A Summit of Sizeable Significance
China and Kenya have a time-honoured friendship and have jointly completed a number of flagship projects n connectivity, significantly contributing to regional economic and social development. Kenya stands out as a success story in China’s partnership with Africa. Kenyan President William Ruto led a delegation to China to attend the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) held in Beijing early September.
ChinAfrica had the pleasure to speak to a distinguished member of the President Ruto’s delegation, Musalia Mudavadi, prime cabinet secretary and cabinet secretary for foreign and diaspora affairs of Kenya, to hear his opinions about the significance of FOCAC and China-Kenya relations.
ChinAfrica: How many times have you attended the FOCAC meetings and what is your opinion about the importance of this year’s summit?
Musalia Mudavadi: This was the first time for me to attend a FOCAC meeting. And I was in the company of President William Ruto, who was the head of Kenya’s delegation. As you know, this is a programme that has been there for the last 24 years, and this summit in Beijing was very important in the sense that 53 countries from Africa were represented here.
My expectation from the summit is that it will enhance the partnership between China and the African continent as a whole. Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that China is now elevating the partnership between the African continent and China to the strategic level, which means China is taking this partnership extremely seriously and positively. And we on the continent also appreciate that this new status is granted to the partnership.
President Xi made a very important statement on future cooperation. He said that in terms of trade and development, least developed countries (LDCs), including the 33 countries in Africa, can enjoy zero-tariff treatment for access to the Chinese market. Over and above that, he made important statements on matters of continued investment in infrastructure under the Belt and Road Initiative. He also talked about the areas of global security, cultural and people-to-people contacts, technology exchanges and other aspects. So, it was very broad, and I think it was a very successful meeting.
The summit was held at a time marked by rising regional conflicts and severe challenges to global development. What do you think is the significance of forging solidarity among Global South countries to address common global challenges?
The normal media has focused on the challenges in Ukraine and in the Middle East, and they have forgotten the conflicts, for instance, in Sudan, in the Sahel, and the challenges we are facing in the Horn of Africa. This FOCAC meeting has provided a very good opportunity for us to focus on some of the challenges that are facing Africa.
I’ll give an example. In this gathering, we were able to see the delegation from Sudan. So, China, for instance, can play a very pivotal role in bringing the conflicting parties in Sudan to the negotiating table so that a peaceful solution can eventually be found to the challenges of Sudan. So, from a diplomatic angle, China can play a very important role in working with the African Union and working with the countries of Africa. And on the sidelines, there were different thematic sessions, and one of the thematic areas was global security and governance. I thought that was crucial.
What role does FOCAC play in promoting China-Kenya relations?
There have been some very strong outcomes of the partnership between Kenya and China. I will give you the example of the standard gauge railway that improves connectivity. We are now talking about extending it to Uganda and beyond. There’s a new expressway in Kenya through a public-private partnership and we can have more of these.
The friendship with China has also enabled quite a number of roads to be built. And, hopefully, if all goes well today, there could be a formal signing of about 2 billion yuan ($281 million) of funding to help complete about 15 roads in different parts of the country.
That will definitely have a serious multiplier effect on the economy. We have partnerships in the areas of ICT going on with big Chinese companies, that are now looking at Kenya as an investment destination.
We are now receiving about 200,000 tourists from China on an annual basis. We see this number going up because now Kenya is a visa-free country. If you want to come in, you don’t have to go through the process of visa. This is going to provide a good opportunity so that tourism and other cultural exchanges can take place. I see growth in these sectors as we work together.
We are now looking forward to greater private sector investment from Chinese companies into Kenya.
What are the areas in Kenya that have the most potential to attract Chinese investors, and what are the measures Kenya has put forward to attract foreign investment?
There are many actually. As I said, agriculture is an area with a lot of potential. This is a good opportunity for partnership with companies from China to invest in Kenya’s agriculture and manufacturing and on the basis of that, we can work together and export to the European market and other areas, and even to the American market. So, we want to encourage joint ventures between Kenyan and Chinese companies.
As I’ve said, we are a hub in matters of technology. Kenya wants to lay 100,000 km of fibre optic cable because we want to increase connectivity in the country and provide digital opportunities to our young people, because 70 percent of our population is 35 years and below and they like technology as a platform for their activities. So, we need to invest in that area, and that provides a good opportunity.
We have the housing and construction sector. This is a sector where Chinese companies are already there but they could do more. One of the things that is important for investors from China to know is that, as I said, you can come on a visa-free basis.
Kenya, in my view, is the most liberal financial market in the whole of Africa. You can bring in your money and you can take it out. Our shilling is fully convertible; we have no exchange restrictions. This is something shareholders always worry about: that if you bring money into a country and it is time to pay your dividend, can you pay your shareholders a dividend? Now, in Kenya, you have a proper market, a liberalised market, and that is why Kenya is the financial hub in the whole of the East Africa region. It gives you a very good opportunity if you are an investor, because our currency is convertible.
You have the Capital Markets Authority, so you can invest in various industries through the stock exchange in Nairobi. We have a robust financial services sector, which is important for any investor.
