[Source/Observer Network, Zhang Jingjuan] On April 24th, Fei Dongbin, the head of China's State Railway Administration, and Davis Chi, the Kenyan Minister of Roads and Transportation, jointly signed the "Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Field of Railways between the State Railway Administration of the People's Republic of China and the Ministry of Roads and Transportation of the Republic of Kenya".

According to Hong Kong's English media, the South China Morning Post, China agreed to fund the construction of roads and railways in Kenya, including the reconstruction of an accident-prone area. Adhere Cavince, an international relations researcher in Nairobi, pointed out that President Ruto's current visit indicates that he has "fully embraced China", and the infrastructure support he received will boost his "confidence significantly."

In a statement, China promised to promote high-level connectivity between the two countries and facilitate sustainable trade flow. Kenya also stated in its own statement that China agreed to cooperate with Kenya on implementing strategic connectivity development projects.

The report mentioned that China will help Kenya reconstruct an accident-prone area in the central part of the country—the Nithi Bridge. Since it was put into use 40 years ago, the bridge has claimed hundreds of lives and is known as the "death trap." The new plan includes building an overpass to eliminate the dangerous design features such as steep slopes and sharp turns in the original bridge.

Kenya is an important country for jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative in Africa and a beneficiary of the initiative. Previously, China helped Kenya build a railway line connecting Mombasa, the second largest city, Nairobi, the capital, and the Great Rift Valley region.

The related railway project was halted in 2019, but Nairobi has reached an agreement to restart the construction of the new extension segment of the railway and a highway connecting the Rift Valley region with western Kenya.

The report mentioned that these projects are part of the 20 supports Kenya received from China, covering infrastructure, trade, education, and digital economy fields.

Nithi Bridge accident AP

In addition to railway projects, China also agreed to allow Kenya to explore issuing panda bonds denominated in Renminbi. China emphasized promoting sustainable trade flow. "China's super-large market is always open to high-quality products from Kenya, and China encourages more capable Chinese enterprises to invest and start businesses in Kenya."

China stressed that tariff wars and trade wars have no winners. China neither provokes nor fears them. It is willing to work with all countries in the world to address various challenges through unity and cooperation, safeguard its legitimate rights and interests, maintain international trade rules, and uphold international fairness and justice.

Kenyan President Ruto said that trade wars undermine existing international rules and order. Kenya appreciates China's stabilizing role in the current turbulent situation to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries. Kenya is willing to work with China to jointly uphold and practice multilateralism.

Last month (April 2nd), Trump announced so-called "reciprocal tariffs" against Kenya at a rate of 10%. Meanwhile, US tariffs on China started at 20%, increased to 54%, then 104%, 125%, and recently reached 145%.

"The two countries may consider strengthening their ties to counter Trump's tariff policies as a timely strategic choice," David Shinn, a professor at George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs and an expert on Sino-African issues, said.

Yuan Sun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center, a think tank based in Washington, believes that Ruto's stance in Beijing aligns highly with China's perception of changes in the international order. "He hopes to rely on China in economic cooperation."

Yuan Sun noted that compared to China, the proposed tariffs for Kenya are much lower, which may stimulate goods transiting through Kenya.

Adhere Cavince, an international relations researcher in Nairobi, said that Ruto's current visit shows that he has "fully embraced China," and the infrastructure support he received will boost his "confidence significantly."

"Sino-Kenyan relations have returned to a constructive track. The two countries should not avoid doing what is right, fair, and urgent," Cavince said.

Since Ruto took office in September 2022, he has visited China twice for multilateral events. The first was to attend the "Belt and Road" forum in October 2023, and the second was last September to participate in the China-Africa Cooperation Forum Summit. This time, Ruto will conduct a five-day state visit to China from April 22nd to 26th.

In recent years, in order to counter China's influence in Africa, the United States has adopted strategies from multiple dimensions, increasing pressure on African countries in the hope of gaining greater support in international affairs.

CNN once pointed out that Africa has become a central testing ground for the influence competition between these two major economies, China and the United States.

In addition, The Wall Street Journal previously reported that US officials planned to negotiate with more than 70 countries to limit their interactions with China. These measures aim to further weaken China's economy and reduce its bargaining chips at the negotiating table. Due to different levels of economic ties between countries and China, specific requirements may vary greatly.

According to sources, US officials have already proposed the above ideas in early talks with some countries. Trump also hinted at this strategy, revealing to the media that he would consider making countries choose between the US and China.

This article is an exclusive piece by Observer Network and cannot be reprinted without permission.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7497274329650987529/

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