Author and political activist Carlos Martinez writes a compelling case about the necessity of socialism, rooted in the revolutionary science of Marxist-Leninism, in his book The East is Still Red.

Learning about history, though essential, can be a daunting task because of how much research is digested and how dense the text itself can be. This is not the case with The East is Still Red. Martinez’s work is incredibly accessible and digestible, with each chapter being relatively short and broken into clear subsections. It’s easy to follow along with the arguments that Martinez presents, backed with ample evidence and sources.

The East is Still Red was necessary for me to read, both as a person newer to Marxism-Leninism and as a person born in Taiwan trying to understand the historical and present relationship between China and Taiwan. Through Martinez’ research and compelling writing, it’s also opened other avenues and resources to learn about socialist China. (I wrote more about this in January’s monthly reflection, “On Coming Out of the Fog” which you can read HERE.)

The U.S. ruling class is trying to maintain its hegemony, and we’ve seen the ongoing and increasing escalations to ‘contain’ China. These anti-China policies are bipartisan, as we saw with the Obama administration’s 2012 ‘Pivot to Asia’. Regardless of whether the Democratic party or the Republican party are in office, they both serve U.S. imperialism where there is no place for socialism, a direct threat to their existence. 

Note: The summary below does not do justice to the thorough research and analysis that author and political activist Carlos Martinez conducted for The East is Still Red. As with all book reviews and reflections, I’ve done my best to highlight key takeaways as a reader (though I cannot emphasize enough to check out this book for yourself). 

PAST

It’s impossible to discuss the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1949 without mentioning the multifarious ways that war, occupation, and foreign policy have contributed to China’s history, including the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Chinese Civil War, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Cold War. And, in nearly all of these wars, the U.S. played an insidious role whether it was its failed attempts to negotiate an agreement between the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Communist Party of China (CPC), its declaration to contain communism in the Truman Doctrine, or its (ongoing) military support for Taiwan.

This broader context of global relations is necessary to understand the long fight against foreign domination and exploitation, to understand the economic conditions of China, and to contextualize its historic achievements of evolving from a semi-feudal country towards a socialist country. 

Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, Chairman of the governing Communist Party of China (CPC), it’s abundantly clear that class struggle – a core tenet of Marxism – was (and remains) central to building a prosperous life for the working class and its allies. 

When the PRC was founded in 1949, China was one of the poorest countries in the world; it was a developing country of 1.4 billion people with millions dying from malnutrition (in non-famine years), illiteracy rates for the majority of the population, and absent medical services, particularly for those living in the countrysides. In 1949, the life expectancy in China was 38 years. In the decades following the poverty alleviation efforts, mass literacy campaigns, land redistribution, and industrialisation, the life expectancy in China almost doubled to 68 years, a historic contribution under socialism. 

As a person newer to Marxism-Leninism and to studying the history of socialist China, the sections where Martinez directly confronts the criticisms of Mao, particularly during the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, were useful. It’s undeniable that mistakes were made under Mao; however, studying the history of socialist China, its lessons, and Mao’s contributions to organizing and mobilizing masses of people for revolution are significant. It’s also important to remember that while Mao founded the PRC and served as chairman of the CPC, he wasn’t the sole person making all of the decisions. Even with the errors that were made, it’s crucial to recognize that, under his leadership, China was able to maintain its sovereignty and defend itself from imperialist attacks. 

Most notably, It’s clear how China was able to improve the material living conditions for all of its people. Martinez reflects how the CPC “has led the Chinese Revolution – a revolution to eliminate feudalism, to regain China’s national sovereignty, to end foreign domination of China, to build socialism, to create a better life for the Chinese people, and to contribute to a peaceful and prosperous future for humanity.” It is because of socialism (with Chinese characteristics) that China was able to prioritize the interests of the working class and its allies and continues to do so today.

PRESENT

As China’s economic growth and power rises, notably passing the U.S. in absolute GDP terms within the next few years, the criticism of China leading down ‘the capitalist road’ has gained traction, purporting that the country is moving closer towards capitalism and further away from socialism. Martinez swiftly responds to these claims by providing ample evidence of China responding to, and continuing to support, the interests of the working class. 

The CPC tasked itself with the robust goal to eliminate extreme poverty by 2021 (a century after the founding of the CPC). It’s crucial to note that the poverty elimination efforts extended far beyond an individual’s income being above the World Bank-defined international poverty line of $1.90 USD/day. Instead, the Chinese government’s definition of leaving extreme poverty meant that “two assurances and three guarantees” have been met. That meant “the two assurances are for adequate food and clothing; the three guarantees are for access to medical services, safe housing with drinking water and electricity, and at least nine years of free education.” The poverty alleviation efforts extend beyond an individual’s income and encompasses their entire quality of life, regardless of whether you’re living in the countryside or in more urban areas. 

The living conditions improved for the broad masses of the people. 

Compared to those of us living in the U.S., one  of the most developed countries in the world, millions of people are still fighting for basic rights, including quality access to medical services, safe housing, and clean drinking water. Under imperialism, the ruling class will always prioritize profit over the needs and interests of the people. 

For example, the U.S. healthcare system is a for-profit business, generating trillions of dollars each year. Despite this immense profit, our healthcare industry does not provide quality access to healthcare or coverage to needed care, reflected in the hundred million Americans who have medical debt (even with health insurance). As Derrick Crowe, a representative for People’s Action Institute, reports in a Democracy Now interview, “248 million care denials are issued by these companies every year, either through a prior authorization denial or a care denial.” The thorough abandonment of the healthcare industry was largely publicized by mainstream media outlets most notably after the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, where the words “deny,” “defend,” and “depose” were written on the shell casings. 

