President Ruto pro-China speech triggers uproar in US

Kenya’s diplomatic relations with America could be dealt a staggering blow following concerns in Washington about President William Ruto’s pro-China remarks in Beijing last month.

The Star has established that Ruto’s speech at Peking University, one of the top learning institutions in China, has found its way in the US Senate with a section of American legislators openly calling for a review of US relations with Kenya.

Interestingly, at the time of Ruto's China trip, a separate US Congress report showed that the Kenyan leader was a most sought after African president by the Donald Trump administration.

He had been called more times than any other African leader by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

In his speech, Ruto had described Kenya and China as co-architects of a new world order, apparently referring to geopolitical shifts advocated by other powers such as China and Russia.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Jim Risch in a Senate hearing on East Africa and the Horn on Tuesday said Ruto's statement signals more than just an economic partnership and indicates a shift in allegiance.

"That’s not just alignment to China; it’s allegiance,” he described Ruto's speech and submitting the same to the Senate as evidence. 

“Relying on leaders who embrace Beijing so openly is an error. It’s time to reassess our relationship with Kenya and others who forge tight bonds with China,” the Republican Senator stated, in what could significantly influence Washington’s view of Nairobi.

According to Senator Risch, there exists other African countries that can offer equally beneficial diplomatic relations with America.

He, however, warns against focusing on individual leaders.

“Still, there are countries where meaningful engagement is possible—but only with sober judgement and clear-eyed realism. We must stop building US policy in Africa around individual leaders and instead focus on strengthening institutions, expanding private sector ties, and empowering the region’s young and dynamic populations," he said.

At the time of Ruto’s trip to China, there had been indications of a planned trip to Nairobi by Secretary Rubio but was reportedly cancelled. He was also to travel to Addis Ababa. 

Asked whether Rubio was scheduled to visit Nairobi, the US Embassy in Nairobi asked us to contact the State Department in Washington — which didn’t give a response.

Ruto's remarks in China had also surprised diplomatic analysts in Kenya, coming just months after a US state visit — the first by an African leader since 2008 — and during which Kenya was designated a Major Non-NATO Ally.

Kenya became the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to be granted that status.

Kenya had also participated in Operation Prosperity Guardian, a maritime task force launched by the US in response to Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, and one of the only African members of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group.

Kenya is also leading the mission in Haiti, a key American agenda.

But in his speech in China, Ruto appeared to hit at the US, citing the Russia-Ukraine War, the conflict in Gaza and current geopolitical developments.

“The Security Council, once a beacon for peace and diplomacy, now has one permanent member invading one country, while another member takes sides in conflict in contradiction to the council’s own resolutions,” Ruto said, in a indirect jibe at the US and Russia.

Appearing before the US Senate as a witness, Michelle Gavin, a top technocrat at Council of Foreign Relations — one of the top foreign policy think tanks in America — said while the US has worked closely with President Ruto to deepen commercial and security relations with Kenya, it has missed opportunities to align with Kenyans.

Gavin, a former US Ambassador to Botswana and concurrently as representative to SADC, said the people of Kenya had made it clear that fighting corruption is their top priority.

“The result of the misalignment is a less appealing investment climate for the US and a weakened Kenyan President assiduously seeking support from China and the Gulf,” Gavin told the committee.

But Joshua Meservey, a senior fellow at Hudson Institute, also appearing as a witness said Washington should maintain working ties with regional leaders, but warned over-reliance makes the US vulnerable.

“Kenya, for instance, is an important country and there are opportunities to work with President Ruto. Yet he was also recently in Beijing proclaiming his commitment to refashioning the global order, a project that is core to the Chinese government’s efforts to supplant the US globally,” Meservey said.

Prior to the state visit to China, Rubio had spoken with Ruto on the phone at least four times since he was sworn in as Secretary of State on January 21.

According to the US Congress report, the frequency of the talks at the onset of the Trump administration signalled its intention to continue the close ties established by President Joe Biden, who in May 2024 hosted Ruto for the state visit.

President Biden subsequently designated Kenya as a Major Non-NATO Ally, conveying the deepening of defence, trade and security cooperation, it says.

“The Trump administration has yet to articulate what changes it may pursue with respect to the bilateral relationship, but its initial engagement suggests continuity with past administrations,” the report underscores.

The document, which is prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS), says Secretary Rubio and President Ruto have in their phone calls discussed the conflicts in the DRC, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan. Rubio has in these talks also expressed appreciation for Kenya's deployment to the mission in Haiti.

Rubio also held talks with Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi on May 7 in Washington. Their discussions once again centered on peace and security, covering Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, the DRC and Haiti.

The talks also captured the bilateral ties, and “how the US-Kenya partnership delivers prosperity by advancing shared economic interests”. Rubio indicated he would visit Kenya in “the near future to further cement the bilateral relationship and deepen strategic ties”.

Notably, Mudavadi’s visit to Washington happened a few days after President Ruto’s visit to China.

The Congress report had indicated that the Trump administration's stance towards Kenya appeared positive, despite the trade dispute.

The alluded dispute relates to the uncertainty around the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade preference programme and 10 per cent trade tariffs introduced by the new administration in Washington.

“Kenya has appealed for the extension of AGOA, which expires in September, and sought relief from the US tariff decision, sending a delegation to negotiate trade terms with US officials in mid-April. The US Trade Representative highlighted Kenya's 50% tariff on imports of US corn and "burdensome regulatory requirements" on corn imports among "unfair trade practices" facing US exporters,” the report says.

Kenya has been a leading exporter under AGOA trade preference programme and the largest textile exporter to the US under the initiative.

US goods trade with Kenya totalled $1.5 billion in 2024, with over $782 million in US exports to Kenya, up over 61 per cent from 2023, and $727 million in imports from Kenya. The US goods trade surplus for 2024 was more than $45 million.

The country now faces a 10 per cent tariff on exports to the US per the Trump administration's April 2025 trade action.  

Another potential area of friction in the bilateral relations the report identifies is Trump's aid cuts and decision to close USAID “although the full impact of assistance cuts in Kenya is not yet clear”.

The report also notes that governance, human rights, and corruption concerns in Kenya sometimes complicate the bilateral relationship, and abuses by Kenyan security forces have posed challenges at times for security cooperation. Successive US administrations have pushed for greater accountability for political violence and unresolved corruption cases.

The report takes particular interest in police abuses and extrajudicial killings, which it says have repeatedly drawn an international spotlight, including in the context of anti-terrorism efforts.

“The State Department's most recent human rights report lists security force abuses, including torture, unlawful killings, and enforced disappearances among Kenya's most serious human rights problems, noting "numerous reports the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings ...,” it notes.