The August 2013 trip to China by KenyanPresident Uhuru Kenyatta has demonstrated the increasing bilateral relations between Kenya and China, which this year celebrates 50 years of diplomatic cooperation.

Kenyasees the presence ofChinaas an opportunity to develop and grow its economy.Chinawill be helping with the financing and construction ofKenya’s second harbor and port at Lamu, which will handle massive cargo output, whileKenyais also poised to receive support fromChinafor pipeline and railway construction.

The Thika Superhighway built by Chinese support, which was opened in 2012 in Kenya, remains the best road in East and Central Africa and demonstrates the positive side of the China-Kenya partnership.Kenyaseeks to useChinaas a lever to weaken the economic grip of the former European colonial powers and North America, as well as the ubiquitous international financial institutions such as the IMF and World Bank. These Western financial institutions previously exercised unparalleled economic and political hegemony overKenyaand other African countries, which suffered for long periods under unfriendly prescribed policies, such as structural adjustment programs (SAPs) which created poverty in many parts of the country.

China’s interests inKenyaare diverse. It has moved into areas of oil and mineral exploration inKenya, as well as agricultural development. The emergence ofChinaas a major industrial giant in the present millennium has aroused tremendous interest and triggered off a sense of alarm among the predominant global powers, especially theUnited Statesand Western European nations. There has been a lot of negative media and propaganda on the investments and activities ofChinain Africa by the Western media.Kenyaand many other African countries are trying to wooChinaas a partner in order to enhance its economic status regionally and internationally. Many studies have been conducted on various Chinese initiatives inKenyaand other parts of the continent. What is emerging is a general feeling thatChinahas boosted the fortunes of many African countries by extending soft loans and fair lending terms that would not have been possible under IMF and World Bank regulations in the past 50 years. It is interesting to note that one of the peculiar characteristics of engagement is the primacy of global geopolitics on one hand, versus national economic interests, in influencing and shaping the political, socio-cultural and economic interaction betweenChinaandKenya. Culturally, strong exchanges exist betweenChinaandKenya, with two Confucius Institutes engaged in many language and cultural programs.

China’s presence in Africa in general, andKenyain particular, is feared by the West, with some observers worried about the onset of the Second Cold War. The presence ofChinahas generated diverse responses fromKenya, other African countries and countries from other parts of the world. Actors on the global stage are afraid of increasing Chinese influence in Africa. InKenya,Chinais currently involved in the construction of 12 out of 19 major official road improvements. Those opposed to Chinese expansion inKenyahave argued that Chinese strategy is motivated by the need to exploit the rich mineral and petroleum resources inKenya, due to the high demand for fuel needed to power the rapid industrialization process back inChina.

Chinais aware that in order to access vital raw materials, which are also coveted by the Western world, it has to devise a new friendly approach toward African leaders, as opposed to the Western powers who have a patronizing attitude. The hosting of 48 African heads of state in 2006 inBeijingdemonstrated this mutual understanding.China’s success has also been boosted by its rich historical relations with African countries during the colonial era, as much as by the adverse impact of the SAPs, imposed on most African countries by the neo-liberal leadership of the West in the 1980s. Nevertheless,China’s success will be determined by its ability to persuadeKenyaand other African countries that it is not going to be an exploiter, but a dependable development partner, operating under mutual respect.Chinais today a superpower and the number two economy in the world and the faster this fact is accepted, the better for everyone who is trying to undermine this giant.CA

(The author is Vice Chancellor, Academic Affairs atKisii University,Kenya.)