A compact look at how a small group of Democratic Socialists publicly pledged support for Chinese socialism and how that pledge aligns with growing ties between some U.S. leftist activists and pro-Beijing platforms.
About a dozen members of the Democratic Socialists of America reportedly added their names to a public pledge that praises and promises to defend China’s political model. Eleven DSA and DSA International Committee members were listed among more than 900 signatories on the document, which commits signers to “resolve to support, defend and build understanding of Chinese socialism.”
The pledge lays out sweeping ideological claims, including that “the global advance to socialism is indispensable if humanity is to survive and to flourish.” It labels capitalism as “totally incapable of solving the problems of poverty and inequality” and says capitalism is “inextricably linked with war, empire, racism, misogyny, alienation, and environmental destruction.” Those lines read like a wholesale embrace of a revolutionary narrative that dismisses democratic institutions.
On China specifically, the pledge argues: “We support all states building or aspiring to socialism, and we favour the highest level of unity and friendship between them. We foreground China in particular because its size and level of development give it an objectively critical role in the global transition to socialism.” That passage places China at the center of an international political project in a way that will alarm anyone concerned about national sovereignty and human rights.
Signatories also describe the Chinese government as “the most prominent force pushing for the establishment of a multipolar system of international relations and a new international economic order” and call it “a global leader in the struggle to avoid climate breakdown.” The pledge ends on a stark note: “As such, the continued survival of Chinese socialism is a crucial matter not only for the Chinese people but for all humanity.” The rhetoric treats China’s political survival as a global public good.
The group behind the pledge calls itself Friends of Socialist China, a London-based platform openly dedicated to supporting the People’s Republic and promoting what it terms Chinese socialism. Its work includes publicity, events, and an advisory network that frames Beijing’s model as a positive blueprint for development and climate action rather than as a government guilty of serious human-rights abuses.
Friends of Socialist China frames criticism of Beijing over Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the Uyghurs as Western propaganda and pushes solidarity among socialist-leaning states. That posture makes the platform functionally a propaganda outlet for the Chinese Communist Party in its messaging and outreach to sympathetic activists abroad.
The pledge and the platform are part of a broader pattern: internal discussion and outreach between elements of the DSA and entities connected to or sympathetic with Chinese officials. An investigation in January reviewed internal meeting minutes going back to 2021 that show DSA International Committee and China Working Group members weighing outreach to Chinese officials under anti-imperialist banners.
Those records reportedly advised activists to avoid topics Beijing considers sensitive, including talk of an invasion of Taiwan, the Hong Kong security law, and conditions in Xinjiang. Participants discussed organizing trips and exchanges, and in one October 2025 meeting a New York-based activist said, according to the minutes, “China wants to interface with the DSA.” That kind of language suggests planned engagement rather than casual observation.
Chinese officials are said to have met with some DSA members and encouraged more formal exchanges, and a five-person DSA delegation traveled to Beijing in September 2025 to attend China’s anniversary celebrations of victory over Japan. These contacts raise clear questions about judgment, priorities, and whether sympathy for authoritarian regimes has displaced concern for democratic norms among some activists.
Not every DSA member is enthusiastic about the direction. One International Committee member put it bluntly: “This isn’t what I signed up for and I imagine it’s not what a majority of members signed up for.” That same member added, “There’s no way you can be a part of the organization and promote the things they’re doing,” signaling active internal resistance to turning the organization into a cheerleader for Beijing’s agenda.
The story maps a worrying alignment between a handful of U.S. activists and a foreign political model that does not share American democratic practices. The pledge and the networks behind it make clear there are people inside major American left-wing movements willing to countenance or defend an authoritarian, one-party system as a legitimate international partner.
https://x.com/EricLDaugh/status/2083193240312762761
