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China's Confucius Institute in Africa: a different story?

Siyuan Li (Leeds Arts and Humanities Research Institute, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK)

International Journal of Comparative Education and Development

ISSN: 2396-7404

Article publication date: 1 July 2021

Issue publication date: 1 October 2021

659

Abstract

Purpose

China's Confucius Institutes (CIs) have been under increasing scrutiny in the West while their development in Africa has been steady and strong. This article aims to examine the establishment, operation and effects of this institute in Africa, and discuss its role in a wider context of education, development and China's foreign policy towards Africa.

Design/methodology/approach

This empirical research is a case study of China's Confucius Institutes in Africa. Fieldwork data was collected in China and seven CIs in four African countries.

Findings

This research found that the CIs were not just Chinese language and culture promotion organisations in Africa. Rather, they played a deeper and more profound role in training local individuals, involving them in different forms of Chinese presence in Africa and linking their own personal development with the rise of China. In that sense, this article argues that the CI plays a positive role in promoting China's soft power and national interest in Africa. This article also highlights the problems of the institute's operational mode, and casts doubt on some aspects of its future development.

Originality/value

This research systematically examines the establishment, operation and effects of the CIs in Africa, in an attempt to understand the real role of this institute in China's foreign policy towards Africa and demonstrate the uniqueness of the situation of the CIs in Africa.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Professor Kenneth King, Dr Kweku Ampiah, Professor Hinrich Voss, Dr Kingsley Edney and two anonymous reviewers for their valuable suggestions and comments.

Funding: This research was supported by the Worldwide Universities Network Mobility Award and Universities' China Committee in London Research Grant.

Citation

Li, S. (2021), "China's Confucius Institute in Africa: a different story?", International Journal of Comparative Education and Development, Vol. 23 No. 4, pp. 353-366. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCED-02-2021-0014

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited

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