Eleven members of the Democratic Socialists of America just signed a public pledge to "support, defend and build understanding of Chinese socialism." The pledge, hosted by a London-based outfit called Friends of Socialist China, has collected 952 signatures from fellow travelers worldwide. Eleven of those signatures belong to people who describe themselves as DSA members or DSA International Committee figures.
This is the same DSA that helped put Zohran Mamdani in the mayor's office in New York City.
The pledge itself reads like something you'd find in a time capsule from 1952 Beijing. It declares that "the continued survival of Chinese socialism is a crucial matter not only for the Chinese people but for all humanity." It calls China "the most prominent force pushing for the establishment of a multipolar system" and, in a particularly creative flourish, anoints the People's Republic a "global leader in the struggle to avoid climate breakdown." This from a country that burns more coal than the rest of the planet combined.
Among the names: Mirah Wood, who signed as Co-Chair of the Middle East and Africa Subcommittee of the DSA International Committee. The pledge also includes language committing signers to "support all states building or aspiring to socialism" and to favor "the highest level of unity and friendship between them."
The signing didn't happen in a vacuum. In September 2025, a five-person DSA delegation flew to Beijing to attend events marking the 80th anniversary of Japan's defeat in World War II. NYC DSA member Dee Knight wrote about the trip, touting themes of "unity in multi-polarity" — which is diplomatic language for siding with China against American interests.
Then came the seminars. The DSA launched a monthly series on "modern China and lessons for US socialists." The first session presented China as a "strong democracy." No mention of the censorship. No mention of the political prisoners. No mention of the Uyghurs. Just "strong democracy," straight-faced, to a roomful of American socialists taking notes.
Internal DSA meeting minutes dating back to 2021, obtained by Newsweek in January 2026, show that members of the organization's International Committee and China Working Group had been discussing outreach to Chinese officials for years under the banner of "anti-imperialism." At an October 2025 meeting of the China Working Group, a New York-based activist said the quiet part out loud: "China wants to interface with the DSA."
Interface. That's a nice word for it.
Mamdani himself hasn't been identified as a pledge signer. But the political infrastructure that elevated him — the DSA's ground game, its fundraising apparatus, its activist network — is the same infrastructure now cozying up to Beijing. The organization that knocked doors for his mayoral campaign is running seminars calling China a democracy and sending delegations to toast the CCP.
The pledge commits signers to "the highest level of unity and friendship" with socialist states. China surveils its citizens, imprisons dissidents, and runs a one-party state that hasn't held a free election in its history. That's the system 952 people pledged to defend.
When the organization behind a sitting American mayor starts signing loyalty oaths to a foreign adversary, calling it "anti-imperialism" doesn't change what it is.