Chinese Philosemitism and Historical Statecraft: Incorporating Jews and Israel into Contemporary Chinese Civilizationism

TL;DR — Mary Ainslie argues that China’s idealisation of Jews and Israel serves as soft power and as part of a civilizationist narrative that places China at the centre of the world.

Published open access (CC BY 4.0) in The China Quarterly (first online April 2020) by Mary J. Ainslie of the University of Nottingham Ningbo China. The article surveys the growth of Jewish memorials, research centres, museums, publishing and “cultural outreach” in China, including Shanghai’s first Israeli culture week in 2017.

Ainslie argues that this philosemitism, and the telling of Chinese–Jewish history, works as soft power for China–Israel relations and fits a Communist Party narrative, tied to the Belt and Road Initiative, of China as a central and superior civilization. She contends it relies on Jewish racial stereotypes, sidelines historical Jewish voices and ignores evidence of antisemitic beliefs in China.

What it is: a peer-reviewed article in a leading China-studies journal.

Where this came from

• A copy saved in October 2026.
• Original source: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305741020000302
• Archived copy (Google Drive): Google Drive

19 pages. A copy is archived locally against link rot; the header links the original source.