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Kenya secures trade deal with China but rising debt, US competition complicate deeper ties
Nairobi reaches a zero-tariff trade agreement with Beijing allowing Kenya to expand exports but it must tread carefully due to Washington
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Kenya secured trade and infrastructure financing deals during Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng’s visit this week, but analysts cautioned that deepening ties were complicated by rising debt and Nairobi’s balancing act between global powers.
The “early harvest” Economic Partnership Agreement between the two countries grants Kenyan products – including tea, coffee and avocados – duty-free and quota-free access to the Chinese market starting in May.
After talks with Han on Tuesday, Kenyan President William Ruto hailed the deal, alongside new memorandums of understanding on agriculture and infrastructure, as a major boost for the economy amid growing US-China competition for influence in East Africa.
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A day earlier, Han flagged off the first shipment of Kenyan agricultural products under the new zero-tariff deal, calling it a “major benefit” that helped Kenya expand exports. The shipment followed China’s pledge of zero-tariff treatment for 53 African countries starting on May 1.
Kenya imports US$4.3 billion from China annually but exports only US$200 million.
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In a statement after the talks, Ruto said cooperation with China was delivering key infrastructure projects, including the extension of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) from Naivasha to Malaba on the Uganda border, stalled for over six years, and the Rironi-Mau Summit Highway.
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