Interesting link picked up today by Danwei, from a Global Times interview with a US lobbyist. The excerpt is the intro and first question:

American Jews are known for their formidable lobbying power in the US. How is this accomplished? What can Chinese learn to launch an effective lobby within US politics? The following is an interview by Global Times (GT) reporter Lu Jingxian with Jack Rosen (Rosen), chairman of the American Jewish Congress (AJC) and the American Council for World Jewry, on the issue.

GT: The AJC is a powerful political group in the US. China is also learning to build more lobbying power there. What stage are Chinese currently at? What are your suggestions?

You never know whether to be amused or offended by this sort of thing. I’ve encountered the Chinese “prejudice” with regard to Jews many times. The basic assumption here is that Jews are smart – hard to be upset with that, I suppose. Once in a while that generalization includes influence over global banking, entertainment, etc.

What’s different about the Chinese view of Jews and similar feelings in other countries is that, by and large, it is not a negative feeling. For example, some people in the US or Europe might complain about all those horrible Jews controlling the levers of international finance to the detriment of “ordinary folks.”

In China, the prevailing opinion might be that there are a lot of Jews in the banking industry, but it pretty much ends there. No global conspiracy, no Protocols of the Elders of Zion, etc. In other words, no “us versus them” mentality.

All that being said, that above excerpt is sorta quaint. Sure, the Jewish lobby is powerful in D.C. No one disputes that, but it isn’t exactly polite to say so these days. When I read that, I get a mental image of a wide-eyed interviewer wanting to get lobbying tips from a savvy Jew, with no idea about the broader racial context.

Just another interesting aspect of expat life.