BEIJING: China and Kenya agreed on Thursday to boost ties to a new level and oppose trade barriers, following talks between President Xi Jinping and his Kenyan counterpart William Ruto in Beijing.
Relations between Beijing and Nairobi will be upgraded to a “China-Kenya community with a shared future for the new era”, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported after the two leaders met during Ruto’s state visit.
Africa is vital to China’s Belt and Road overseas infrastructure project, launched in 2013, with Kenya as a key partner.
China is the East African nation’s biggest bilateral lender, with Nairobi receiving loans from Beijing to finance projects like a $5 billion railway connecting the capital with the port city of Mombasa.
In a joint statement Thursday, the two countries pledged to reject “hegemonism, power politics and all forms of unilateralism and protectionism”.
They also said they oppose “unilateral sanctions, decoupling, tariff barriers and technology blockade”, while expressing support for the World Trade Organization.
Despite a “turbulent international situation”, the countries will work together to build “all-weather” China-Africa relations, Xi told Ruto during their meeting.
China is locked in an escalating tit-for-tat trade battle with the United States, triggered by President Donald Trump’s levies on Chinese goods. The tariff blitz has rattled markets and raised fears of a global recession.
On Thursday, Ruto hailed Kenya and China’s “strategic partnership” for delivering “practical, tangible, impactful and sustainable win-win situations”.
The countries signed 20 documents, including agreements on science and technology, vocational education, water resources and the Belt and Road Initiative.
While the BRI has provided countries like Kenya with much-needed infrastructure funding, critics say it has burdened governments with debt.
In 2023, when Kenya owed Beijing more than $8 billion, Ruto asked China for a $1 billion loan and the restructuring of existing debt to complete stalled construction projects.
The Kenyan president visited China in September for a gathering of African leaders, where Beijing pledged more than $50 billion in financing for Africa over three years, including $141 million in military assistance to the continent.
Xi and Ruto on Thursday also agreed to enhance security exchanges with greater cooperation in personnel training, the defence industry, counterterrorism, and joint exercises and training.
