Leon Trotsky on China

[3] Vladimir Lenin and Trotsky had postulated that Western capitalism would be considerably weakened with the eruption of anti-colonial rebellions which in turn could suspend the supply of cheap labour, raw materials and investment inflows.

[3] From the perspective of early Chinese onlookers, Trotsky had been presented as the formal second-in command in the Soviet Union and had a significant role in the founding of the Sun Yat-sen University.

[3] Chiang Kai-Shek had been appointed an honorary member of the Executive of the Comintern prior to the Shanghai massacre, Stalin had commended his military forces as "revolutionary armies" and rejected any attempts to form soviets in China.

[3] Stalin alongside the Politburo had censured the criticism presented by the Left Opposition with disciplinary methods and prevented the factional controversy from receiving public attention in the Soviet Union.

[2] Chinese Left Opposition leader and academic, Chen Duxiu, viewed Trotsky's writings on China approvingly along with the latter’s publication of Lenin's testament.

[11] Specifically, Dixiu regarded these commentaries as his exoneration for the initial failure of the Chinese revolution, providing the basis for compatible theoretical formulations and serving to legitimise an ideological break with Stalin.