Arriving then in the United States, he again began to lead the movement of workers in sea transport.
Returning to the US, began campaigning to join the Profintern; on this basis, he broke with I. W. W. In 1921 he became a member of the American Communist Party, the next year he moved to England, where he became one of the organizers and leaders of the minority movement.
He arrived in Hangzhou when Chiang Kai-shek was initiating his attacks on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), particularly through the Shanghai Massacre.
He remained in China working underground with the CCP and the All-China Federation of Trade Unions.
Here he learned about the decision to publish his book Those Stormy Years: Memories of the Fight for Freedom on Five Continents in Russian.