China's Diplomatic Philosophy is endearing to African states

“China beats the west to win respect by Kenyans”. This is the news title that appeared recently on a local daily Kenyan newspaper. According to a survey conducted across the country by consumer insight Kenya, China has emerged as the main source of inspiration for Kenyans. This must be the case for the rest of Africa as these kinds of headlines are repeated across African dailies.

Africa traditionally looked to the west for inspiration. However, Since China entered the fray; the tide has slowly shifted in China’s favor to a point where the west is almost totally eclipsed from the main arena of things diplomatic. China’s secret lies in its diplomatic philosophy that endears to African states.

Whereas in International relations, states relate to each other based on national interests, perceptions and philosophical thinking plays a big part in shaping their foreign policies. Philosophy provides the theoretical guidance for foreign relations, while activities of foreign affairs are a practice under the guidance of diplomatic philosophical theory.

Different countries have different philosophical foundations for foreign affairs that shape their policies on world situations and international relations. As Africa becomes more assertive in the International arena, it responds accordingly to the various diplomatic philosophies towards it. An analysis of the west’s diplomatic philosophy in general as well as towards Africa explains why African States and the African people are turning to China.

The United States conforms to pragmatism and cherishes the values of freedom. It proclaims that the current world order is problematic and it will not acquire security if it retreats within its own borders. Despite complaints against anti-terrorism laws and interference, it has remained firm and unapologetic. “We will choose to act confidently in pursuing the enemies of freedom.  Every step toward freedom in the world makes our country safer, so we will act boldly in freedom’s cause”. This is America’s diplomatic philosophy that signifies domination, unilateral actions and inequality in relations.

The Germans uphold rational and technical philosophy. They believe that globalization, Democracy and European civilization, together with western values; economic, social and political system is good for the entire globe. German leaders have famously proclaimed that NATO has become a global alliance of public interest and that it should be used as a political instrument for making the world a secure environment. This sends shivers to every African leader and ordinary Africans who have seen the fall of regimes through military interventions. 

Russian leaders put forward that, in dealing with foreign relations, Russia is returning to “realism from Idealism”; giving more consideration to the interests of Russia and its International Image. This new philosophy has improved Russia’s image in Africa, especially when they have opposed sanctions targeting poor African countries.

French leaders’ philosophy is more of diversity in international exchanges and multilateralism. This has made it difficult for African states to predict it responses to international matters. However, its involvement in the ousting of Libyan ex-dictator Muammar Gaddafi has seen it labeled a rogue power by its critics in Africa.

China’s history and evolution has always had a bearing on Africa. For thousands of years, it had a reputation of a civilized country that upholds harmony and propriety. Its history resonates with Africa and its quick rise in stature offers great lessons and inspiration to African states. Its history of being colonized by various powers, poverty stricken and isolation have shaped its diplomatic philosophy. An important ideological foundation is the cultural tradition centering on “harmony and conformity” in today’s world outlook. 

China’s success in Africa is an indication that it has a sober understanding and a clear assessment of the international situation, especially with regard to Africa. In terms of policy guiding exchange with African countries, China’s diplomatic philosophy is expressed as friendly, based on mutual respect and win-win cooperation. Its major success lies in the principle of equality, non-interference and mutual development. 

China’s activities in Africa and local attitudes have been well documented by Deborah Brautigam’s book, the dragon’s gift. Brautigam observes that Africans are generally receptive to China’s developmental approach. That Africans approve one developing country helping another, “the poor helping the poor”; they value the longstanding connections built over decades with their Chinese partners; and they feel that China shows them far more respect than paternalistic Westerners.

China is putting forward proposals for a harmonious world, a just world with no wars and power politics. It claims that it seeks international political democracy as opposed to domination, fairness and justice, observance of international conventions and friendly and harmonious existence between countries. Whether or not China is genuine in its calls, the general diplomatic philosophy is the catalyst for its success in Africa.

Sino-Kenya relations should now focus on Agriculture as a Priority

China and Kenya relations are at an all time high. The two countries have established mutually beneficial relationships in various sectors of the economy. However, as a matter of priority, the focus must now shift to the agriculture sector as a step to the next level of developmental cooperation.

Agriculture is the backbone of Kenya’s economy and central to the country’s development strategy. Although the country seeks to diversify its economy, agriculture continues to dominate and play a major role in Kenya’s development.

