The sense of community for the Chinese nation is a core bond of national identity and a key factor in modern social governance. Drawing on the “consensus environment” perspective in Game Theory，this study uses data from Chinese Social Survey to analyze the influencing processes of the perceived effectiveness of anti-corruption on the sense of community for the Chinese nation and its underlying mechanisms. The results reveal a U-shaped relationship：when perceived effectiveness is low，a gap in expectations weakens the sense of community for the Chinese nation；as perceived effectiveness rises, it markedly bolsters that sense. Within the trust environment and social-norm environment that jointly form the consensus environment，institutional trust significantly strengthens the sense of community for the Chinese nation，while social norms（moral norms + legal norms） exert a mediated effect that first suppresses and then promotes it，with legal norms having the greater weight. Optimizing the trust environment and refining social norms are pivotal pathways for enhancing the sense of community for the Chinese nation. Policymakers should manage anti-corruption campaigns dynamically and capitalise on the positive spill-over from heightened public confidence in anti-corruption.