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

　　Kenya sees the presence of China as an opportunityto develop and grow its economy. China will be helpingwith the financing and construction of Kenya’s secondharbor and port at Lamu, which will handle massive cargooutput, while Kenya is also poised to receive support fromChina for pipeline and railway construction.

　　The Thika Superhighway built by Chinese support,which was opened in 2012 in Kenya, remains the bestroad in East and Central Africa and demonstrates thepositive side of the China-Kenya partnership. Kenya seeksto use China as a lever to weaken the economic grip ofthe former European colonial powers and North America,as well as the ubiquitous international financial institutionssuch as the IMF and World Bank. These Westernfinancial institutions previously exercised unparalleledeconomic and political hegemony over Kenya and otherAfrican countries, which suffered for long periods underunfriendly prescribed policies, such as structural adjustmentprograms (SAPs) which created poverty in manyparts of the country.

　　China’s interests in Kenya are diverse. It has movedinto areas of oil and mineral exploration in Kenya, as wellas agricultural development. The emergence of Chinaas a major industrial giant in the present millennium hasaroused tremendous interest and triggered off a sense ofalarm among the predominant global powers, especiallythe United States and Western European nations. Therehas been a lot of negative media and propaganda on theinvestments and activities of China in Africa by the Westernmedia. Kenya and many other African countries aretrying to woo China as a partner in order to enhanceits economic status regionally and internationally.

　　Many studies have been conducted on variousChinese initiatives in Kenya and other parts of thecontinent. What is emerging is a general feelingthat China has boosted the fortunes of many Africancountries by extending soft loans and fairlending terms that would not have been possibleunder IMF and World Bank regulations inthe past 50 years. It is interesting to note thatone of the peculiar characteristics of engagementis the primacy of global geopolitics onone hand, versus national economic interests,in influencing and shaping the political, socioculturaland economic interaction betweenChina and Kenya. Culturally, strong exchanges existbetween China and Kenya, with two Confucius Institutesengaged in many language and cultural programs.

　　China’s presence in Africa in general, and Kenya inparticular, is feared by the West, with some observersworried about the onset of the Second Cold War. Thepresence of China has generated diverse responses fromKenya, other African countries and countries from otherparts of the world. Actors on the global stage are afraid ofincreasing Chinese influence in Africa. In Kenya, China iscurrently involved in the construction of 12 out of 19 majorofficial road improvements. Those opposed to Chineseexpansion in Kenya have argued that Chinese strategyis motivated by the need to exploit the rich mineral andpetroleum resources in Kenya, due to the high demandfor fuel needed to power the rapid industrialization processback in China.

　　China is aware that in order to access vital raw materials,which are also coveted by the Western world, it hasto devise a new friendly approach toward African leaders,as opposed to the Western powers who have a patronizingattitude. The hosting of 48 African heads of state in2006 in Beijing demonstrated this mutual understanding.China’s success has also been boosted by its rich historicalrelations with African countries during the colonial era,as much as by the adverse impact of the SAPs, imposedon most African countries by the neo-liberalleadership of the West in the 1980s. Nevertheless,China’s success will be determined by its ability topersuade Kenya and other African countries thatit is not going to be an exploiter, but a dependabledevelopment partner, operating under mutualrespect. China is today a superpower andthe number two economy in the world andthe faster this fact is accepted, the better foreveryone who is trying to undermine thisgiant.