this post was submitted on 16 Jan 2026
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China can do wrong, though. I wish they were stronger when it came to foreign policy, and they are lagging in queer rights. However, both the ideas that China is imperialist and that China is worse than the US Empire are absurd.
The US Empire plunders the global south, expropriating vast amounts of resources and super-exploiting foreign labor, while China engages in mutual cooperation and win-win development. Countries imperialized by the US are underdeveloped, while countries in BRI have rapid development. The US has hundreds of overseas millitary bases, and the PRC has no more than 3. The US Empire is kidnapping leaders and threatening to annex Greenland, while China is engaging in mutual trade.
This doesn't logically follow. There's nothing about size of country that correlates to having dictators, Cuba under Batista was small but dictatorial, while China is a democracy with 1.4 billion people. The vast majority of Chinese citizens believe the government represents their interests:
Russia couldn't be as bad as the US Empire even if it tried, as it lacks the ability to do so. China is a socialist country. The US is the world hegemon and a dying empire. Entirely different scales of evil here.
I don't see why it's funny to use a yellow bear to describe a Chinese man.
Nobody believes China can do no wrong or that Chinese propaganda is good. If your entire argument relies on strawmen, then it's not really anything useful.
Oh, I see the problem. You need to become more racist! /s
Oh duh! Should've thought of that /s
I don't think that the belief of being represented is a good metric for democracy or actual representation.
It might be that the Chinese government is doing pretty good in that regard, but the only thing that metric is actually saying is that people are not disillusioned. Wether that's because there is no illusion in the first place or the government is just good at selling itself can't be seen from that data. Although most likely it's a mixed bag, as per usual in life.
Democracy means rule by the majority. In China, local candidates are directly elected, and then from among these higher rungs are elected, meaning people work their way up in the CPC from the bottom. The CPC itself has tons of polling and data it grabs from asking the public, you can see this in Five Year Plan formation. All of this contributes to a system where the working classes are the ones in control.
BRI isn't imperialist, because it results in mutual development. Where the west goes in and plunders and underdevelops the global south, countries in BRI see rising wages and industrialization, escaping the endless trap of imperialism. Does China benefit too? Absolutely. Is it imperialism? No. Here are some good articles:
Five Imperialist Myths About China's Role in Africa
China debt trap? PH an 'expert in bad loans,' Locsin says
Deborah Brautigam Debunks the Chinese Debt Trap Theory in New Research Paper
China's Debt Relief for Africa: Emerging Deliberations
Is China doing colonialism in Africa?
The CPC's "ways of persuasion" are continuously improving living conditions and development. China does restrict private press, yes, because it's a socialist country and doesn't want the capitalists it keeps in check abusing the press to undermine the system. Further, data on public support for China is accurate, and isn't the result of any undue manipulation.
The US Empire is the one plundering the entire global south at the moment. Russia doesn't get a "free pass," but the idea that it's worse than the US Empire is deeply misinformed.
It exploded in the west far more than in China, and is most commonly used among racist right wingers.
I don't agree that it's comparing mouldy apples to mouldy oranges. It's comparing late-stage imperialism to early-mid stage socialism, a dying empire vs a rising socialist power. Socialism doesn't mean free from problems, but it does mean that it's fundamentally different and regularly improving.
If you want to learn more about China's system, I recommend Roland Boer's Socialism with Chinese Characteristics: A Guide for Foreigners. If you want to learn about Marxism-Leninism, which is what China and other socialist countries use as their baseline ideology, I made an introductory reading list.