It is estimated that the agricultural sector employs more than 75 percent of the workforce and accounts for approximately 51 percent of Kenya’s gross domestic product (GDP). 
 

Kenya is a leading global producer of high quality tea, coffee and fresh produce. However, with a population increase of approximately one million per year, combined with diminishing agricultural productivity and diminishing arable land, the country faces critical challenges in terms of food security.

China, despite having a huge population and also being affected by the impacts of Climate change, seem to be stable in food security. More than 95 percent of the grains consumed in China are produced domestically. Its hybrid rice technology is a world leader. Kenya would want to learn from China through capacity building and technology and information transfer.

China being Kenya’s important development partner, can contribute some of its experience in agricultural development. Although various steps have been made in the Sino-Kenya agricultural cooperation, there is a lot of potential in this sector for both countries.

During the China-Africa Agricultural Forum held in Beijing, China in 2010, Former vice-president Kalonzo Musyoka said there was need for Chinese firms to invest in setting up of farm machinery manufacturing plants in Kenya and called for technology transfer in irrigation farming, seed technology, and mechanization of agriculture as well as agro-processing for value addition.

However, the problem not only lies in growing technologies, farming machineries, seeds or fertilizer usage, but the fact that Kenya does not have incentive policies to encourage farmers to grow grains. In this regard, China has set a good example.

China implemented favorable and protective policies for its farmers to produce more. The government subsidized some state owned companies to purchase the domestic grown produce at higher and more stable prices than the market prices. 

It is worth noting that the Chinese government has already turned to take more efficient and sustainable actions to strengthen the ties with Kenya in agricultural field. Training programs and technology transfer can play an important role in China-Kenya agricultural cooperation. Probably the best agricultural technologies for transfer from China to Africa are water and soil related technologies. 

China offers solutions especially for small-scale farmers, including water saving and augmenting techniques, tillage and planting methods, soil enhancing methods such as mulching, and the maximization of fertilizer usage by soil testing and application techniques. Research on mechanization techniques, and techniques including rural energy sources, and a more thorough investigation of Chinese aquaculture, also could provide valuable lessons for Africa.

Last year, a group of dryland agricultural scientists from Lanzhou University paid a series of visits to Kenyan Ministry of Agriculture, Kenya Agricultural Research Institute and the University of Nairobi to find ways of working together to enhance food security in Kenya. 

The role of government and the incentives given to farmers to undertake the soil and water conservation activities was discussed at length. The delegation noted that the rainfall conditions were similar and the technologies would undergo testing and demonstration before up scaling to farmers.

With the establishment of the Forum on China-Africa cooperation (FOCAC), agricultural cooperation between China and Africa has been intensified and Kenya needs to take advantage and learn as much as it can from the Chinese experience.

Kenya and China already have a good foundation in Agricultural cooperation that only needs to be enhanced.  The establishment of the third Confucius institute in Kenya that will focus on training locals in agriculture is a good start. 

Apart from technology and skills transfer, the government should consider ways of motivating and encouraging farmers and other key stakeholders in the agricultural sector in a bid to boost productivity and effectively manage the industry to boost the country’s overall Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

China in Ten Words: By Yu Hua: Guest to My Word!!

Contemporary China has established a blistering pace of economic development that has vaulted it past Japan to become the world's second largest economy. Some analysts project that it will surpass the U.S. as the world's largest economy within a generation. But all rapid change leaves a path of destruction and distress and China's success has left in its wake uneasiness and stress, which has been memorably articulated by award-winning author and commentator Yu Hua. Any comparison of China's current situation with any part of America's history is, of course, problematic and flawed, and the differences outweigh the similarities. However, in some respects, China's current stress faintly reflects the angst and dissatisfaction that resonated through American society in the late 1800s, the so-called Gilded Age, a period of unmatched economic achievement in America during which it vaulted past Britain to become the world's largest economy:

"In the thirty-odd years since Mao's death China has fashioned an astonishing economic miracle, but the price it has paid is even more astounding. When I left South Africa at the end of a visit during the 2010 World Cup, the duty-free shop at Johannesburg's airport was selling vuvuzelas -- Chinese-made plastic horns -- for the equivalent of 100 yuan each, but on my return home I learned that the export price was only 2.6 yuan apiece. One company in Zhejiang manufactured 20 million vuvuzelas but ended up making a profit of only about 100,000 yuan.    

