Details of President Ruto’s meeting with Chinese Ambassador after US warning
President Ruto's meeting with the Chinese Ambassador to Kenya, Zhou Pingjian to explore various areas of partnership
Ruto’s meeting with the Chinese Ambassador to Kenya, Zhou Pingjian to explore various areas of partnership.
President William Ruto met with the Chinese Ambassador to Kenya, Dr. Zhou Pingjian, at State House in Nairobi on December 20.
The meeting comes days after US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin cautioned African leaders that rising involvement with China could destabilize the continent.
The expansion of trade between the two nations and the bolstering of bilateral ties were topics of conversation between the two leaders.
Kenya is interested in investigating potential areas of partnership with China, according to a statement from the State House.
President Ruto acknowledged the relationship’s benefits, saying they had given Kenyan agricultural exports including flowers, frozen avocados, hides, and skins access to the Chinese market.
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He further stated that China was essential to Kenya’s infrastructure development.
Since 2015, there has been considerable growth in trade between China and Kenya, especially as a result of the development of the Standard Gauge Railway and the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport Corridor project.
From 2015 to 2019, the total trade value between the two countries was $18.20 billion, with 97% of this being imports from China to Kenya and only 3% being exported from Kenya to China.
President Ruto has expressed a desire to find and increase new markets for Kenyan products, and with China’s population of over 1.4 billion people.
The meeting between Ruto and Pingjian took place days after Ruto returned from the US-African Leaders Summit in Washington. Both the US and China are competing to be Africa’s preferred partner.
During the recently concluded summit, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned African leaders that the increasing involvement of China and Russia in the continent could potentially lead to destabilization.
Austin noted that China is rapidly expanding its economic influence in Africa, but pointed out that their actions are often not transparent, which could create problems in the future.
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