Türkiye in China’s wartime geopolitical imagination: competing visions of neutrality, modernization and democratization (1939–1949)

Abstract

This study examines overlooked sources to analyse how Chinese intellectuals, bureaucrats and statespersons perceived Türkiye and its foreign policy from the outbreak of WWII to the founding of the People’s Republic of China (1939–1949). Chinese periodicals portrayed post-Atatürk Türkiye as model and cautionary tale, serving as a mirror for China’s debates on resistance, legitimacy and alignment. Guomindang-leaning and liberal outlets praised Kemalist reforms and neutrality as symbols of national resilience and balanced great-power diplomacy. Pro-Japanese publications emphasized Ankara’s constraints to advocate accommodation with Japan. Chinese Communist Party-aligned commentary depicted Türkiye as pseudo-democratic and anti-Soviet, using the Straits and neutrality to frame China’s dilemmas of regime legitimacy, security and bloc alignment. Methodologically, the study employs qualitative content analysis of newspapers and journals based on archival research in Nanjing and Peking University libraries. By analysing these neglected materials, the article offers the first account of Türkiye’s place in China’s geopolitical imagination.