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Kenya-China ties bear tangible fruits in 2024
President William Ruto of Kenya and China's President Xi Jinping shake hands during the high-level meeting on the Belt and Road Initiative in Beijing, China on September 5, 2024.
What you need to know:
- The two friendly countries should boldly implement mutually beneficial development programmes.
- The year also saw tens of Kenyans win Chinese government scholarships to study in China as well as local institutions.
The year 2024 was a defining one for Kenya-China relations. In September, President William Ruto attended the 9th Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), where he held talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
The meeting was one of the many high-level visits and exchanges between the two countries — paving the way for deeper consultations towards a more effective development partnership.
China is Kenya’s largest trade partner. From China, Kenya buys industrial products —namely; electrical machinery, vehicles, electronics, household products and clothing.
On the other hand, it exports agricultural produce such as coffee, tea, avocadoes and nuts to China. Other Kenyan export products include petroleum oils and minerals like titanium, tantalum, and niobium.
Similarly, China is a veritable source of foreign direct investments (FDI) to Kenya. More than 400 Chinese companies have set up base in Kenya, employing over 60,000 people.
These enterprises are key channels of skills and technology transfer; product and service quality upgrades; and a wide range of impactful corporate social responsibility undertakings.
Chinese government scholarships
In 2024, China advanced a credit facility of Sh40 billion to Kenya aimed at completing road projects across 15 counties. That was a long-standing demonstration by China of its willingness to commit resources for Kenya’s infrastructure modernisation under the auspices of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
At the September FOCAC, President Ruto lauded BRI for its utilitarian impact in improving connectivity, trade, investments and job creation in Kenya and the rest of Africa.
The year also saw tens of Kenyans win Chinese government scholarships to study in China as well as local institutions. Like many others across Africa, young Kenyans are choosing to study in China because of education quality and affordability.
China being the largest developing country, the scholarship beneficiaries also have many learning points that speak to own-country development scenarios.
Also in 2024, Kenya joined the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank. This bold and strategic decision puts Nairobi in good stead to tap additional resources from the bank for priority areas such as climate mitigation, digital inclusion and infrastructure expansion.
Kenya and China also implemented the Joint Technical Committee, an innovative consultation and coordination initiative aimed at streamlining development discourse and partnership across sectors.
Green development agenda
These milestones were made possible by strategic leadership on both sides. Kenya’s Prime Cabinet Secretary and Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr Musalia Mudavadi, and the outgoing Chinese Ambassador to Kenya, Dr Zhou Pingjian, steadied the diplomatic ship, enabling Kenya and China to forge closer ties, including an agreement to build a joint community of a shared future.
Certainly, the elasticity of cooperation between Nairobi and Beijing hasn’t hit the limits. Kenya has set forward ambitious development targets under Vision 2030. Similarly, China is forging ahead with the plans to build a modern socialist country by 2049.
The two friendly countries should boldly implement mutually beneficial development programmes. Areas of consideration should include industrialisation, trade and green development. Kenya can attract excess industrial capacity and create jobs for its restless youth.
More trade, particularly in agricultural produce, will deliver prosperity for Kenyan farmers while giving Chinese consumers more quality and value for money.
As the largest source of green technologies, Chinese partnership is critical for Kenya’s green development agenda. From solar panels to electric vehicles, China is the right partner for Kenya.
In 2025, a new Chinese envoy to Kenya will take over. This offers an opportunity to reimagine the partnership, strengthen cooperation and deliver prosperity to the people of both countries.
Dr Cavince, PhD, is a scholar of international relations with a focus on China-Africa development cooperation. @Cavinceworld