- China allows its provinces to act with some amount of autonomy in creating their revenue and thus pursue their interests so long as they align with those of Beijing.
- Taking advantage of this, Hunan has been increasingly interacting with Kenya in a bid to also strengthen political ties.
Image: BRIAN OTIENO
Hunan province of China has called for more cooperation with Kenya in a bid to strengthen ties between the two jurisdictions and boost each other’s economies.
China allows its provinces to act with some amount of autonomy in creating their revenue and thus pursue their interests so long as they align with those of Beijing.
Taking advantage of this, Hunan has been increasingly interacting with Kenya in a bid to also strengthen political ties.
In May, the province hosted a delegation of UDA members who were on a 10-day working engagement at the invitation of the Communist Party of China.
UDA seeks Sh1 billion in support from the CPC to build its new party headquarters as well as introduce a programme that will see it become a big machinery that will last 100 years, just like the CPC.
The visit was a culmination of heightened engagements between the two parties, with the UDA secretary general Malala hosting CPC executive deputy head of organisation department Jiang Xinzhi at the UDA head office in Nairobi on March 15.
Following the meeting, Malala announced that the CPC would assist UDA in establishing a leadership school at the party headquarters and a new state-of-the-art party headquarters.
“Hunan province also organizes activities to visit enterprises, universities, and communities to demonstrate Hunan’s new achievements in economic and social development,” Dai Zhiguang, the deputy director general of the Foreign Office of Hunan Province, said on Wednesday at a press briefing at the China National Conference Centre in Beijing.
Hunan is one of the provinces with active economic and trade cooperation with Africa.
Its total trade with Africa in 2023 amounted to 55.67 billion yuan (about Sh1.1 billion), which was ranked eighth in China, and first in the central and western regions of China, having an average annual growth rate of 23.1 per cent.
China has 34 provinces.
Kenya’s tea and roses have also found new markets in Hunan as they fly off the shelf.
On Tuesday, the Tea Board of Kenya CEO Willy Mutai said farmers should meet the leaf quality standards set by the board as they explore the new Chinese market.
Mutai said there will be a joint trade mission to China this year, where they expect to export more tea.
“We have got the inroads in the China market, and this is a boost to the Kenyan tea farmers,” he said.
Zhiguang said universities in Hunan have accepted over 3,000 students from over 40 African countries as they enhance people-to-people exchanges.
The Hunan deputy director in charge of the foreign office said since the inception of the first direct flights from Changsha, the largest and capital city of Hunan province, to Nairobi in 2019, more than 150,000 passengers have flown between the two cities, enhancing tourism and trade.
Changsha is an industrial city that is home to factories that produce goods that have huge demand in Kenya.
It has an industrial chain with construction machinery and new materials as the main industries, complemented by automobiles, electronic information, household appliances, and biomedicine.
Deng Weiping, the deputy director general of the Department of Commerce of Hunan Province, said as of July, imports from Kenya and other African countries have increased by more than 90 per cent year on year.
This is mainly in the sectors of equipment in manufacturing, energy, mining, road and bridge construction, agricultural development, and other advantageous industries that have been introduced into Africa.
He said the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo, which Hunan is tasked with organising every two years, has been held three times.
And it was first held in Kenya in May as the first such expo to be held out of Africa, which lends credence to the importance with which Hunan holds Kenya.
The expo has helped build platforms, promote cooperation, and helped secure 336 cooperation projects worth $53.32 billion (about Sh6.8 trillion) between China and Africa.
“So basically it is Hunan sets the stage, the whole nation participates, and China and Africa share the benefits,” Weiping said.
He said Kenyan roses are becoming more popular in Changsha.
“If you go to Changsha in Hunan, we will be more than happy to welcome you to this Hunan Exhibition Hall, where you will roses from Kenya, products from Zimbabwe, diamonds from South Africa, and other products from Tanzania, Malawi, among other African countries,” he said.
Zhiguang said more than 100 African brands and more than 10 industrial chains have been established through Hunan’s cooperation with African countries.
“Hunan local enterprises have set up their first overseas warehouses of Chinese e-commerce in Kenya, and products made in China such as shoes, hats, and small household appliances have been getting to African households with more affordable prices in more efficient logistics,” he said.
He said after the first expo held in Africa, which was in Kenya, a Hunan enterprise went into Africa for the first time.
“It went to Kenya and Ethiopia. The company found coffee there. It was quite good. So, it started to explore the market and the product. In recent years, the coffee market in China has taken off, with it becoming popular with the middle class and the young people,” he said.