People's China at 75 - The Flag Stays Red

by Keith Bennett (Editor), Carlos Martínez (editor), Kenny Coyle (contributor)

When the People's Republic of China was proclaimed on 1 October 1949, China was one of the poorest and most wretched societies on earth. Illiteracy was as high as life expectancy was low but as Chinese leader Mao Zedong had remarked even before the formal announcement of the creation of the PRC, "The Chinese people have stood up."

Today's China is at the forefront of the world economy, it has eliminated absolute poverty and is leading the world in tackling climate change, and the development of new, high quality productive forces, essentially conforming to the fifth industrial revolution.

China has achieved this unprecedented development in less than a century, yet these achievements are frequently misinterpreted or distorted. This collection of essays, organised by the co-editors of Friends of Socialist China, aims to challenge these misconceptions and provide the political, historical and economic context that best explains China's astonishing rise.

Genres: China

172 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2025

Reviews

[Siyang Wei · Rating 5 out of 5]

Timely collection with some really insightful essays - especially enjoyed the contributions on the primary stage of socialism, socialist democracy, ecological civilisation, and the finance system. 五星红旗迎风飘扬！

[Tristan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great essays about the development of Chinese Socialism!

[Carlos Martinez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty great volume on the nature of Chinese socialism! But of course I would say that.

Chapters:

- Keith Bennett and Carlos Martinez: Understanding socialism with Chinese characteristics

- Ken Hammond: Building socialism with Chinese characteristics

- Jenny Clegg: China's transition to socialism: 1949-1956

- Andrew Murray: Standing up, living long, opposing hegemony

- Cheng Enfu and Chen Jian: The significance of China's fulfilment of its Second Centenary Goal by 2049

- Kenny Coyle: The 'primary stage of socialism' in historial context

- Roland Boer: China's socialist democracy

- Mick Dunford: Common Prosperity

- J Sykes: Mao, China, and the development of Marxism-Leninism

- Efe Can Gürcan: Building socialism, building the ecological civilisation

- Radhika Desai: Patient finance: Beijing's core challenge to the Washington Consensus

- Carlos Martinez: How China survived the end of history

[Eigil Møller · Rating 3 out of 5]

10 stars to the final essay by Carlos Martinez: ‘How China survived the end of history’

[holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant collection of essays on China's development over the last 75 years. Particularly enjoyed the one about the Chinese banking system. Long live the PRC x