in the medical field.
Key Lessons from China
A key lesson of the trip was understanding the level of self-sacrifice which was demanded by the harsh conditions and struggle against imperialism and domestic reactionary forces during the Chinese Revolution. While we may complain about how bleak things can seem at home, it doesn’t compare to the level of sacrifice and perseverance of the Chinese people, therefore, we must be ready and willing to work hard and sacrifice for the development of socialism in Britain.
To conclude, the key lessons are:
• Take inspiration from Chinese socialism, but we must build socialism based on the conditions in Britain.
• Give people the facts about China’s success to combat the myths spread by the west. If they don’t want to engage, China is still going to carry on building socialism without their support. We must do the same and focus on our aim as we struggle towards building a socialist Britain, in our lifetime!