"This example gives a sense of China's lopsided development: year after year chemical plants will dump industrial waste into our rivers, and although a single plant might succeed in gener­ating a thirty-million-yuan boost to China's GDP, to clean up the rivers it has ruined will cost ten times that amount. An authority I respect has put it this way: China's model of growth is to spend 100 yuan to gain 10 yuan in increased GDP. Environmental degradation, moral collapse, the polarization of rich and poor, pervasive corruption -- all these things are constantly exacerbating the contradictions in Chinese society. More and more we hear of mass protests in which hundreds or even thousands of people will burst into a government compound, smashing up cars and setting fire to buildings.

"Many Chinese have begun to pine for the era of Mao Zedong, but I think the majority of them don't really want to go back in time and probably just feel nostalgic. Although life in the Mao era was impoverished and restrictive, there was no widespread, cruel competition to survive, just empty class struggle, for actually there were no classes to speak of in those days and so struggle mostly took the form of sloganeering and not much else. People then were on an equal level, all alike in their frugal lifestyles; as long as you didn't stick your neck out, you could get through life quite uneventfully.

"China today is a completely different story. So intense is the competition and so unbearable the pressure that, for many Chinese, survival is like war itself. In this social envi­ronment the strong prey on the weak, people enrich them­selves through brute force and deception, and the meek and humble suffer while the bold and unscrupulous flourish. Changes in moral outlook and the reallocation of wealth have created a two-tiered society, and this in turn generates social tensions. So in China today there have emerged real classes and real class conflict.

"After Mao, Deng Xiaoping drew on his own personal prestige to implement reforms and pursue an open-door policy, but in his final years he came to reflect on the para­dox that even more problems had emerged after develop­ment than existed before it. Perhaps this is precisely why Mao keeps being brought back to life. Not long ago a public opinion poll asked people to anticipate their reaction if Mao were to wake up today. Ten percent thought it would be a bad thing, 5 percent thought it would have no impact on China or the world, and 85 percent thought it would be a good thing. I am unclear about the sample's demographics, but since the respondents were all Internet users, I suspect they were mostly young people. Chinese youth today know very little about Mao Zedong, so their embracing the idea of Mao's resurrection tells us something about the mood of the age. Gripped by the zeitgeist, people of diverse back­grounds and disparate opinions find a common channel for their discontent and -- half in earnest, half in jest -- act out a ritual of restoring the dead to life."

Author: Yu Hua
Title: China in Ten Words
Publisher: First Anchor Books
Date: Copyright 2011 by Yu Hua
Pages: 24-26

Understanding the Chinese Political Culture

Most Kenyans and generally, most people around the world wrongly assume that the Chinese political system is a “one party” system that is undemocratic and non-representative. Very few people are aware of the fact that there exists other political parties that share power with the ruling Communist party of China and that elections are held periodically to elect representatives to the various organs of government through which people exercise state power.

China’s political system varies slightly from the western style democratic political systems. Its basic structure consists of the people’s congress system, the multi-party cooperation and political consultation system and the regional autonomy system under the unified leadership of the Communist Party of China.

The Chinese people exercise state power through the people’s Congress system. It consists of the National people’s congress (NPC) and the local people’s congress. Therefore, the people’s congress system is basically China’s fundamental political system.

The People’s Congress system is featured by adherence to the principle of democratic centralism where the people enjoy democratic rights, while state power is exercised in a centralized and unified manner. Deputies to the people’s congress at all levels are elected. They represent people from all ethnic groups, regions, and social strata.

When the congress meets, elected representatives air their views fully and raise inquiries in the interest of the people they represent and the government at all levels and its affiliated departments are duty-bound to respond and address their concerns and queries.

The country operates under a multi-party cooperation and political consultation system that the state uses to adopt important measures bearing on the national good and people’s well being. The Communist party of China (CPC), as the party in power, consults with representatives of all political parties, as well as those without party affiliations.

Multiparty cooperation and political consultation take two principal forms; one is the Chinese people’s political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Consultative meetings and forums with the participation of people from non-Communist parties and people without party affiliations, at the invitation of the ruling party, Communist party of China.

The CPPCC National committee is elected for a five year term and the members are responsible for auditing the National People’s Congress (NPC), democratic supervision and participation in deliberations and administration of state affairs.

Every year, the leaders of the highest organ of the governing Communist Party of China, the central committee, convene consultative meetings with leaders of the non-communist parties and people’s elected representatives of the people to forums that focus on major state policies.

