26 May – 5 June 2025
Report by Callum Norris (YCL South East, CPB South East branch) & Twm Draper (YCL Wales, CPB Pontypridd Branch).
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, such as Young Communist League/Communist Party of Britain, Progressive International, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Black Liberation Alliance, Qiao Collective. We were hosted by the International Department of the Communist Party of China, China NGO Network for International Exchange (CNIE).
We visited a number of cities in Shaanxi and Gansu provinces, and Shanghai.
The topics of the trip were building people to people relations between China and the rest of the world, and building an 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 the 12th poorest nation in the world. Life expectancy was in the 20’s and 30’s. Illiteracy was rife and disease was common. Colonialism contributed to all this, as the world’s colonial powers carved up China for their own interests, culminating in the Japanese invasion of China, which saw the deaths of tens of millions of people.
The delegation 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 nearly 100 years ago Communists concluded the Long March, when 100,000 Party members marched the length of China in retreat from the encroaching Nationalist Party. They arrived in Yan’an with greatly depleted numbers and held the 7th National Congress, during which the party moved to return to the guerrilla warfare tactics which would eventually see their success in the Civil War.
Yan’an is also where Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Lui Shaoqi and Zhu De cave homes were which are beautifully preserved to this day. Here party school members 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 more important writings.
Finally, we visited the site of the 1st National Congress of the CPC in Shanghai, where we saw the small room which hosted the first meetings of the CPC. This small modest room, alongside the cave homes in Yan’an, showed the humble beginnings of the CPC which was easy to contrast with 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, with delegates from over 60 countries. The dialogue demonstrated China’s BRI successes. BRI is rooted in the ancient Silk Road spirt, which spanned many countries, and came to fruition through cooperation of civilisations and dialogue. BRI is an initiative to create links with countries as equals. A number of 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 the key principles President Xi Jinping stated to make dialogue and people to people communication beneficial, respectful whilst recognising differences.
Anti-China propaganda claims China is only pursuing 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 the BRI programme has directly benefitted them. 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 was necessary. Under British colonialism, there was only 10km of tarmac across the country. This ensured all wealth went to London.
We also heard from speakers from Laos, Nepal and Egypt with real examples of how the BRI was driving towards world peace and stability, while recognising different cultures and breaking down any conflict.
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, a useful tool in debunking western propaganda about China as people see it for themselves.
China is fully committed to mutual learning and people to people dialogue, and peace based on mutual respect. One example of this was young people from Britain and the US had been invited all the way to China to discuss the issues facing young people in our respective 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 by Tsinghua University. They detailed the issues young people currently face in their countries, praised socialist China for achieving successes in eliminating similar problems at home.
Key takeaways from the delegation were that socialist China’s position on building civilisational links across wide-ranging cultures stood in stark contrast to our respective governments, where other cultures have been disrespected, ignored and, in the worst instance, 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 was the preservation of history, accessibility of culture and the use of public spaces.
This was most noticeable during our time in Dunhuang, Gansu province. We were taken to the sand dunes of our 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 me was when our host said it was completely free!
This was consistent among many of the historical sites and cultural events 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, on the lower floor transforms into a creative hub.
People can use it as a workplace, read a wide range of books on Dunhuang’s local culture and history, play the piano, stamp items, make mural paintings, etc. Most was completely free.
Later in Jiayuguan, we visited the very end of the Great Wall of China and were surprised to see the approach to history. Images were projected across the Great Wall which showed a video which told 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, trees were planted everywhere. This was especially impressive in Jiayuguan which is in a desert area.
We also visited 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. This would then channel the sunlight to the Malton 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 recycled.
In China, arable land accounts for less that 15%. On our train journey from Xi’an to Yan’an, we saw solar panels on the hills generating renewable energy.
In Shanghai, it was noticeable the amount of green spaces and parks being used by ordinary people – group dance classes, karaoke and exercise throughout the night. Quite a contrast to Brighton, 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, they are there to be used and enjoyed by the people.
Socialism with Chinese characteristics v. Chinese socialism
In Shanghai, our delegation was invited to visit Fudan University by the School of Marxism. Our delegates Keith Bennett and Carlos Martinez took part in a panel alongside Zhang Weiwei before an open dialogue with our whole delegation.
Two interesting points reflected a confident and bullish attitude from our Chinese comrades. When asked about the prospect of discussing Socialist China among ‘left’ circles at home and having to deal with allegations of ‘authoritarianism’ ‘totalitarianism’ and so on, Weiwei responded simply, ‘We don’t care’. An attitude which has become increasingly common in China and across the Global South.
The second was a conversation over 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, Weiwei said many within the party and Marxist circles in China are discussing whether the term ‘Chinese socialism’ better describes it.
The term ‘Chinese socialism’, as Weiwei explained, doesn’t refute the previous definition of Marxism applied to the specific conditions of China but elevates it to a universal application.
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. Marxism applied to China has enriched Marxism, given it much greater value and now become, to a certain degree, universal. For the Global South, it is imperative that this is understood. The term ‘Chinese socialism’ may be more beneficial.
Contradictions and common prosperity
It’s common to hear people on the ‘left’ in Britain, and the west, dismiss China as a socialist country and believe it is fully assimilated into capitalist society. Or that China is a dirty and polluted country doing nothing to tackle the climate emergency.
Even before the founding of the PRC in 1949, the CPC was already tackling poverty in liberated zones, starting with the Jiangxi-Fujian Soviet in 1931. This continued throughout China and in 2020, it announced that extreme poverty had been eliminated. Under Deng Xiaoping’s open up and reform period, China faced contradictions. However, by sticking to socialist principles and realising the principle contradiction, China was able to eradicate extreme poverty and 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.
Similarly, China’s industrialisation came at a cost to the environment, in the same way when Britain and other countries industrialised. However, the difference is that China was tackling poverty, illiteracy and colonialism whilst Britain was only serving the interests of the ruling class.
The effects on the environment have not been ignored by the CPC. General Secretary Xi Jinping 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, they are utilising AI in their electricity grid to predict the weather and in turn increase or decrease the generation of electricity from wind or solar renewable energy sources to meet 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 keeps 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! It’s important to have some enjoyment.
We also visited a state-run artificial intelligence and robotics hub which shows the latest developments they were working on, including in the medical field.
Key Lessons from China
A key lesson was the level of self-sacrifice which was demanded by the harsh conditions and struggle against colonialism during the Chinese Revolution. While we may complain about how bleak things can be 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!
