Open Letter to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China

1 May 2025

Dear Comrades,

In the context of the Trump administration’s ongoing campaign of economic, political and military aggression, the International Communist League firmly stands in defense of the People’s Republic of China. U.S. imperialist aggression against China is not only a dagger pointed at the Chinese people but a threat to the economic and social conditions of the entire international proletariat.

As genuine Trotskyists, we believe it is the duty of all communists to oppose U.S. attacks on China and to unconditionally defend the gains of the 1949 Revolution. Although our forces are small, they are steadfast in their determination to fight for this cause from the imperialist heartlands to the countries of the Global South.

We stand with China today just as we fought with all our might against the counterrevolutions in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It is of the utmost importance that the catastrophe which befell the Soviet Union is not repeated in the PRC. It is from this vantage point, and drawing the lessons from our own experience, that we write this letter. First and foremost, we are concerned that the current policy followed by the Communist Party of China repeats mistakes made by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

1) Only the International Working Class Can Defend China

It is our firm conviction that to defend the PRC, the international working class and the oppressed peoples of the world are the only truly reliable allies. We believe that there is grave danger in placing the slightest faith in the multilateral international institutions that were set up by the U.S. and will always be beholden to capitalist interests. The European powers, Japan and other close U.S. allies may today appear to be critical of the Trump administration, but when the master barks they will stand to attention.

As for Russia and the countries of the Global South, they may well have a material interest in strengthening their economic ties with China. However, they are all ruled by capitalist or bureaucratic cliques that will always put their own reactionary interests before those of the working class. If they must choose between U.S. imperialism and socialism, they will choose the former. The PRC must not place any faith in these unreliable friends. It must look to the workers.

In the Pacific, the imperialists seek to encircle China, whipping up provocations over Taiwan. We must appeal to the workers and peasants of the region to form an anti-imperialist united front. The people of East Asia have common cause in opposing Japanese and Western imperialism. There is no better way to undercut the reactionary designs of the U.S. than for the PRC to stand as a beacon of national and social liberation.

In the Middle East, we believe that rather than invoking “international law”—which has always been the law of brigands—the PRC should play a proactive role in assisting the peoples’ struggles to throw off imperialist domination. The PRC should urgently provide wide-ranging and comprehensive material support to the Palestinian struggle. Such concrete acts of international solidarity are sure to win millions of supporters across the Muslim world. Moreover, a blow to U.S. designs in West Asia would fundamentally undermine a U.S. pivot to East Asia.

In formulating the above recommendations, we claim no independent discovery. Rather, we simply seek to apply to today’s conditions the policies followed by Lenin after the 1917 Revolution. His response to imperialist encirclement and counterrevolutionary threats was to found the Comintern and rally the workers of the world around the great cause of international proletarian emancipation.

2) The Greatest Danger Is Domestic

We must never forget that the Soviet Union was defeated not by the barrel of the gun but because of the internal flaws of the regime. The PRC has made giant strides in its technological, industrial and military prowess, which have given it the ability to resist imperialist aggression. However, when it comes to the domestic front, the PRC finds itself in a much more vulnerable situation. In this sense, we agree with the following warning made by Mao Zedong:

Today the capitalist class in China holds great economic and political influence. The growth of this class poses a direct threat to the continued existence of the People’s Republic. Their words of “loyalty” must not make us lose sight of the fact that they will try to stage a comeback. Moreover, capitalist economic relations have exacerbated the injustice, exploitation and corruption in China. This has alienated the proletariat, the backbone of the PRC.

Against this growing cancer of internal division, we advocate the following measures:

• The domestic capitalists should be expropriated and all industry brought under state control.
• Party officials should not receive compensation exceeding that of the average worker.
• Workers must be given democratic control over industry and the state, with full liberty to express their views and differences.

To be effective, these measures must not rely on domestic self-sufficiency but must be part of a plan of international socialist construction. The PRC should coordinate its economic plan with the needs and aspirations of the workers of the Global South. It should directly confront the stranglehold of the U.S. dollar system on the world. At the same time, it is important to extend a hand to the workers of imperialist countries and support them in their struggles against our common enemy. The sum of these policies will undercut domestic counterrevolutionary forces, reinforce international working-class solidarity and push forward common economic prosperity.

Finally, we must touch on the national question inside China. There is no doubt that the imperialists have always sought to manipulate nationalism and regionalism to subjugate the Chinese nation. However, the answer to the national aspirations of the Uyghurs and Tibetans must not be repression and co-optation. Such a policy can only push these peoples into the arms of counterrevolution. We must look back to the early days of the CPC, when it stood for the right of self-determination. Lenin taught us that unity between peoples can be forged only by opposing every form of national oppression. Only by granting the right of self-determination can true socialist unity be built against imperialism.

Of course, our proposals will require a struggle within the party and throughout the PRC. But if it is based on the struggles and aspirations of the working class, victory is assured. This is not only the correct way but the only way.

Down with U.S. imperialism!
Defend the People’s Republic of China!
Workers of the world, unite!