Last week, the world keenly followed the proceedings of the third plenary session of 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, held in Beijing. The meeting resulted in sweeping resolutions on China’s desire to deepen reforms and advance modernisation.
Usually staged every five years, the third plenum is the foremost platform where China sets the socioeconomic policy tone for its domestic and global engagements.
In December 1978, under President Deng Xiaoping, China’s third plenum initiated structural reforms that, in just three decades, catapulted China from a poorly performing, centrally planned economy, into a global economic superpower. China is now the most visible anchor of global economic wellness accounting for more than 30 per cent contribution to global economy. In the decade ending 2021, China’s GDP increased two-fold from $7.4 trillion to $15.7 trillion.
The 2024 plenum is expected to significantly contribute to the achievement of China’s ambitious goal to be a fully developed country by 2035. The plenum once again brings to the fore the kind of strategic thinking that has anchored China’s transformation. Beijing has committed to continue with its penchant for exporting peace and development while increasingly opening its largest consumer market in the world to external players.
This presents opportunity for African countries. Under the China-Africa Cooperation Vision 2035, both sides made commitments to strengthen cooperation and deliver durable development outcomes for their respective populations.
However, while broad-based cooperative frameworks are mooted at multilateral levels, the real implementation often take place under bilateral arrangements. This means that for a country like Kenya to benefit from its interactions with China, Nairobi must be intentional about what it wants to achieve, working with Beijing.
What should Kenya do? First, modernise its China strategy. The recently launched Joint Technical Team, bringing together ministerial level champions and Chinese government officials in Kenya, is great innovation in this endeavour. JTT will facilitate whole of government approach on the side of Kenya in engaging China. It will eliminate overlaps, duplication and fragmentation of issues and interests on the side of Kenya.
Secondly, Kenya should embrace proactive diplomacy towards China. Having a knowledge bureaucracy on China will significantly enhance Nairobi’s relational capability in terms of defining priorities, decoding easy wins and delivering mutually beneficial outcomes with China. Properly understanding China’s political, economic and cultural aspects, including language capability, will aid better cooperation.
Thirdly, Kenya should appreciate China’s place in global politics. It is impossible to wish China away and ties with China should not be based on Kenya’s relations with other countries. Under the framework of building Kenya-China community with a shared future, Nairobi has a window to spearhead comprehensive partnership with China.
Finally, Kenya can learn some ideas of governance from China. Till the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, China experienced many chaotic episodes marked by revolutions. Part of the challenge was inability of the previous governments to deliver shared economic benefits to the Chinese people.
However, with reforms in governance that has placed welfare of the people at the heart of government operations, China became stable, peaceful and prosperous. By learning from China’s experience, Kenya can overcome the current socioeconomic and political challenges and effectively embark on a path of stability, unity and economic prosperity.
The writer is a scholar of international relations with a focus on China-Africa development cooperation. X: @Cavinceworld