Kenya-China ties spark 200,000 Jobs, cultural boom

President William Ruto with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China. April 24, 2025. [Courtesy, PCS]

At least 200,000 jobs have been created through the bilateral cooperation between Kenya and China. Over the years, this cooperation has fostered mutual understanding and people-to-people connections, which continue to contribute to the country's economic growth. 

This emerged on Friday during the opening ceremony of the 2025 China-Kenya Culture and Tourism Season and Special Performance for the 40th Anniversary of China-Kenya Acrobatic Exchanges, organised in Nairobi. 

According to the Cabinet Secretary for Gender, Culture, Arts and Heritage, Hannah Cheptumo, over 400 Chinese government agencies, major corporations, and Chinese media Africa and regional offices that Kenya hosts have played a key role in the creation of jobs. 

She said the growing number of Chinese tourists into the country has also contributed to a reduction in unemployment, with Kenya recording over 200,000 tourists from China in 2024 alone, "a significant number" that is expected to surge in the coming years. 

This has been boosted by the two nations' joint participation in a robust cultural partnership that extends across media, education, health, and heritage. 

"China has provided scholarships to thousands of Kenyan students, granting them higher education opportunities in China," said CS Cheptumo.

She added: "This investment in human capital is crucial for Kenya's development, as these students become its valuable skills and knowledge. Currently, there is a team of 20 trustees back from China, where they have received training on ethical, cultural heritage." 

This comes as the country "celebrates deepening co-operation between Kenya and China in culture and tourism, following the recent state visit by President William Ruto in Beijing. 

Beijing honoured Ruto with a 21-gun salute, underscoring the significance of the diplomatic ties between the two nations. 

One of the outcomes from the visit, Chinese Ambassador to Kenya Guo Haiyan noted, is to hold the first-ever China-Kenya Culture and Tourism Season in 2025.

Additionally, she said, the China-Kenya Food Festival, launched in August 2023, will also uplift the food industry and nurture artistic talents.

"These events will further invigorate the cultural and tourism cooperation between our countries, enhance mutual understanding and friendship between our two peoples, and inject important impetus into building an even closer China-Kenya community with a shared future for the new era," stated Ms. Haiyan. 

She observed that the ties present a "broad space and huge potential for deepening cultural and tourism cooperation," which are important tools for economic prosperity. 

Cheptumo said Scientific and cultural research through the Sino-Kenya Palaeolithic Archaeological Project, launched in 2017, has also uncovered significant findings and new research sites, gained major public acclaim, and earned awards.

"The project has fostered cultural exchange and collaborative research. Content-sharing agreement in 2024, Kenyan and Chinese media entities signed a cooperation agreement to promote the sharing of content that advances cross-cultural understanding.