On a local level, in 2024, the state of Wisconsin faced several closures, including 2 hospitals (both in the western region) and 19 clinics where services are now consolidated and centralized or nonexistent in the city/area. In the city of Milwaukee, vital healthcare services continue to close in Black and brown areas of the city, including a labor and delivery unit on the South Side. The Save Milwaukee Healthcare Coalition, a coalition of local organizations fighting to defend and protect access to equitable healthcare in the city, reports that “only 3 hospitals in the entire county of Milwaukee offer labor and delivery services, and none are located on the South Side of Milwaukee, where some of the highest maternal mortality rates are reported.” Even though these services are essential for the city and for the community, they may close due to high operational costs, a shortage of workers, and most importantly (from the business perspective), less profit. Even though these medical services are necessary and literally life saving, the profit is not substantial enough. 

In the U.S., our material conditions in the healthcare system alone reflect how the ruling class – including insurance corporations, for-profit healthcare companies, the wealthy elite, and the U.S. government – all profit at the expense of the working class. (Side note: I’ve also written specifically about COVID-19 and the failure of the U.S. healthcare system and government administrations which you can read HERE.)

If China was becoming a capitalist country, it would not continue to prioritize the “immediate and long term needs of the masses of the people – eradicating poverty, transitioning to green energy systems, suppressing COVID-19, [and] improving people’s living standards.” As Martinez makes clear, these material conditions are possible because of the creation of a worker’s state and China’s achievements all built upon socialist foundations. As he firmly illustrates, “socialism with Chinese Characteristics is socialism.” It is not any other “ism.”

U.S. imperialism leads to the purposeful underdevelopment of global countries to maintain its status as the leading world empire, whether through direct military involvement (i.e. military bases, occupation, regime changes, unequal treaties, illegal sanctions, resource extraction, and territorial acquisitions). While the U.S. government and its foreign policies all claim these to be in the name of democracy, freedom, and independence, history reveals the truth.

As Guyanese historian, academic, and leader of the Black Power and Pan-African movements across the diaspora, Walter Rodney, composed in How Europe Underdeveloped Africa: “The expanding infrastructure investment is enabling development of countries that have been forcibly underdeveloped by the imperialist powers.” 

While Rodney is speaking specifically to the relationship between Europe and Africa, the aspects of economic domination and expansionism are both part of Western imperialism which generate wealth directly from the extraction of labor and resources. Understanding the political economy is necessary when analyzing world powers and growth (or lack thereof). And, it’s why it’s so significant that China was able to rapidly industrialize its country and shift to being able to financially and materially support other countries to be less dependent on the U.S. and its exploitative policies and conditions. 

For example, Martinez points to the global cooperation between China and the Global South. It’s extraordinary to learn about the projects in Latin America and Africa, like the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) which aims to address the infrastructure gap by investing in roads/highways, bridges, railways, and construction materials. By developing transcontinental infrastructures, China’s investment of the BPI provides countries with other investment outlets rather than only the U.S. (most notably less debt and lower interest rates) and expanded trade routes. 

China’s desire to build mutually beneficial relationships and invest in developing countries is a strategy to establish multi-polarity and is “a beacon to oppressed nations.” 

The East is Still Red also details how the material conditions in China changed over time, thus responding to a new contradiction. Given China’s rapid industrialization to alleviate poverty and bring it up to speed, China has now shifted to focus on green energy as a way to recover their climate conditions. As CPC General Secretary Xi Jinping stated in his speech in 2013, “We will never again seek economic growth at the cost of the environment.”

It’s clear that China is taking action, aggressively pursuing decarbonization efforts, reducing their reliance on coal, investing in renewable energy sources (such as solar, wind, nuclear, and hydropower), and carrying out the largest forestation project in the world. Saving the planet and protecting humanity is being fiercely carried out by China because of their planned economy, not bowing to the whims of the priorities of the ruling class. 

MOVING FORWARD

The CPC has maintained its commitment to Marxism, where the Chinese government represents the interests of the masses of the people, particularly the working class, rather than a small group of wealthy elites. The Chinese Revolution never ended; it’s still in progress. The pathway to socialism will always require adaptation and growth based on concrete conditions. 

Martinez argues that socialists and communists should defend Chinese socialism and oppose the US-led New Cold War on China. The only way forward is towards socialism and building a united front to stand against U.S. imperialism.  

The East is Still Red is a significant contribution to combat the West’s anti-China, anti-communist propaganda and to demonstrate the increasing escalation of the new Cold War to contain China. This book is an extraordinary guide for organizers and activists alike, and I would encourage folks especially on the left, to study this extraordinary resource and to learn about socialist China.

RESOURCES:

• China is Not Our Enemy series hosted by CODEPINK (YouTube)
• The East is Still Red: Chinese Socialism in the 21st Century by Carlos Martinez (2023)
• Book Launch: The East is Still Red by Friends of Socialist China (Youtube video)
• Friends of Socialist China, a platform based on supporting the PRC and spreading the understanding of Chinese socialism 
• People’s China at 75 – The Flag Stays Red edited by Keith Bennett and Carlos Martinez (2024)
• How Europe Underdeveloped Africa by Walter Rodney (1972)
• Myth: China is Colonizing Africa (Part 1 and Part 2) hosted by the Black Myths Podcast