Is China an Imperialist country by the definition of Lenin’s Scientific Imperialism theory? 6- Is China Socialist
6- Is China Socialist, a people's democracy, or capitalist
"If
the political power in the state is in the hands of a class whose interests
coincide with those of the majority, that state can really be governed
according to the will of the majority." Lenin, The State and Revolution
Before concluding our
investigation, we must directly answer the foundational accusation that
underlies all others: "China is not socialist; it is
capitalist." This accusation is the bedrock upon which the "imperialist"
label is built. If China is not socialist, then it could be
imperialist. However, if China remains qualitatively socialist, the
entire accusation collapses. We will answer this question not through
subjective opinion, but through the objective criteria established by the
Marxist-Leninist tradition.
Based on Lenin's assertion that
socialism is a "process of experimentation and learning," and
Stalin's view that "the path of socialist construction depends on the
national conditions of each country," this response to the user's
question about whether "China's political trend is toward socialism or
a different form of capitalism" hinges on understanding the
concept of "building Socialism ” based on its own
conditions and historical characteristics.
Stalin, in his article, “ Comment on Current Affairs: On China,” refuting the nonsensical talk of the Trotskyites on the Chinese question, explained several main tactical principles of Leninism, the first one of which was :
"The principle of the necessity of taking into account the national peculiarities and national characteristics of each country while working out the guiding instructions of the Communist International for the working class movement of that country."
Stalin then went on to emphasize the combination of general Marxist-Leninist principles with national characteristics.
“Notwithstanding the ideological growth of our Party, unfortunately there is still in our Party a certain type of "leaders" who sincerely believe that it is possible to direct the revolution in China, so to speak, by telegraph on the basis of the known and universally recognized general principles of the Communist International without taking into consideration the national peculiarities of Chinese economy, Chinese political regime, Chinese culture, Chinese customs and traditions. These "leaders" differ from the real leaders precisely in that they always have in their pockets two or three ready made formulae that are "suitable" for all countries and "obligatory" in all conditions. For them there is no question of taking into account the national character and national peculiarities of each country. For them there is no question of coordinating the general principles of the Communist International with the national peculiarities of the revolutionary movement in each country, of applying the general principles of the Communist International to the national and state peculiarities of different countries.” … Our oppositionists belong precisely to this type of these miserable leaders.”
And Stalin finished with a statement that most ignore, especially today:
“In order to smash these powerful enemies it is necessary to have a flexible and well-considered policy of the proletariat, skill to take advantage of every crack in the enemy camp, skill in finding allies”.
It is a product of combining
the basic principles of Marxism with contemporary Chinese concrete
realities, acknowledging that socialist construction requires systematic
exploration "based on upholding fundamental principles and
innovating." This responds to Lenin's assertion that "there
is no ready-made experience, and learning is necessary."
If we set aside subjectivity
and rote, based on Stalin’s entire context quoted above, we can actually
deduce that the term “Socialism” represents the
universal, scientific Marxist-Leninist principles. The
term “Chinese characteristics” represents exactly what Stalin
called the "specific features of a particular country."
Stalin (so did Lenin) explicitly mandated that we must consider the
'specific features' of each country. The term 'Chinese
Characteristics' is simply the formal, institutionalized name for China's
specific features within the building of socialism. Stalin did
not reject national adaptations; he required them. To reject 'Chinese
Characteristics' in that sense is to reject (Lenin) Stalin's
own directive to adapt socialism to local realities. The term
describes the practice, not a new theory. It does not claim
to be a separate "ism"; it claims to be the universal
science applied locally. The term 'Characteristics' is accurate because it
denotes the holistic, integrated outcome of this union, not merely a
list of superficial 'features.'
The core institutional features
supporting the judgment that "China is still on the socialist path"
include: 1) The Leadership of the Communist Party of China: This
is explicitly defined as "the most essential feature and the greatest
advantage of socialism ." 2) Long-Term
National Planning: The state is able to formulate and implement
long-term development strategies spanning decades and covering key areas such
as the economy, science and technology, and education. 3) Public
Ownership in Strategic Industries: Key strategic industries such as
banking, energy, transportation, and telecommunications are owned and
controlled by the state to safeguard economic sovereignty. 4) Priority
of Collective Interests: When individual interests conflict with
collective interests, the state intervenes to protect the overall well-being.
