Chinese normative communities of practice : comparative study of China's relational governance of Africa and Central Asia

This investigation furthers the exploration of the Chinese perspectives on the content and practices of world affairs by undertaking a parallel assessment of Beijing’s agency in Africa and Central Asia. The contention of such exploration is that the external agency of China attests to its distinct normative power. The lodestone for China’s normative power is its idiosyncratic “logic of relationships”. Thus, in contrast to the dominant “logic of appropriateness” and “logic of consequence” practiced by Western normative powers, China’s normative foreign policy agency is characterized by (i) the deliberate practice of interaction, (ii) respect for the partner of interaction; and (iii) Beijing’s willingness to change to accommodate its partner’s interests. It is these dynamics that constructs not only socializing effects, but also nascent communities of practice. In particular, the establishment of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) offers some of the most conspicuous indications of a Chinese-led community of practice. The contention is that such conceptualization of Beijing’s conditioning propensity offers a unique opportunity to reflect upon China’s emerging international role(s) not only in Africa and in Central Asia, but also in global politics.