Cultivating reciprocity: Party-to-party diplomacy and narrative influence in China-Africa relations
Year: 2026
Type: dissertation
Abstract: This doctoral thesis examines a largely overlooked channel of Chinese influence in Africa: party-to-party diplomacy conducted through the Communist Party's International Department. A distinctive feature of party-to-party diplomacy in the Chinese context is that the state and the party are inextricably intertwined and their interests nearly inseparable. Because the International Department maintains contact primarily with ruling parties, party-to-party diplomacy functions in effect as state diplomacy – yet without the constraints of formal diplomatic protocol. Through party diplomacy, the International Department builds networks of relationships based on reciprocal exchange. Besides visiting and hosting African ruling parties, the International Department offers, through its networks, training, material support, and ideological guidance. In return, it expects loyalty, endorsement of the Communist Party's domestic legitimacy, and international support for its vision of a more just world order. The research consists of three distinct but complementary parts. The first analyses the formation of China's strategic narratives and the themes through which the party tailors them for an African audience. The second examines the dissemination of these narratives through party-to-party diplomacy, specifically, which geographical areas constitute the International Department's priorities, what kinds of parties it cooperates with, and what narratives it disseminates across the study period. The third examines how African politicians receive China's narratives and in which contexts they prove particularly effective. Each part draws on its own methodology and data. The first part draws on public statements by China's top leaders and official Communist Party outlets. The second is based on an extensive archive of news items from the International Department's website documenting its activities in Africa. The third analyses public statements by African politicians in both social and traditional media. The study finds that China's influence is most effective in countries where domestic political debate is ideologically aligned with the Communist Party of China, and least effective where political competition is more pluralist, pragmatic, or clientelist.
Source: UTUPub (University of Turku)
Author: Pihl, Marko Mikael
Institutions: University of Turku, Center for East Asian Studies
Language: English
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funders: Suomen Kulttuurirahasto, Koneen Säätiö
OpenAlex ID: W7220754178