5) Guidance and Constraint of Capital: The theory of capital
emphasizes that the purpose of capital is to "serve the people"
and is subject to state restrictions, preventing it from achieving its
"totalization" as in capitalist societies. This reflects the
"control" rather than "laissez-faire" approach to capital.
Economic Data and
Achievements: The Result of a Hybrid Model
China's economic achievements
reflect the "hybrid effect" of the socialist political
framework and market economy mechanisms: In 2025, China's GDP
surpassed the 140 trillion yuan mark for the first time, with per capita GDP
reaching 99,665 yuan. These achievements were made within the framework
of socialist practice. In 2025, the added value of high-tech
manufacturing increased by 9.4%, and that of equipment manufacturing by 9.2%. This demonstrates that industrial upgrading is underway
under the guidance of national strategy.
China has lifted not 1, not 7, not 9, not 20 but over 800
million people out of extreme poverty within decades, an achievement
attributed to "targeted public policies, central planning, and strong
state investment," rather than purely free markets. It is precisely this
institutional hybridity that has generated ongoing academic debate. China
simultaneously exhibits characteristics of both capitalism and
socialism. This "hybrid" nature is also described as a
pragmatic combination: "using a socialist political structure to
provide stability, and using capitalist market logic to create efficiency."
6.1- The Inescapable
Conclusion: Who Defies Lenin's Definition?
"The
question is not whether there is commodity production or exchange under
socialism. The question is whether the state power is in the hands of
the working class, whether the state power is used for the socialist
construction of the economy." Stalin, “Economic Problems of Socialism
in the USSR”
This brings us to the final,
inescapable conclusion: China does not defy Lenin's definition of imperialism;
those who do not know or comprehend it defy it, and thus call China
imperialist.
Their failure is not in their
evidence (which is non-existent) but in their method. They have replaced
dialectical materialism with subjectivism.
The accusation of "Chinese
imperialism" fails on every scientific level: Economically:
China's state dominates capital, not the reverse. Its foreign investment is for
resource security and mutual development, not super profits. Politically:
China does not divide the world into colonies or spheres of influence; it
pursues multipolarity and non-interference. Qualitatively: China
is a socialist state under the dictatorship of the
proletariat. Imperialism is the highest stage of capitalism. China meets all
three criteria for a socialist state. The Communist Party of China is the
vanguard of the proletariat and SOEs control the commanding heights. The state
directs economic planning through five-year plans and industrial
policies. A socialist state cannot be imperialist by
definition.
6.2- The Final Synthesis: A
Confession of the Accuser's Ideology
"Commodity
production under socialism is a special form of commodity production, which
does not lead to capitalism, because it is under the control of the
state." Stalin, “Economic Problems of Socialism in the USSR”
The accusation that China is
imperialist is not a scientific observation; it is a confession. It reveals
that the accuser cannot conceive of a power that does not seek to dominate,
because domination is the only language their own economic system speaks. They
project the logic of imperialism onto a system that has structurally superseded
it.
In the end, those who level this
accusation are not the defenders of Leninism; they are the inheritors of the
Kautskyite-Bernsteinist tradition that Lenin criticized over a century ago.
They hide behind "ultra-left" slogans while serving the interests of
the imperialist bourgeoisie.
This brings us back to the
Kafkatrap outlined in our introduction:
If a socialist country is
underdeveloped → "Socialism is incapable."
If a socialist country
develops → "Then it must be capitalist/imperialist."
The trap is designed to validate
their anti-Leninist “socialism in one country is impossible” theory, and
ensure that socialism can never succeed in any country in the eyes of its
accusers. But the trap reveals more about the trappers than about the
target. It reveals that their worldview cannot process the
existence of a non-exploitative hegemon.
6.3- A Comparative
Perspective: Socialist States in Their Concrete Conditions
“Here you are
faced with a task which never before faced Communists anywhere in the world:
relying on the general communist theory and practice and taking into account conditions
which do not exist in any European country, you must be able to apply
that theory and practice to conditions under which the main mass is
the peasantry and in which the task is to fight not capital, but survivals
of medievalism." Lenin, Address to the Second All-Russia
Congress of Communist Organisations of the Peoples of the East.
Socialist states cannot be
judged by a single, uniform standard. Each country faces unique
historical, geographical, demographic, and economic conditions that shape its
path. The comparison is not for labeling but for understanding. Recognizing the
diversity of historical conditions.
