Ruto in 8-day China tour as fling with US crumbles

President William Ruto is set to embark on an eight-day tour of China, a trip that comes at a time when his diplomatic rapport with the United States appears to be weakening.

According to details obtained by the Star, the President will depart shortly after the Easter holidays to strengthen diplomatic contacts with the world’s second biggest economy.

Ruto intends to finalise the construction of the Standard Gauge Railway to Malaba and start the 170km four-lane Rironi-Mau Summit road.

The two projects are likely to be a political game changer for Ruto, especially in Western Kenya, if delivered by 2027.

During his visit, he is expected to hold high-level talks with Chinese leaders to discuss the future of bilateral relations between Kenya and China across various sectors.

Insiders familiar with the trip revealed that Ruto’s engagement with Beijing marks a notable shift in his foreign policy approach.

Immediately after taking power, Ruto sidelined China and openly courted the West, particularly the United States.

However, the US is not known to sink its money in capital-intensive infrastructural projects in Africa.

“The visit will focus on strengthening bilateral relations and exploring new areas of cooperation between Kenya and China,” a source familiar with the plans intimated to the Star.

The discussions are expected to include infrastructure development, trade agreements and investment opportunities, aligning with Kenya’s economic transformation agenda, state sources said.

The exact dates of the travel, coming at the height of Trump’s tariff wars with the Asian economic powerhouse, and the specifics of the itinerary remain closely guarded.

Ruto’s administration initially leaned toward the West, underscored by two visits to the US at the invitation of President Joe Biden’s administration.

However, this dynamic seems to be evolving, particularly as the US recalibrates its stance toward Africa under the Donald Trump administration.

Trump shocked the world with new tariffs (10 per cent for Kenya) reiterating that only those who negotiate with it will get reliefs.

Ruto’s upcoming China visit signals a potential rebalancing of Kenya’s foreign engagements, which have been largely pro-West.

Prime Cabinet Secretary and Foreign Affairs CS Musalia Mudavadi hinted at the visit during his quarterly diplomatic briefing.

“The President will attend a series of high-level meetings in his tour,” the PCS said at the Wednesday briefing.

The Foreign Affairs CS was recently hosted to a luncheon at the Chinese embassy, ostensibly to firm up the details of the trip.

Cavince Adhere, an expert in China-Africa relations, said the planned trip signals a change of tact by President Ruto’s administration.

“Ruto’s administration has finally turned the corner on the important role that China plays in supporting Kenya’s development, particularly in the domains of infrastructure construction, foreign direct investments, digital inclusion, trade and human capital development,” he said.

Kenya is looking up to China to help realise the planned extension of the Standard Gauge Railway to Malaba, among other engagements on matters of education and people-to-people exchanges.

Recently, Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi held talks with his Beijing counterpart Lan Fo’an, where it emerged that China would have a key role in the project.

The talks explored ways to enhance trade, infrastructure investment, and financial collaboration.

The Treasury boss also met with the vice president of China’s Exim Bank Yang Dongning alongside senior officials of the bank, pointing to an impending financing deal.

It is understood that China would provide Sh700 billion to finance the project, with the government expected to provide 30 per cent of the project’s funding.

A consortium of Chinese companies will provide 40 per cent of the funding for the 475km line running from Naivasha to Malaba.

China’s Exim Bank funded the first two phases of the railway project that saw Beijing take the lead role in building the SGR from Mombasa to Suswa under the Belt and Road Initiative.

Exim Bank also supported the Southern Bypass and Western Bypass roads in Nairobi as well as the construction of Kenyatta University Teaching and Referral Hospital.

“Both parties explored potential areas for future collaboration, emphasising the need for sustainable financing mechanisms to support ongoing and new initiatives,” Mbadi said.

Recently, Chinese ambassador to Kenya Guo Haiyan said President Xi Jinping’s administration was keen on bolstering ties.

She said the two sides would enhance high-level exchanges and share governance strategies, underscoring the position China intends to take in the wake of the shifting geopolitics.

“China will strive to provide certainty to this uncertain world with its development in this world marked by transformation and instability,” Guo said, restating China’s readiness to support Kenya realise its infrastructure dream.

Adhere argued that the government is coming to terms with the fact that Beijing remains its best ally as “seven out of ten potential investors to Kenya are from China”.

“It is also Beijing that has been forthcoming for Kenya, extending development financing support to Nairobi,” he said.

The expert said that Ruto’s impending visit to China provides both sides with an opportunity at the level of top leadership, business level and even people-to-people ties, to strengthen their resolve for development cooperation.

He held that while some traditional allies of Kenya such as the United States are pulling back, by suspending aid and imposing a slew of debilitating trade tariffs, China is doing the opposite.

“China is expanding access to its market for Kenyan goods and is willing to commit capital and technology on Kenya’s development projects,” Adhere said.

Ruto is returning to Beijing after his September 2024 meeting for the Forum on China and Africa Cooperation.

During the Focac summit, he and his Chinese counterpart reached a number of concessions to bolster ties between the two nations.

It was the second meeting in a year, the first being in October 2023 when Ruto visited Beijing for the third Belt and Road Initiative Summit.

At the September meeting, Kenya and Africa agreed on a 10-point plan for enhancing diplomatic ties.

Kenya and China have a joint master plan for advancing modernisation, as outlined in the recent Beijing forum.

Kenya is also looking up to China’s support in its quest for a permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council.

China is tagging Kenya along on its climate change mitigation plans, with Kenya hailing the ties as people-centred, mutually beneficial, and permanent.

At the Focac summit, President Xi outlined plans for 30 infrastructure connectivity projects and cooperation on 1,000 livelihood ventures in Africa.

China also pledged to send to Africa 2,000 medical specialists and 500 agriculture experts, as well as train 1,000 leaders.

Beijing is also gearing up to implement 500 welfare projects, implement 30 green energy projects, train 6,000 military personnel for Africa, and train 1,000 police officers.

Kenya is eyeing the goodies in the Sh6.7 trillion kitty that China has set aside for Africa in the next three years.

Adhere said building on the outcomes of the Focac 2023 Summit, Kenya and China have the opportunity to forge ahead with their joint modernisation plan.