I don't see people discussing this enough. But in my opinion this is big, and needs to be amplified.
The Chinese are by and large irreligious, and yet they are trying to send money to the Islamic Republic to the point that the embassy in Beijing had to release a statement saying basically 'thank you but we're not seeking donations at this time'.
Meanwhile western 'marxists' can't help but preface whatever they have to say about Iran with "but remember guys it's a theocratic fascistic regime". To their 10,000 twitter followers who all hail from Langley, Virginia, because that will surely change the tide.
Now, where did these netizens get the idea from that they support Iran? It doesn't come out of nowhere. People who live/have been to China will be able to say more on this and how world politics are represented in Chinese media, but we see that even as the PRC takes a step back so to speak on the world stage (at least publicly), the masses in China still know what's what. Nobody in the west wants to send money to the Islamic Republic right now, I can tell you that much (not that we could, it's illegal in most western countries.)
China is very diplomatic in how they talk. They trade with 'Israel', because they will trade with anyone (and the Chinese will be quick to point out that trading is a neutral act). And conversely, the PRC is not very public about what they do behind the scenes. During this war, we have seen Chinese satellite imagery of the strikes against US bases. What's interesting is that these were released publicly, likely as a flex to say "FYI if you were thinking of attacking us this is some of what we can do."
This has led some to speculate that China is helping Iran in some ways, but that's the thing: they're not flashy about it. The White House publicizes every strike they make because they want to strike fear in your hearts, while China works diligently at the desk. That's the difference. That's why we think everything is resolved through bombs and guns - that's just what we grew on.
When Yemen announced a blocus through the Gulf of Aden, Chinese and Russian ships were the only ones they allowed through. It has been reported that it is the same situation in Hormuz but the situation is still foggy so don't jump to conclusions too quickly. IR mission to the UN denied that Iran blocked the Strait just earlier.
Still this doesn't prevent the ever-so-righteous western communists from saying 'but China does nothing, but China is not helping'.
First of all: a- did Yemen and Iran even ask China to participate in the war? No, they did not. And b- why should China help and not you? Is it because you don't want to be on the receiving end of a bombing run? Well neither do the Chinese. So why should they die on your western word?
Frankly at this point anyone in the west that still follows the routine is not worth listening to anymore. They have become utterly irrelevant, just like that. Western marxism will not save us, it never has. It's never produced anything other than, well, nothing. If your opinions begin with "well Iran is not great but-" I don't wanna hear it. Everything that you say will be nonsense.
This goes for those highly-theoretical communists that think China is revisionist or dogmato-liberal-scato-whatever too. You have become completely irrelevant, just living in a very peculiar niche of "I think I'm helping!" but also "how come we can never rally more than 10 people who want to form a cult before exploding??"
Meanwhile the people in China know exactly what's going on. Do you think they receive top-class political education in school? No, like every other student in the world, they just coast by until the exam and then promptly forget the material. And yet they still arrive at the correct conclusion.
If you want to be a marxist in the west, become an eastern marxist. that's what 'western marxism' means: the ineffectual, CIA-approved ant mill that keeps you running in circles until you die of exhaustion.
Oh and this goes for ignorantly believing whatever western media prints about China too when it fits your preconceptions and stereotypes.
Yes. None of us is born with the knowledge of how to build a revolution that can take the place of an existing societal power. If anything, it's the opposite. People are generally born into a power structure that is telling them that it's good and wholesome (whether it is or not), that in spite of its flaws it's making progress, and that if you work with it rather than against it, you can overcome problems. In other words, from a young age, we are often being taught how to get along with the status quo rather than fundamentally challenge it.
I emphasize this because I think it helps hit home how little many of us will know about revolution, whether a bourgeoisie one, a nationalist one, a communist one, if we don't learn from what has come before and what is still standing now. The first time I read theory, it was eye-opening because I'd simply never been exposed to those kind of perspectives before in such vivid detail.
And every time I learn about the operations of an AES project beyond the most superficial of summaries, that too is eye-opening in its own ways. As you emphasize, this extends beyond learning about communist efforts alone. Not only to understanding why various anti-imperialist, non-communist takeovers have succeeded, but also why imperialism itself succeeds; where it is weak and where it is strong. Colonialism has not brutalized the world for hundreds of years through propaganda alone. How has it lasted as long as it has? How did it morph into and sustain itself through imperialism?
It's a lot of ground to cover, but that's fine. If people have time to write long lectures about the supposed failings of this or that anti-imperialist or AES project that isn't pure enough, they have the time to learn more about how those projects came to be and how they actually operate in the day to day realities. And yes, people who actually live in one of those places, I would generally assume they're more equipped to speak on it and criticize in fair way. Though even then, I would expect them to criticize in detail and with nuance, lest they be mistaken for someone who is trying to mimic the empire's sweeping and dismissive proclamations.