Why Kenya now looks up to China

Moved by the plight of the 4 million Kenyans faced with hunger, the Chinese government has provided Sh2 billion worth of relief food. The donation includes rice, wheat, beans, maize flour and cooking oil.

Chinese companies in Kenya have also donated Sh25.6 million to the people in drought-stricken areas, part of which has been spent to dig two boreholes.

Chinese ambassador to Kenya Liu Guangyuan says his government is ready to assist Kenya to achieve food security.

“China has over the years perfected rainwater harvesting and preservation in mini dams especially in the rural areas. China has also developed advanced irrigation systems and used drip irrigation technique to improve crop production in dry areas. China and Kenya can cooperate in this regard to ensure the people of Kenya feed themselves by using the local resources available,” Mr Liu told the Sunday Nation.

Asian giant

China’s growing influence in Kenya, as with the rest of Africa, is no longer in doubt. The Asian giant now controls major tenders in development and rehabilitation of infrastructural projects in Kenya and the rest of the continent.

African leaders have welcomed China’s gesture with open arms. At a meeting with Mr Liu in his Harambee House office on Thursday, President Kibaki was generous with praises for Beijing. A statement from the President’s office quoted Mr Kibaki referring to China as a “true friend”.

Besides expanding the Nairobi-Thika highway, the Uhuru Highway-UNEP road and constructing the Eastern and Northern by-passes, the President praised China for increasing education scholarships and exchange programmes between universities in the two countries.

On Friday, Mr Liu accompanied President Kibaki to the ground breaking ceremony for the Kenyatta University teaching and referral hospital funded by China at a cost of Sh10 billion.

Against this backdrop, Mr Liu’s offer to help Kenya find a lasting solution to the perennial drought problem and food shortages will be welcome.

The ambassador advocates mechanised, irrigation farming.

“Modern agricultural technology, where mechanised farming, scientific seeds breeding and pest control are central, is the way forward for Kenya and we as Chinese are keen on sharing the skills involved,” he said.

“I think our Kenyan friends may have heard of Dr Yu Longping, ‘father of hybrid rice’. He is a Chinese agricultural expert, known for hybrid rice technology and his remarkable contribution to feeding the hungry. Through his efforts, the rice output can reach as high as over 5,600kg per acre. If such technology can prevail in Africa, it can tremendously alleviate the food crisis here,” he added. Mr Liu said China would work with Kenyan institutions and professionals involved in agricultural production.

With about 13 million people in the Horn of Africa classified as experiencing food shortage, Beijing says it will enhance China-Africa agricultural cooperation, “and work closely with the African people and the international community to alleviate food shortage and assure food security in Africa”.

China’s deliberate move to solidify cooperation with Africa has been taken up by individual citizens too. A photojournalist and leading baker in China, Mr Luo Hong, who has hosted outstanding exhibitions of Kenya’s natural attractions and beauty across China, is back in the country.

“The Chinese government encourages people-to-people contacts and exchanges between our two countries,” the ambassador said.

But the growing Chinese influence in Kenya has not gone down well with some of the Western countries who for years held the major contracts.

Leaked US diplomatic cables revealed America’s concerns over the rise of China’s influence in Kenya’s political and socio-economic aspects.

In one of the cables released by whistle-blowing website, Wikileaks, entitled Chinese Engagement in Kenya, former US ambassador Michael Ranneberger told his Washington bosses that China had literally staged a revolution against Western powers and taken a place on the high table, as the new darling of Kenya’s ruling elite.

But the Asian nation seems undeterred, promising Kenya more tourists.

“The number of Chinese residents in Kenya is very small, but the Chinese tourists to Kenya are growing very fast and they love Kenya’s magnificent wildlife and other natural attractions,” Mr Liu told the Sunday Nation.

He said last year more than 30,000 Chinese tourists visited Kenya and the expectation is that more will visit in the future.