The country also operates under a regional ethnic autonomy system where minorities live in compact communities with organs of self-government well established under the unified leadership of the state. The constitution and the law on regional ethnic autonomy, adapted in 1984 at the second session of the six National People’s Congress, is the basic law that guarantees the implementation of regional ethnic autonomy system.

The same law guarantees the basic political rights and interest of the citizens, including the right to vote and stand for election; freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association and of demonstration; freedom of religious belief and the right to criticize and make suggestions regarding any state organ or functionary and exercise supervision over matters of the state.

The central government actively aids the ethnic autonomous areas with funds and other materials to facilitate the development of local economies. As masters of their own areas, minority people exercise autonomous power and administer their own internal affairs.  The heads or chairpersons of the autonomous regions and their subordinates are required to be citizens of the community and region exercising autonomy.

Whereas the Chinese democratic political system varies slightly with the western democratic system, it is the system that the Chinese people and their leaders deem fit for their local conditions. After experimenting with the western style democratic system after the revolution of 1911, and later replacing it with the Kuomintang’s one-party dictatorship, the Chinese people opted for a hybrid democratic and cooperative system after both experiments failed. It is the inevitable choice in respect to China’s historical development that seems fit for China’s local conditions.

The Chinese people went through suppression and persecutions, class rivalry and alliances, unhealthy and disruptive political competitions and endless chaos. They wanted a system that promoted cohesion among various groups and interests; including political parties, ethnic groups, religious and social groups. This eventually led to forging of bonds of unity, national dialogue and consultations that culminated in a hybrid system of multi-party cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the Communist Party of China.

 

Africa Benefits from Cooperation with China

China’s engagement with Africa is arguably the most momentous development in the continent over the last decade. The two-way economic relations have improved exponentially. This can be attributed to China’s remarkable economic growth, which has increased demand for energy and commodities, thus necessitating trade and investment with Africa. However, despite the obvious grounds and motivation for this association, sophists continue to put China’s role and activities under the critical lens.

Pessimists view China’s engagement in Africa as a terrifying threat while optimists regard this as a golden opportunity to finally rise up and be counted among great nations and shed the unflattering tag of a dark continent. Despite differing views being projected by diverging interests, it is not difficult to weigh up and establish whether China's engagements in Africa are purely extractive or have a developmental impact to the continent.

Since China entered in Africa’s development agenda to establish a new type of strategic relationship with Africa, aspersions have been cast to portray China as a stealthy imperialist out to exploit Africa’s resources for its own benefit. Despite the scaremongering, there is enough proof that this relationship is mutually beneficial.

China’s role and motives in Africa are pure and above board. China needs African raw materials, oil and minerals to satisfy the Chinese population. It also needs a political ally in the international arena to safeguard its international interests. Above all, China needs a partner that it can work with to pursue their common development goals based on a win-win basis.

In the political arena, China has proven to be a reliable political ally to Africa. Since regaining its legitimate seat at the UN, It has stood with African countries by safeguarding their interests at the powerful Security Council. China has consistently called for larger representation of developing countries within the United Nations Security council, specifically African Nations, in line with the UN reforms. This has tipped the balance of international forces in favor of equality and respect among nations.

Economically, China has contributed significantly to the economic growth of African nations. A decade of engagement has helped Africa to develop and grow African economies by 20%, which more than 500 years of trade with the west could not. Trade between China and Africa soared from 10 billion USD in 2000 to 200 billion USD in 2012. James Oruko, a lecturer of Development Studies at Egerton University, attributed Africa's fast economic growth in recent years to Chinese demand for commodities from Africa.

China’s accumulative investment in Africa reached USD 20 billion by the end of 2012. In his first foreign trip as President, Xi Jinping came visiting Africa and reconfirmed China’s commitment to provide 20 billion USD in financing. Most of these funds go to infrastructure projects and people’s livelihoods, which are the firm foundations for Africa’s   industrialization and economic development.

Kenyan Finance Minister Robinson Githae said infrastructure cooperation has not only helped bring Africa's goods to China, but also transferred China's technology to Africa and created more jobs for its people. "China continues to do its best to increase assistance to Africa, optimize the structure of assistance, and focus on assistance projects in education, agriculture, health, poverty reduction and other projects concerning people's lives as well as energy conservation and environmental protection."

The number of technicians, volunteers, agricultural experts who have come to support African workers stood at 350,000 by the end of 2012. And 18,700 medical doctors have voluntarily served in 48 African countries.

