President Ruto eyes rail, road funding in China trip

President William Ruto is set to leave the country today for a four-day state visit to Beijing, where he is expected to hold high-level talks with top Chinese leaders and strike key infrastructure funding deals.

China’s Foreign Ministry said President Ruto will hold talks with his host counterpart Xi Jinping, Chinese Premier Li Qiang and the head of China’s Parliament (National People’s Congress) Zhao Leji.

Xi is expected to hold a welcoming ceremony and a welcoming banquet for Ruto, and the two heads of state will hold talks.

President Ruto’s is the first state visit by an African leader to China since the Beijing Summit on the Forum for China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in September 2024. It will be his third as Kenya’s President.

Ruto said he’d use the tour to deepen the six-decade-long relations between Nairobi and Beijing.

“I am looking forward to building on what already exists and reaching greater understanding between our two peoples,” the President said.

He told CGTN that his administration was keen on “ensuring we take the relations into the future”.

“We have achieved many things together. Kenya is a member of the BRI, and as a result, we have the 600km railway from Mombasa to Naivasha,” Ruto said.

He also named the Lamu Port, which was built in partnership with the Chinese government, and the Kenya Oil Terminal, which has eased fuel delivery, cushioning Kenyans from high prices in demurrage.

The China tour comes at a time when global alliances are shifting and Kenya faces pressing financial challenges.

The President intends to finalise the construction of the SGR to Malaba and build a four-lane Rironi-Mau Summit (170km) highway.

The projects are politically significant for the President as he faces reelection in 2027, and would impact on the Western Kenya vote.

A landmark outcome expected from the visit is the signing of a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement between the two nations. 

This will serve as a framework to boost bilateral projects, particularly under the BRI and will provide support for Kenya’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions, county hospitals, and major infrastructure ventures.  

Among these are the Rironi-Malaba Highway, the completion of Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) phases 2B and 2C, and the Kenya Digital Infrastructure project. 

Members of the Cabinet approved the dualing of the 170-km highway last month. The construction is set to begin in June 2025. 

For the Chinese side, the visit is aimed at deepening China-Kenya relations, especially with US President Donald Trump shifting Washington’s policies.

“It is believed that this visit will contribute to building an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era, and promoting unity and cooperation in the Global South,” the foreign ministry said.

Friendship between China and Kenya dates to the era of the Maritime Silk Road.

China hailed the ties as stronger, reassuring Nairobi of its commitment to “a comprehensive strategic partnership, with frequent high-level exchanges, deepening mutual trust”.

For China, the successes of the Belt and Road Initiative projects like the Standard Gauge Railway and Nairobi Expressway were the fruits of the cooperation.

“The two countries have close cooperation on regional and international issues,” Beijing reassured in the statement.

Ruto and his hosts are expected to take stock of the progress Kenya and China have made towards implementing the Focac agreements.

The two countries established relations in 1963 and have since then significantly expanded their economic and investment agreements, such that China is currently Kenya's largest trading partner.

A brief from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that the discussions during the all-stakes meeting will centre on infrastructure development, healthcare, ICT, green energy, manufacturing and agriculture.

The interventions are hailed as aligned with the Kenya Kwanza's Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda (Beta).

"The state visit will focus on strengthening the Kenya-China strategic relationship, fostering a closer community with a shared future and promoting modernisation through tangible cooperation initiatives and projects that address Kenya's national development priorities," it reads. 

Ruto’s delegation, comprising Prime CS Musalia Mudavadi and several CSs, signals Kenya’s proactive approach in attracting foreign investment and enhancing sector growth.. 

The visit is also expected to unlock new opportunities in agriculture, health, education, the blue economy, environmental conservation and digital trade, especially within the creative economy and e-commerce. 

Crucially, Ruto’s engagement with Chinese private sector leaders will further Kenya's investment pitch, aiming to create job opportunities for youth and women, in line with the government’s agenda.  

On the global stage, Ruto is expected to engage Xi on reforming the international financial architecture to be more fair, inclusive and predictable.  

The discussions will also touch on regional peace and security, where Kenya continues to play a central role in the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes region.

Apart from infrastructural developments, Kenya and China have been working on an exchange programme to improve governance.

Already, top guns of President Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance party have held meetings with their counterparts at the Communist Party of China.

UDA secretary general Hassan Omar, leader of the delegation, said they were inspired by lessons from China’s models.

“Kenya, too, is nurturing a culture of dialogue, consensus and inclusion,” he said after meeting Mu Hong, the vice chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.

The CPPCC is a key political advisory body in China’s governance system, and operates alongside the National People’s Congress.

They ‘checkmate’ the CPC and hold their sittings annually, parallel to the CPC’s National People’s Congress, popularly known as ‘Two Sessions’.

Hong said China was committed to implementing the agreements reached between the two sides.

He said Ruto’s visit signified “a strong strategic partnership between China and Kenya”.

A statement by UDA reads that the two parties aim to enhance trust and governance.

China has underscored the importance of ongoing communication and collaboration in poverty alleviation and modernisation to elevate China-Kenya relations, UDA said.

Kenya recently hosted the head of China’s anti-corruption agency Li Xi for a state visit. Beijing commended Ruto’s team for the warm hospitality it extended to Li.

INSTANT ANALYSIS

Kenya Kwanza initially leaned towards the West but seems to have changed tack. The visit is viewed as demonstrating Kenya’s non-aligned foreign policy. China is Nairobi’s largest bilateral creditor and second-largest trading partner.