Performative belonging and embodied meaning-making in Africa–China encounters

Since the Mao era, political rhetoric has framed Africa–China relations through a discourse of brotherhood and solidarity, presenting belonging as ontological. I argue instead that belonging in the Africa–China space is achieved through sustained labor across political, cultural, and everyday contexts. Existing scholarship has predominantly examined belonging through spatial frameworks of community-building and place-making. Through case studies of two musicians – Hao Di, a Nigerian performer who achieved prominence in Chinese Mandarin singing competitions, and Akua China, a Chinese musician active in Ghana – I propose the concept of ‘performative belonging.’ Situating discussion on belonging within those of performativity enables us to engage with and broaden our understanding of a wider range of these multiple modes of belonging. This framework reconceptualizes belonging as produced through situated choices across political, theatrical, and everyday domains rather than as a given. It centers embodiment within Africa–China scholarship while expanding understandings of people-to-people relations in Africa–China encounters.