The Genesis of a Global “Community of Common Destiny” – A Conceptualization of Chinese Worldmaking

The concept of a ‘Community of Common Destiny’ has emerged in the Chinese discourse and created conceptions of the future as well as worlds of imagination (Vorstellungswelten) as this concept does not yet reflect global reality. Further research on the subject may help elucidate how discourse worlds (Diskurswelten), transnationally networked social actors, and specific contexts in different localities shape conceptions of future and world order. Being deeply integrated within global structures since China’s reform and opening period, China has developed significant discourse power at home and abroad.

This project asks the questions of how Chinese diplomacy has created the concept of a ‘Community with a Shared Future for Mankind’, which purposes it serves, and which developments in meaning this term has seen in China and abroad. The project will argue, that while the ‘Community of Common Destiny’ is a global concept applicable to the whole of humanity, it is of imagination and not of reality. Rather than fixed development paths, it constitutes a rewriting of world order. In particular, the concept of ‘Community of Common Destiny’ has a significant impact on China’s approach towards climate change and its stance on environmental sustainability as well as Global Health through the implementation of the Belt and Road initiative. The project thus aims to investigate the role of the concept in shaping China’s approach to global governance and its interactions with other nations, examining the influence of China’s governance model on other regions.