Why China-bashing is being replaced by China-maxxing
Young Westerners embracing Chinese habits and culture started as a meme. But under it is a serious political signal
China might not be a conventional or classic beauty. But compared to the contemporary US, Israel and some of their Western allies, it doesn’t look so ugly.
There is now something called China-maxxing. Jostein Hauge, an associate professor in development studies at the University of Cambridge, explains: “There’s a term that’s been floating around Gen Z corners of the internet: ‘China-maxxing.’ It kind of started as a joke – young Westerners enthusiastically embracing Chinese lifestyle habits, fashion, and culture. But underneath the meme is a serious political signal. A growing cohort of people, mostly young, don’t share their parents’ reflexive suspicion of China, and are increasingly willing to say so. I find myself broadly sympathetic to the younger generation.”
China’s rise has been treated as threatening in the West, but that narrative is being challenged by China-maxxing.