#WatchingAfricaOn Kuaishou : performing racial stereotypes on a Chinese short video platform

With China's growing engagement in African affairs, an increasing number of Chinese individuals residing or working in Africa are sharing short travel and exploration videos on Kuaishou. These videos have gained significant popularity on the platform while also reflecting racial stereotypes. An analysis of 277 videos using the #WatchingAfricaOnKuaishou hashtag reveals the hybridization of internalized racism originating from the West and racial perceptions rooted in Chinese culture. Creators strategically employ hashtags, comments, and platform policies to perpetuate explicit stereotypes of Africans while downplaying discussions about racial tensions and advocating for assimilation into Chinese modernity and culture. Beneath the facade of harmony, power dynamics are established over Africans, positioning the Chinese as both adversaries and reformers within the racial hierarchy of white supremacy. The overarching aim of these videos is to project Chinese national identity and assert a sense of cultural and civilizational superiority, thereby transforming Africans through Chineseness and reshaping power dynamics once dictated by Whites. This study examines an undercurrent of racism that exists between two previously colonized groups and calls for increased attention to specific manifestations of racism across diverse social landscapes.