The scramble for Xiaobei : epistemic extraction, racialised knowledge, and representation in Africa–China urban encounters

In this article, I examine the scramble to represent Xiaobei, a neighbourhood in Guangzhou, China, as a case of epistemic extraction within Africa–China urban encounters. Drawing on my own ethnographic fieldwork and critical analysis of scholarly, journalistic, and artistic portrayals, I argue that framing Xiaobei as an “African place” was not merely a reflection of social reality but played an active role in shaping it: racialised and intersecting representations directly influenced how the neighbourhood was policed, perceived, and ultimately transformed. The article situates these practices of knowledge production within broader debates on colonial legacies, racialised urban imaginaries, and the ethics of anthropological and media fieldwork. By interrogating how representation can reinforce epistemic inequality and legitimise state-led intervention, I call for more reflexive, reciprocal, and decolonial approaches to studying transnational communities, mobility, and urban change in contemporary Chinese and African contexts.