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Antisemitism surges in China, fuelled by new hostility to Israel

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China has long been largely free of antisemitism and positive towards Israel, but new research shows attitudes have changed.
By Shahar Burla

Published: 10 March 2026

Last updated: 11 March 2026

Antisemitic narratives have surged across Chinese media and online discourse in recent years, a striking development in a country long viewed as largely free of traditional anti-Jewish hostility.

Research published by the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI), identifies waves of antisemitic rhetoric appeared across Chinese social media, universities and even official media outlets following the Gaza conflicts of 2021 and the war that began after the October 7 Hamas attack.

The study suggests that what began as harsh criticism of Israel’s military actions has increasingly blurred distinctions between Israel, Jews and Judaism, allowing classic antisemitic tropes to enter mainstream discourse in a country where such ideas were historically marginal.

From admiration to hostility

For decades, China was often described as one of the few major civilisations largely untouched by antisemitism. With only a tiny Jewish population, estimated at just a few thousand people across mainland China and Hong Kong, anti-Jewish hostility never developed as a significant social force. In fact, Chinese public discourse often leaned in the opposite direction. Jews were sometimes portrayed positively, associated with intelligence, wealth and perseverance. Chinese intellectuals occasionally drew parallels between Jewish and Chinese historical endurance as two ancient civilisations.

Earlier surveys appeared to confirm this relatively favourable climate. A 2014 global poll by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) found that about 20% of Chinese respondents agreed with negative stereotypes about Jews, a relatively low figure compared with many countries.

But according to the new JPPI report, the tone shifted sharply in the early 2020s. Senior JPPI fellow Shalom Wald identified what he described as “antisemitic waves” sweeping through Chinese media ecosystems after the Gaza conflicts of 2021 and again after the war that followed the October 7 attacks.

“These waves were authorised, if not initiated, by the Chinese government in pursuit of political goals,” the report argues.

According to JPPI president Yedidia Stern, the phenomenon matters far beyond China itself.

“When a nation representing one-fifth of humanity and one of the principal architects of the global information environment permits the dissemination of antisemitic ideas, its conduct resonates far beyond its borders,” Stern told The Times of Israel.

Geopolitics and the Israel–US connection

The report suggests that the shift is not rooted in historical prejudice but rather in geopolitical change. China’s deteriorating relationship with the US, combined with its growing strategic alignment with Arab and Muslim-majority states, appears to have influenced how Israel and Jews are portrayed in Chinese discourse.

In Chinese narratives, Israel is often framed as a close ally or extension of the US. Hostility toward Washington therefore sometimes translates into hostility toward Jews.

The report argues that this dynamic has encouraged the adoption of familiar Western antisemitic tropes, including claims of Jewish financial power, conspiratorial influence over global politics and comparisons between Israel and Nazi Germany.

One Chinese government-linked think-tank figure even suggested that the political survival of the United States was “parasitically attached” to Israel and “powerful Jewish forces,” according to the study.

“If antisemitism spreads widely in China’s media environment, it is unlikely to be happening entirely without official tolerance”

At the same time, Beijing has been expanding its diplomatic and economic engagement with the Arab world, presenting itself as a partner of the “Global South” and an alternative to American influence in the Middle East.  Distancing itself from Israel, and aligning rhetorically with anti-Western narratives circulating in parts of the region, may serve that broader strategy.

Universities and social media

The study identifies universities and social media platforms as key incubators of anti-Jewish rhetoric. Chinese universities, which train many of the country’s future leaders, increasingly host academic commentary that crosses from criticism of Israel into antisemitic claims, the report warns.

One academic example cited is a professor who portrays Israel as a colonial outpost of global capitalism while suggesting that Western media and politics are secretly controlled by Jewish financial elites, an echo of long-standing conspiracy theories.

Social media may be an even more powerful amplifier.

Influencers with millions of followers have circulated explicitly antisemitic content, sometimes quoting from texts such as Mein Kampf or the fabricated Protocols of the Elders of Zion. One prominent blogger reportedly told followers they could identify Jews by supposed physical characteristics, while another suggested that Hamas had acted “too softly” during the October 7 attacks.

Because China maintains strict censorship and control over media and online speech, the report argues that the spread of such material likely reflects at least tacit approval from authorities.

“If antisemitism spreads widely in China’s media environment, it is unlikely to be happening entirely without official tolerance,” the report concludes.

Erasing Jewish memory?

The report also points to symbolic developments that may signal a shift in official attitudes.

China historically celebrated Shanghai’s role as a refuge for more than 20,000 Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution during World War2. But some initiatives commemorating that history have recently been curtailed.

In 2024, a non-political musical about Jewish refugees in Shanghai was cancelled in Beijing. In the northeastern city of Harbin, plaques marking buildings linked to the historic Jewish community were removed, and a small Jewish museum was closed.

The report says such actions risk erasing elements of Jewish history from China’s public narrative.

“Inevitably, the Nazi practice of eliminating traces of Jewish contributions comes to mind,” the study notes.

Chinese embassy rejects study’s claims

In a comment to The Times of Israel, the Chinese Embassy in Israel strongly rejected the JPPI report, calling its findings “unfounded accusations and malicious smears.” The embassy said the study relied on selective evidence, exaggerated isolated cases and wrongly conflated criticism of Israel’s military conduct with antisemitism.

In a response sent to The Times of Israel, embassy spokesperson Zhang Guoping argued that the report was factually flawed and politically motivated. He said Jewish heritage sites in Harbin were undergoing renovation rather than erasure, and condemned comparisons to Nazi practices as “groundless and reckless”.

The embassy also insisted that China’s position on the Middle East is based on “international law and fairness and justice”, not hostility to Jews, and said comments on Chinese social media reflected personal views rather than state-backed antisemitism.

Zhang further stressed the long history of Chinese-Jewish friendship, including China’s wartime sheltering of Jewish refugees, and urged Israeli media to present what he called a more balanced view of China-Israel relations.

About the author

Shahar Burla

Shahar Burla

Dr Shahar Burla is a Sydney-based researcher, lecturer and Contributing Editor of TJI. Shahar holds a Master’s degree in political science from Hebrew University and a PhD in political science from Bar-Ilan University. He is the author of Political Imagination in the Diaspora: The Construction of a Pro-Israeli Narrative (2013) and co-editor of Australia and Israel: A Diasporic, Cultural and Political Relationship (2015).

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