"The
socialist state is a state of a new type, serving the interests of the working
people." Stalin, various works
"Every country must find its own path to socialism." Lenin,
various works
6.3.1 Albania
At the time of the communist
takeover in 1944, Albania's population was estimated to be just over 1 million.
A post-war census in 1945 recorded about 1.1 million inhabitants. Albania's
social structure was a patchwork of tribal and semi-feudal systems. The north
was basically tribal, while the central and southern regions were semi-feudal.
A small class of large landowners (Muslim "beys" and other lords),
constituting only about 3% of the population, owned 40% of the land. It was the
poorest and most isolated country in Europe at the time. The Communist Party
(later the Party of Labour) came to power largely through its own anti-fascist
National Liberation War (1941–1944) against Italian and German occupiers. It
had no significant colonial past, so its struggle was purely anti-fascist. The
transition to a socialist state occurred immediately after liberation, initially heavily influenced by Yugoslavia and later by the USSR.
Soviet Aid to Albania (until
1960 and later)
Soviet aid to Albania was
substantial, primarily in the form of credits to finance industrialization and
cover trade deficits. Soviet Union (1940s) – On January 1, 1940, the population
of the USSR was approximately 194.1 million. By 1951, it was reported to have
grown to about 207 million. (4-See
notes for details)
China's Aid to Albania (until
1971 and later)
China stepped in to fill the void
left by the Soviet Union, becoming Albania's primary benefactor. ( 5- See Notes for details)
6.3.2 North Korea
Following its establishment in
September 1948, the first population survey in 1949 recorded a total population
of 9.622 million. Before the establishment of the socialist state, North Korea was under
Japanese colonial rule, which had imposed a harsh, exploitative
system. The society was highly stratified, with a clear class hierarchy that
included landlords, wealthy peasants, middle peasants, poor peasants,
and laborers. The new regime that came to power after 1945 drew its core
support from the poor working and peasant families who had little standing
under the previous Japanese-dominated regime. It was a Japanese colony from
1910 to 1945, which imposed a brutal extractive agrarian system. After Japan's
defeat in WWII, the Soviet Union occupied the north and
facilitated the establishment of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in
1948. However, the socialist state was not fully consolidated until after the
anti-imperialist Korean War (1950–1953) against US-led forces, which solidified
the northern state's ideological and economic orientation toward the Soviet
bloc.
Soviet and Chinese Aid to
North Korea
Both the Soviet Union and China
were major donors to North Korea, especially for post-Korean War
reconstruction.
Soviet Aid: (10- see details in notes
section)
Chinese Aid:
North Korea's economy outperformed
South Korea's until the late 1970s. Key factors included: Land
Reform and Industrialization. After the Korean War, North Korea
implemented rapid land reform and collectivization, while South Korea remained
under US military administration and did not implement significant land reform
until much later. North Korea received
substantial economic and technical assistance from the USSR and China, allowing
for rapid industrial reconstruction. The
North Korean economy was centrally planned, allowing for the mobilization of
resources toward industrial development. North Korea's GDP per capita exceeded
South Korea's until approximately 1976-1979.
By the 1970s, North Korea
had achieved near-self-sufficiency in energy and developed
a significant heavy industrial base. North Korea's agricultural output per
capita was higher than South Korea's until the late 1970s due to
collectivization and mechanization.
Why North Korea's Economy
Declined:
With the collapse of the Soviet
Union in 1991, the loss of Soviet aid, trade, and subsidized energy was
catastrophic for North Korea's centrally planned economy. In addition,
beginning in the 1990s, escalating international sanctions severely
restricted North Korea's ability to trade and access foreign capital. The
"Arduous March" of the 1990s, Natural Disasters, was exacerbated by
severe flooding and drought, which devastated agricultural
production. Faced with the US military presence in South Korea and the threat
of regime change, North Korea prioritized its military industry, diverting
resources from civilian production. This was a
defensive necessity, not an economic choice. However, since the end of
COVID, even to the admission of the West, North Korea's economy is booming. It
grew by 3.7% in 2024 and continued to expand at a rate of 3% annually.
