The Last Days of the USSR and Trump’s Visit to China
Zi Hengmo
Abstract
This article employs a historical-materialist analysis to examine the political significance of renewed diplomatic engagement between the United States and China through the lens of the Soviet Union’s collapse in the late twentieth century. Reflecting on the public enthusiasm surrounding Donald Trump’s visit to China, the author argues that moments of diplomatic rapprochement with imperialist powers can create ideological openings for neoliberal reform, class compromise, and the erosion of socialist political foundations. Drawing parallels with the final years of the Soviet Union under Mikhail Gorbachev, the article contends that Soviet decline was not principally the result of external pressure but of internal ideological retreat, revisionism, and the abandonment of class analysis. The essay critiques contemporary currents within China that advocate deeper integration into Western-led economic and financial systems, portraying such tendencies as manifestations of comprador interests and neoliberal ideology. Against expectations that improved relations with the United States can resolve China’s developmental challenges, the author insists that imperialism remains structurally oriented toward domination rather than mutually beneficial cooperation. The article further argues that the preservation of socialism requires vigilance against privatization, financial liberalization, and ideological capitulation disguised as pragmatism. By revisiting the lessons of Soviet disintegration, the essay presents a warning against interpreting diplomatic engagement as a substitute for political independence, class struggle, and socialist development. Ultimately, it defends national sovereignty, state-led development, and anti-imperialist consciousness as indispensable foundations for China's continued socialist trajectory in an era of intensifying global competition.
Keywords
Soviet Union
