The Interplay of Ideational Elements of China’s Community of Shared Future (CSF) Discourse and FOCAC in Building a China – Africa CSF: A Discursive Institutionalist Approach

Over the past three decades, China’s assertiveness in multilateralism and global governance has drawn strong attention in both academia and policy. Since the Community of Shared Future (CSF) was introduced and globalized in 2013, this assertiveness has been derived from the slogan's ideas, which seek to create (build) a harmonious world conducive to global development in each region across the world. Most significantly, the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), one of China’s first Global South multilateral frameworks, has been essential to promoting and implementing what is now a China–Africa CSF. Using a Discursive Institutionalist approach, this study addresses a gap in the literature by assessing the ideational elements of China's global CSF discourse and how they manifest in the China–Africa CSF within FOCAC. Findings indicate that the China–Africa CSF has shifted China–Africa cooperation from a state of interaction to a progressive building process aimed at achieving shared goals, sustained by maximizing three CSF ideational elements: cohesive diversity, common prosperity, and participatory collectivism. In addition, this process is facilitated by FOCAC’s interactive structure that aligns with and legitimizes these ideational elements, enabling collective efforts from all members.