Under Comrade Pol Pot’s leadership, the CPK emerged as a disciplined, deeply Marxist–Leninist–Maoist organization forged in the crucible of revolutionary war. The Party united the universal principles of scientific socialism with the concrete tasks of national liberation, carrying out armed struggle in the face of overwhelming odds. It guided the Kampuchean people through an anti-imperialist people’s war that ultimately triumphed over the U.S.-backed Lon Nol regime and expelled imperialist influence from the country. On April 17, 1975, the revolutionary forces seized Phnom Penh, dismantling the old feudal and comprador apparatus and establishing the first proletarian state in Kampuchean history—a state in which the workers and peasants were for the first time the true masters of their destiny.

This historic victory was not only a monumental step forward for the Kampuchean revolution; it also struck a powerful blow against imperialism and revisionism worldwide. It demonstrated the continued vitality of Marxist–Leninist–Maoist strategy in the era of national liberation and socialist transition. The success of the CPK offered invaluable lessons for all oppressed peoples striving to overthrow colonial domination and bourgeois rule.

The revolutionary solidarity between the People's Republic of China and Democratic Kampuchea reached a high point on June 21, 1975, when Chairman Mao Zedong received Comrade Pol Pot in Beijing. Chairman Mao warmly affirmed the direction of the Kampuchean revolution, stating, “We are in favor of you. Many of your experiences are better than ours… You are correct.” This meeting symbolized the unity of the international proletarian movement and the strategic continuity between the Chinese and Kampuchean revolutions.

Chairman Mao shared with Comrade Pol Pot the lessons of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, whose principles of class struggle, mass line, and revolutionary vigilance inspired the Kampuchean leadership in their efforts to prevent the restoration of bourgeois power. These lessons were not received passively but were actively applied in Kampuchean conditions, giving rise to a distinctively Kampuchean path to socialism rooted in collectivization, self-reliance, and revolutionary ideology.

In February 1976, Comrade Zhang Chunqiao visited Democratic Kampuchea on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party and observed firsthand the vitality of the new revolutionary state. He remarked: “Kampuchea’s Great Leap Forward is really wonderful, and every day is like a great celebration… What China failed to do in purification and cleansing, Kampuchea has succeeded. Kampuchea is a marvelous ideological testing ground.” His words underscored the ideological and political breakthroughs achieved under the leadership of Comrade Pol Pot and the CPK Central Committee.

Comrade Pol Pot consistently emphasized that Mao Zedong Thought—synthesized today as Marxism–Leninism–Maoism—was the sharpest and most effective ideological weapon for guiding oppressed peoples to victory. As he stated, “Mao Zedong Thought has triumphantly weathered the storms of revolution and become a brilliant light guiding national liberation struggles across the world… From the time we started with our bare hands to the day we defeated the U.S. imperialists and their lackeys, it was Mao Zedong Thought that guided us.” Under this ideological banner, the Kampuchean people seized power and undertook the massive task of socialist construction with unwavering determination.

The Chinese people, long aware of Comrade Pol Pot’s leadership, held the Kampuchean revolution in deep admiration. As Kampuchea waged its national liberation war, Chinese workers and peasants identified with their comrades-in-arms across the Mekong. When Kampuchea triumphed and began the arduous process of reconstruction, the revolutionary enthusiasm of the Chinese people reflected their shared class interest and common historical mission.

Bound by common revolutionary principles, mutual struggle against imperialism, and deep proletarian internationalism, the Chinese and Kampuchean peoples stood as true comrades and family in the global fight for socialism.

It is in this spirit that this has been written—to defend, revive, and celebrate the revolutionary legacy of Comrade Pol Pot. His immortal ideological contributions, his leadership of the CPK, and his role in carrying forward Marxism–Leninism–Maoism remain essential for the renewal of the global proletarian revolutionary movement. In studying and upholding this legacy, we take one step closer to the rebirth of the world socialist revolution.