Summit to deepen Kenya, China ties

The Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation will be held in Beijing from May 14 to 15. 

This has been the highest level of international conference held by China since President Xi Jinping put forward the Belt and Road Initiative on September 2013.

The forum will review the outcomes achieved and focus on pooling more consensus, identifying cooperation directions, pushing forward the implementation of projects and improving supportive the system.

HISTORIC TIES
Twenty-eight heads of state and government, UN Secretary General, World Bank President and IMF Managing Director, as well as 1200 participants will be at the forum.

Among them, H.E. President Uhuru Kenyatta will make African contributions to the forum.

Bilateral talks between Chinese and Kenyan leaders will also be held during the summit.

The history of the Ancient Maritime Silk Road dating back to the times of Qin Dynasty 2000 years ago.

The golden age of this sea route was culminated by the expeditions of the great Chinese navigator Zhen He from 1405 to 1433 in the Ming Dynasty.

Kenya was the remotest westward end reached by Zhen He’s treasure fleets.

Numerous Chinese porcelain found along the Kenyan coastal area illustrate the historical link between China and Africa.

BOOSTING DEVELOPMENT

Today, Kenya plays the key role of Eastern Gate when the Belt and Road Initiative is being projected to Africa from China across the Indian Ocean.

Guided by the principles of achieving shared growth through discussion and collaboration, China and Kenya have jointly made remarkable progress, especially on infrastructure connectivity and industrial capacity cooperation.

A series of major projects including railways, highways and ports have been on the fast track of implementation.

In June, the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway will be put into operation.

This project is an important early harvest of Belt and Road Initiative in Africa, which will boost the overall development and regional connectivity of the Eastern Africa.

During the construction of the railway, Chinese and African management team, engineers and technicians made joint and concerted efforts, working together to successfully complete the largest infrastructure project in Kenya’s history within just two and half years.

MUTUAL TRUST
The Comprehensive Cooperative Partnership launched in 2013 by President Xi Jinping and President Kenyatta has made unprecedented achievements.

The past years witnessed frequent exchange of high-level visits, increased political mutual trust, and strengthened coordination in international affairs between China and Kenya.

Now China is the biggest trading partner, Foreign Direct Investment source and project contractor of Kenya.

Bilateral cooperation has been significantly deepened in military, courts, agriculture, energy, health, science and technology and people-to-people exchanges.

In the future, China is ready to join hands with Kenya to further incorporate the Belt and Road Initiative into Kenya’s Vision 2030 and Agenda 2063 of the African Union, to carry out practical cooperation for common development and mutual benefit of China and Africa, and for long-lasting friendship and well being of our peoples.

In response to the Belt and Road Initiative, a lot of Chinese companies have made their strong footprints and taken deep roots in Kenyan soil by working hard together with their local counterparts in undertaking China-Kenya cooperative mega projects.

There are and will be still more such China stories when the Belt and Road Initiative is further integrated with African development and modernisation process.

Dr Xianfa is Chinese Ambassador in Kenya