In an age of globalization that is characterized by pervasive use of various forms of translation within different political contexts, theorizing the politics of translation assumes considerable importance. Such theorization has to move beyond linguistic, textual, cultural and national boundaries - by way of re-examining lived and living experiences of the politics of translation -and must involve reconstructing and rewriting the history of translation. This article seeks to explain, from a Chinese point of view, the political impact of globalization on translation, and to identify the domestic and international challenges that Chinese translation theorists face in theorizing the politics of Chinese translation within a postmodern, postcolonial and globalized context. Finally, it explores whether this Chinese effort to politicize translation can open up a new space for a much-needed intercivilizational dialogue with the West.