Minister’s visit was fruitful

FROM JANUARY 6 to 8, CHINA’S Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi paid an official visit to Kenya, which caught wide attention in Kenya and beyond. Short as it was, the visit was substantive and fruitful.

The friendship between the Chinese and Kenyan peoples dates back to more than 600 years ago when famous Chinese navigator Zheng He came to Kenya four times during his seven voyages to the Western Sea.

There is no better evidence to show our traditional friendship than the porcelain ware on display in Fort Jesus Museum and the stories about the descendants of Zheng He’s sailors being told in Siyu Village, Lamu District.

In the past 50 years, the people of China and Kenya have always supported each other. China supported Kenya during the country’s struggle for independence, and the two countries are working shoulder to shoulder today in pursuing peace and development.

One of the purposes of Mr Yang’s visit was to promote this friendship. It has been an unwritten tradition of nearly 20 years in China’s diplomacy that the Chinese Foreign minister starts his official overseas visits with a trip to Africa at the beginning of every year.

Kenya was the first stop in Mr Yang’s visit to Africa this year, which highlights its importance on the agenda of China’s Africa policy. It was a trip of co-operation. Kenya is one of China’s closest partners in Africa.

This co-operation is multi-tiered, ranging from high-level visits to exchanges between personnel in various government agencies and localities, and multi-faceted, covering both political affairs and socio-economic development. The co-operation between China and Kenya is productive. Politically, the two countries trust one another and have stood together at all times.

ECONOMICALLY, CHINA AND KENYA treat each other as equals and have worked together for progress. Culturally, China and Kenya emphasise mutual learning and stepped-up interaction. During his visit, Minister Yang called on President Kibaki and Prime Minister Odinga, and also held talks with Minister Moses Wetang’ula, his Kenyan counterpart.

The two sides reached broad consensus on bilateral trade, cultural, education, tourism, economic and technological co-operation, as well as major regional and international issues of shared interest. China made its commitment to provide new grants in assistance to Kenya as a bilateral agreement was signed.

It was also a trip of action. At the Fourth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation held last November in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, the Chinese Government announced eight new measures regarding China-Africa co-operation.

All the measures were designed to support Africa’s economic and social development and strengthen the continent’s capacity for self-development. China is a trustworthy country. The Chinese traditional culture features in keeping promises. An important purpose for Mr Yang’s visit was to promote the implementation of the follow-up actions of the ministerial conference.

Mr Yang reiterated China’s commitment to working together with Kenya and other African countries to uphold and further advance the new type of China-Africa strategic partnership aimed at bringing even greater benefits to the people of both countries. All in all, Mr Yang’s visit to Kenya will go a long way towards promoting friendly relations between China and Kenya, and expanding bilateral co-operation.

Mr Deng is China’s ambassador in Kenya.