Furthermore, China is already increasing its investments in the manufacturing sector in Africa with an aim of promoting industrialization and production in Africa by Africans. Industrial zones are already underway and others planned in various African countries. These not only offer jobs, but also facilitate technology transfer and value addition of locally produced raw materials.

Out of the over 2,000 Chinese companies in Africa, 85 percent of their workforce is comprised of local employees and with continuous training in highly technical areas, the numbers keep rising. By the end of 2012, it is estimated that China had facilitated the training of over 40,000 African professionals in various sectors.

Dambisa Moyo, an International economist, explains that “With approximately 60 percent of Africa’s population under age 24, foreign investment and job creation are the only forces that can reduce poverty and stave off the sort of political upheaval that has swept the Arab world.”

China plays a crucial role in Africa’s development. It offers great opportunities for African governments to pursue development and economic growth for the betterment of their people. Despite its imperfections, its role in Africa is broadly welcomed across the continent as it prioritizes the provision of basic elements of development.

Kenya should emulate China’s success story in its nuclear electricity development

The Kenya Association of Manufacturers and other key stakeholders have endorsed the country’s ambitious project of developing nuclear electricity to enhance the country’s base load power supply. The Country aims to build a 1,000 MWe nuclear power plant at a projected cost of 3.5 billion USD using South Korean technology.

The government set the stage for exploring nuclear power as a less-expensive and reliable alternative to our thermal power stations. However, we are wasting a lot of time debating whether Kenya is ready to go nuclear or not. Just like in business, highly profitable ventures come with considerable amounts of risk and investments. Skeptics abound but if the government has a strategic and workable plan, it should go fourth and actualize it for the betterment of this country.

In September 2010, Energy Ministry Permanent Secretary Patrick Nyoike announced Kenya’s plans to invite bids for the Construction of a nuclear plant in the next few years so that the project is complete by the year 2022. This announcement elicited heated debates and expert opinion is divided sharply as to whether this is a good venture by the government.

The idea of nuclear power sends chills to many and the idea couldn’t have come at a worst time. The Fukushima incident in Japan still lingers in many people’s minds and is influencing their attitudes towards nuclear energy development.

Many of those opposed to this nuclear project have been quick to remind us of the three nuclear disasters; Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima. There are fears and rightly so, of the vast damages the radioactive waste can cause to humanity and the environment.

Nuclear industry is generally safe, however, there are unique challenges facing each country with nuclear power plants. Kenya being at the start of her nuclear programme should therefore be informed by the fundamental challenges faced by experienced countries and success stories in nuclear energy development.

China offers the best success story that Kenya can study and learn from in its nuclear energy production. China was not wealthy and highly developed when it established its first nuclear plant.

China’s plan to build a nuclear power plant dates back to 1970. After reading a report that China’s industrial centre, the City of Shanghai, might face power shortages, Premier Zhou Enlai said that “in order to ease the power crisis in Shanghai as well as East China, we should develop nuclear power as a long term plan”. Shanghai was in deep crisis with power deficit hindering economic growth and development.

As in Kenya, the preparations for China’s first nuclear plant were fraught with controversy. Safety was of utmost concern, especially after the accident at the Mile Island in the United States in 1979. The technology to use, and the site for the nuclear plant raised a lot of Challenges.

Nonetheless, in 1981, China finally approved the construction of its first nuclear power plant at Qishan with a Chinese-made pressurized water reactor with a capacity of 300 megawatts.  After its completions and a careful safety evaluation by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it was passed as “safe and of good quality” allaying many fears.

It began commercial operation in 1994 making China the seventh country to build and operate a nuclear power plant. By the end of 2007, the plant had generated a total of 31 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, earning about 9.6 billion Yuan in sales revenues and 1.8 billion Yuan in taxes.

After 14 years of operation, nuclear power has proved to be a clean source of energy for China. After tracking the area around the power plant for more than ten years, the provincial environmental authority has reported that the plant has caused no environmental changes.

Based on the success of the fist Qinshan power reactor, China started to build more reactors. Two domestically produced pressurized water reactors, each with a capacity of 650 megawatts, were placed in commercial operation in 2002 and 2004. As a clean energy, the Qinshan nuclear complex has enabled the region to cut pollution significantly and accelerated development in recent years making China the world’s fastest growing economy.