China's position on
sanctions against North Korea is complex and open to legitimate debate. China
consistently advocated for diplomatic solutions and has participated in
Six-Party Talks and supported UN Security Council resolutions on
denuclearization, especially that of North Korea, which cannot be
justified in any way from the perspective of socialist internationalism despite the fact that it has also blocked or
moderated some sanctions.
China remains North Korea's
largest trading partner and source of food and energy aid. Its position is
consistent with the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of
other states and the recognition that the North Korean people's welfare cannot
be sacrificed for geopolitical objectives. As Marxist-Leninists, China understands that socialism must be defended against imperialist
encirclement.
6.3.3- Cuba
When the Cuban Revolution
triumphed on January 1, 1959, the population was about 7.02 million.
Cuba's economy before the
revolution was dominated by a neo-colonial structure heavily influenced by the
United States. The agrarian system was characterized by large latifundia (large
estates), alongside small minifundia. The majority of the land was held in
these large estates, and the social structure was highly stratified, with
profound social inequalities. Cuba was not a formal colony in
1959, but it operated under a neo-colonial structure heavily
dominated by US economic interests (sugar, mining, utilities). The agrarian
system was semi-feudal, with large latifundia (US-owned and local elites)
coexisting with impoverished peasantry.
The 1959 Revolution was
explicitly anti-imperialist (against the US-backed Batista
dictatorship). However, it is important to note that Cuba did not declare
itself a socialist state until 1961 (during the Bay of Pigs
invasion), when Fidel Castro formally proclaimed the Marxist-Leninist character
of the revolution and the state. Before that, the movement was broadly nationalist and
agrarian-reformist.
Soviet (later Russian) and
Chinese Aid to Cuba. 6-See Notes for details
Cuba was heavily dependent on
Soviet subsidies for decades. Soviet economic support to Cuba from the 1960s
through the 1980s was substantial, covering trade deficits, oil supplies, and
capital development.[^4] China's aid to Cuba has been more modest but has
increased in recent years, particularly following the deterioration of US-Cuba
relations.[^5]
6.3.4- Vietnam
At the time of the August
Revolution in 1945, Vietnam's population was approximately 20 million, with
some estimates ranging from 20 to 22 million. Before the August Revolution,
Vietnam was a colonial and semi-feudal society. The economy
was backward and controlled by the French. Nearly two-thirds of the land was
owned by feudal landlords, and the majority of the population lived in poverty,
with high rates of illiteracy. It was a French colony (Indochina) with a
classic semi-feudal landlord system. The August Revolution (1945) overthrew
the Japanese and French colonial administrations, leading to the
declaration of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. This was followed by the anti-colonial
war against France (1946–1954) and then the anti-imperialist
war against the US (1955–1975). The socialist transformation of the state in the
North began in earnest after 1954, while the South was reunified later.
Soviet and Chinese Aid to
Vietnam (7-
See Notes section for details)
Aid to Vietnam was massive,
particularly during the Vietnam War. The data below focuses on the period up to
the mid-1970s.
Each state demonstrated the
vitality of socialism under different conditions. In all four
cases, the communist parties successfully mobilized the
peasantry as the primary revolutionary force, despite Marxist theory
traditionally focusing on the urban industrial proletariat. The transition
to a socialist state in each country was also deeply intertwined with land
reform—confiscating large estates and redistributing them to peasants or
creating collective farms—which was the immediate social and economic
foundation upon which the new states were built.
It is important to study the
Chinese conditions and history comparatively to the others.
6.3.5- China
At the founding of the People's
Republic of China on October 1, 1949, the population was approximately 541
million versus the population of others ranging from 1 to 20
million. That is not an “existing condition” to overlook
and dismiss for an objective and dialectical study.
There is another
historical fact that most are not aware of and thus never consider in
studying the Chinese revolution and its character. That is the fact that before
seizing power at the national level in 1949, the Chinese Communist Party
(CCP) had long been exercising governance in various "revolutionary
base areas" across the country. These base areas were not only
military strongholds but also experimental fields for New Democratic economic
policies. From the establishment of the first rural base area after the Autumn
Harvest Uprising in 1927 to the founding of the People's Republic of
China in 1949, the territories under CCP control expanded from
isolated points to contiguous regions.
