Chinese Confucianism and Nigerian Ubuntu Philosophy: A Comparative Ethical Framework for Sino-African Relations

The philosophical foundations of Chinese Confucian ethics and Nigerian Ubuntu philosophy share structural similarities in their emphasis on relational personhood, communal obligation, and virtue in social life, yet their comparative potential as a basis for theorising Sino-African bilateral relations has remained unexplored in the academic literature. This study develops an original comparative ethical framework for Sino-African relations drawing on Confucian political philosophy and Ubuntu social ethics, making an original contribution to the philosophy of international relations from African and Chinese perspectives. The study employs a philosophical-comparative methodology, systematically analysing the primary texts and secondary scholarship on Confucian ethics (particularly the Analects, Mencius, and Xunzi), Nigerian Ubuntu philosophy (drawing on Tutu, Wiredu, and Metz), and contemporary Chinese and African political philosophy. A hermeneutic methodology guides close textual interpretation, and dialogue between the two traditions is facilitated through a structured comparison across five ethical themes: the relational constitution of personhood, the ethics of reciprocity, the concept of governance virtue, the basis of international solidarity, and the foundations of developmental obligation. Original theoretical contributions include a Confucian-Ubuntu Convergence Model that identifies seven shared ethical principles applicable to South-South cooperation frameworks, and a Philosophical Critique of Liberal IR Theory that challenges the hegemony of Western ethical foundations in international relations scholarship. The framework has practical implications for designing more philosophically grounded Sino-Nigerian bilateral cooperation agreements.

Keywords: Confucianism, Ubuntu, comparative ethics, Sino-African relations, philosophy of international relations