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The Dual Dimensions of Chinese Nationalism: Civilizational Rhetoric and the Practice of Control



Author(s)

Vita Golod

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DOI:10.17265/2328-2177/2025.11.003

A. Krymsky Institute of the Oriental Studies, NAS of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine

In contemporary China, nationalism under Xi Jinping operates through a dual mechanism that integrates domestic identity engineering with outward-facing narratives of moral leadership. This article argues that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s shift from describing China as a “unified multiethnic state” to promoting a “united community of the Chinese nation” (中华民族共同体) (China Daily, 2017) marks a decisive ideological turn that normalizes assimilationist governance and reshapes the cultural and religious life of minority regions. Based on discourse analysis of Xi Jinping’s speeches, official policy documents, and ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Xinjiang in 2024, the study shows how this ideological shift produces a museumized multiculturalism that narrows space for ethnic autonomy and diversity. At the same time, China amplifies a peacebuilding discourse—particularly in its engagement with the Russo-Ukrainian war and conflicts in the Middle East—to present itself as a responsible global actor. The findings reveal three interlocking dynamics: First, cultural homogenization remains central to the Party’s long-term stability strategy; second, China’s civilizational rhetoric resonates most strongly where material partnerships outweigh normative concerns; and third, the contrast between domestic coercion and external reassurance functions not as a contradiction, but as a coherent political pattern. These dynamics show how nationalist ideology, cultural governance, and foreign-policy messaging form an integrated project that expands China’s influence while exposing the limits of its moral legitimacy.

China, Xi Jinping, nationalism, ethnic policy, Chinese nation, Uyghurs, Xinjiang