The Agrarian Revolutionary War
Period (1927–1937): After the failure of the Great Revolution, the CCP began to
lead armed struggles independently and shifted its focus from cities to the
countryside. It successively established over a dozen revolutionary base areas,
including Jinggangshan, southern Jiangxi, western Fujian, Dongjiang, the
Zuojiang-Youjiang region, northern Sichuan, and northern Shaanxi. Among these,
the Chinese Soviet Republic, proclaimed in Ruijin, Jiangxi, in 1931, was the
largest regional regime of this period.
Stalin, in his writing “Comment on Current Affairs: On
China” , referring to this era, said;
“It is not easy
to bridle and oppress the millions of peasants who have already gained
possession of the land of the landlords. The prestige of the proletariat
among the working masses ls rising from
day to day and its strength is far from having been smashed.”
In May 1927, in his article “The
Chinese Revolution and the Tasks of the Communist International“ , Stalin
defined the nature of the Chinese revolution;
During the Second United Front
between the CCP and the Kuomintang (KMT), the CCP's forces were reorganized
as the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army, and they went behind
enemy lines to establish anti-Japanese base areas. The most famous of these was
the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, with its center at Yan'an. It served
as the headquarters of the CCP Central Committee from 1935 (after
the Long March) until 1948. Other major base areas included
Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei, Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan, Shandong, and Central China.
In these regions, the Party's
involvement was comprehensive and systematic, mainly reflected in politics,
military, economy, production, society, and culture. They established
Party organizations at all levels and Soviet (later Border Region)
governments; led armed struggles; and built state administrative structures.
They carried out land reform, organized industrial production, established
fiscal and financial systems, and launched large-scale production campaigns to
ensure military and civilian supplies. They promoted educational reforms to
improve literacy, mobilizing the masses to participate in social
transformation, and reshaping social structures.
The economy of the base
areas was not a singular public-ownership system, but
rather a coexistence of multiple sectors, known as the
"New Democratic Economy", a pragmatic strategy at the time. The base
area economy was mainly composed of three parts: 1) The Publicly-Operated
(State-Run) Sectors, possessing socialist characteristics, were directly
managed by the democratic governments to ensure military and administrative
supplies. By 1934, the Central Soviet Area had
established 32 publicly-operated factories and mines. 2) The
Cooperative Sector, funded collectively by the masses, had semi-socialist
characteristics and took various forms, including consumer,
production, and credit cooperatives. 3) The Private Sector, which included the
individual economy of peasants and artisans, as well as the
capitalist economy of small and medium-sized merchants. This
formed the main body of the base areas' economy, aimed at ensuring people's
livelihoods.
Taking the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia
Border Region as an example, its economic structure was even more detailed,
comprising five sectors: public, cooperative, capitalist, individual, and
vestiges of the feudal economy. Land reform was the core of the CCP's
governance in the base areas, and its policies evolved through continuous
practice. The Jinggangshan Land Law of 1928 mandated the complete
confiscation of all land and prohibited buying and selling. Because
this was too radical, the Xingguo Land Law of 1929
revised it to confiscate only the land of the landlords. By 1931, the
policy was further adjusted to formally recognize the peasants'
ownership of the land distributed to them, allowing them to rent,
sell, or mortgage it.
In 1931, the Chinese
Soviet Republic passed the Land Law, which legally established the principle
of "equal distribution of all land." All subsequent land
reforms were practices and developments based on the 1931 Land Law. During the
War of Resistance Against Japan, in order to unite all forces against the
Japanese, the policy was adjusted from "confiscating landlord land"
to "rent and interest reduction." After the War of Liberation
broke out, land reform was restored and deepened.
In summary, before 1949,
the CCP had already engaged in over two decades of localized governance
practice in vast regions, including Jinggangshan, Ruijin, and Yan'an.
The core of its governance was land reform, while economically, it adopted
a pragmatic policy of coexistence among public, cooperative, private,
and other sectors. This pattern of "coexistence of multiple economic
sectors" was precisely based on a deep understanding of China's
backward and unevenly developed productive forces at the time, and it
provided direct practical experience for the economic system
established after the founding of the People's Republic of China.
The War of Liberation
(1945–1949): As the liberated areas rapidly expanded, the various base
areas gradually merged, laying a solid political, economic, and military
foundation for the eventual establishment of a nationwide government. That's
why China, in general, was characterized by the coexistence of
different forms of economy from the start of the war under the
leadership of the CCP in the 1920s.
6.4- The Four Pillars of Socialist Practice: Education, Healthcare, Employment, Housing
