The Confucius Institute (CI) was established in 2004 by China to disseminate its language, culture and other forms of positive knowledge to people of different nationalities. By critiquing existing analytical frameworks of the CI, this article draws on Foucault’s conception of power, which explains the role of language, culture, value and other non-material elements in the operation of power, to examine the case study of the CI in Africa. By investigating the CI’s power structure, its internal power operations and its power effects, this research seeks to ascertain the role of the CI in the institutionalisation of China’s foreign policy towards Africa.