Chinese premier meets Kenyan president

24/4/2025 6:15

Chinese Premier Li Qiang met with Kenyan President William Ruto, who is on a state visit to China, in Beijing on Wednesday.

Li noted that in recent years, under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, China-Kenya relations have continued to improve, with fruitful cooperation outcomes across various fields significantly enhancing the well-being of the two peoples. He added that the two heads of state will hold talks to further plan the deepening of China-Kenya relations and cooperation.

China is willing to work with Kenya to continually enrich the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, expand mutually beneficial cooperation in all areas, and strive toward modernization together, Li said.

Noting that the two countries have strong economic complementarity and broad cooperation prospects, Li said China is willing to work with Kenya to continue advancing the high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road, steadily advance major projects such as infrastructure, deepen cooperation in areas such as finance, digital economy, green energy, agricultural science and technology, and blue economy, jointly cultivate and expand new drivers of development, and promote more practical achievements.

China is also willing to import more high-quality products from Kenya, promoting an optimized and balanced trade relationship, Li said, adding that the two sides should further facilitate personnel exchanges and enhance cooperation in cultural, tourism, and media sectors.

In the current international landscape of intertwined challenges, China and Africa, as significant forces in the Global South, should unite more closely to confront difficulties and promote development and prosperity together, Li said, adding that China is willing to work with Kenya and other African countries to fully accelerate the implementation of the outcomes of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, especially the ten partnership actions for modernization, and practice true multilateralism.

Ruto said Kenya firmly abides by the one-China principle, recognizes Taiwan as an inalienable part of China's territory, and acknowledges that the government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China.

The Kenyan side looks forward to aligning development strategies with China under the Belt and Road Initiative, tapping into cooperation potential, and promoting practical collaboration in trade, investment, transportation infrastructure, and social welfare, Ruto said.

Kenya highly appreciates China's important role in international affairs and is willing to enhance communication and coordination with China on multilateral platforms such as the United Nations, to better promote unity and cooperation among the Global South and to pave a bright future for China-Africa cooperation, he added.