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Paper short abstract

This paper analyzes how representations of Arab culture and bodies change in China’s digital spaces in the aftermath of the 2022 Qatar World Cup, marking a rupture from securitized post–War on Terror imaginaries and revealing how “sportswashing” reshapes popular desire and China–Arab relations.

Paper long abstract

Broadcast to millions of households, the 2022 Qatar World Cup marked a turning point in representations of the Arabic-speaking world in China. In the ensuing weeks, the World Cup dominated China’s digital sphere beyond match coverage, generating intense cultural, social, and commercial discourses. These ranged from the viral popularity of a locally designed mascot inspired by Arab male attire, to Arab footballers and "princes" whose appearances sparked female fandoms centered on the rare visibility of Arab masculinities as well as debates over interethnic intimacy, nationalism, and human rights. These resurgent representations of “Arabness” depart from the previous two decades of securitized imaginaries of Arab identities as associated with religious extremism, shaped by China's post-2000s “war on terror.”

Situated within global power rivalries, “sportswashing” practices, and long-standing Orientalist imaginaries of the Arab world, this paper asks what the Qatar World Cup’s mediated celebration of Arab culture, bodies, and masculinities in China reveals about shifting Chinese popular sentiments toward the Arab world, Arab states capital involvement in global sports, the evolving contours of China–Arab relations, and racialization and Orientalism beyond the East-West dichotomy. Drawing on digital ethnographic analysis of Chinese online discourse, this paper argues that the surge of popular enthusiasm for “Arabness”—in commodities and embodied desire—points to an unexpected convergence between the two ancient civilizations with shared decolonial and deimperial strivings in the modern era. As China and Arab states increasingly leverage sports and cultural capital within global networks, these encounters illuminate emerging realignments in global power and affective economies.