Just like in China in the late 1970s, the urgent need for power with a huge energy deficit of 3,000 megawatts experienced in the country makes nuclear energy an option that Kenya cannot ignore.The permanent secretary in the Ministry of energy reiterated that the government is determined to bridge this deficit through hydro-power; oil based thermal, geothermal, co-generation and wind energy generation.

Kenya produces around 1,400 megawatts of electricity and more than half of that comes from hydroelectric plants. But massive deforestation and other factors have led to decreasing rainfalls and the drying up of rivers and lakes, making hydroelectric power less of an option. If Kenya’s first nuclear plant is successful, it is expected to provide 90% of Kenya’s electricity needs making Kenya the world’s biggest consumer of nuclear energy.

For Kenya to industrialize under the Vision 2030 blueprint, it must remain steadfast and emulate China and implement its development plan without fear. No country worldwide has ever industrialized on wind, solar and other renewable forms of energy. The reason is quite simply that industry requires an assured base load power supply to function and grow.

Chinese Companies have a positive Influence on Kenya’s Economy

Chinese companies and businesses have become more visible in Kenya and are making an even greater impact on the country’s economy than most of us can comprehend. China’s investment in trade with the country is steadily rising and Chinese goods are flooding the Kenyan market, as they are doing in the rest of the world.

The enormous volume of the two-way trade between China and Kenya has inevitably caused some problems. Local traders are facing stiff competition from Chinese investors who they accuse of selling their goods at cheaper prices and driving them out of business. However, we need to interrogate how the Chinese investors and traders thrive above us and are able to sell cheaply and still make profits. Nonetheless, these challenges cannot outweigh the positive impact that Chinese companies and businesses have had in the country.

There seems to be a constant attempt to portray China’s expansion in Kenya and the rest of Africa as a threat to our economy and a case of economic domination. There is also the notion that Chinese investment is predominantly in natural resources. However, the truth is that this is a win-win situation where each party gets the best of what it bargained for.

What creates fear for Chinese companies and businesses is that they have the numbers, technology and innovations. But these are the exact attributes that our country needs for our economic take off. Investors should create jobs and probably add value by bringing in the kind of skills that we still don’t have in our country. Therefore, Kenyans should fairly compete with their Chinese counterparts and learn from them and together drive the Kenyan economy to greater heights.

As China’s relationship with Kenya shifts from being essentially government to government cooperation to business to business cooperation, enormous potential has been seen in the manufacturing industry, retail in Chinese products and ICT sectors. Chinese companies are increasing their investment in other sectors, such as food processing, the service industry and telecommunications and ICT.

More and more Chinese companies and businesses are looking at Kenya as a new destination for investment, trade harbor and manufacturing base. Kenya is the gateway to the region and an ideal regional base for Chinese investors to expand their business in the region and the rest of Africa. Many Chinese companies and businesses have set up their headquarters in Nairobi with an aim of expanding into the region. They have created job opportunities to Kenyans, increased the levels of local production and reduced the cost of machinery, electronics and automobiles in the region. Kenyans can now buy phones, laptops other home appliances from China due to affordability. Previously, these modern gadgets were such a luxury and too expensive for many Kenyans.

The flocking of Chinese investors and businesses in Kenya has played a big role in promoting Kenya’s economic development. China-Kenya cooperation continues to expand, bringing more benefits to both sides. The bilateral trade volume between China and Kenya hit a record 2.841 billion USD in 2012; a 16.7% increase compared to 2011. Our trade volume has continued to increase at an annual rate of 30 percent since 2010.

China’s accumulative investment to Kenya amounted to USD 280 million by the end of 2012. Its increased investment has seen it become the second-largest source of foreign direct investment in Kenya last year. Compared to assistance, investment in business is a more constructive way to achieve common development on a much larger scale. This is achieved by bringing in technology, skills, management conceptions and employment opportunities to Kenyans. 

China’s investment to Kenya mainly covered real estate development, vehicle assembly, household electrical appliances, light industry, building materials, resource survey and exploration, food and beverages, tourism among other sectors.

Chinese companies have played a major role in improving the local conditions for economic growth and self development capacity by building transport, communication and energy infrastructure which are catalysts to the fast growth of our economy. They have completed the construction of Moi International Sports Centre, JKIA-Uhuru Highway-Gigiri (Unep) Roads, Gambogi-Serem Road, and a number of rural primary schools. Other projects include the new Unit 4 Passenger Terminal at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, and Berth No.19 at the port of Mombasa. All these projects are aimed improving the Kenyan economy.