Racist attack was unfortunate, but it should not ruin our good relations

A video recently released online in which a Chinese national, Liu Jiaqi, is shown making derogatory remarks about Kenyans and their leadership has elicited a lot of commentary.

As is natural, there was a public outcry and widespread calls for the punishment of the individual involved in this particular incident. This was fully justified considering the gravity of the sentiments expressed.

We are glad to note that Mr Jiaqi has since been called to account both by his employer and his host nation. Such aberrations by an individual, who was clearly acting alone, and expressing his own thoughts, should not be allowed to sully the good relations that the people of China and Kenya have built over the years and from which they continue to derive a lot of benefits.

Contact between Kenyans and the Chinese people date back thousands of years ago, when the first seafaring traders from China docked on the Kenyan coast. They left an indelible mark and their influence is still visible in the goods they brought and even genetically. Today, trade has emerged as a major theatre of contact between the two nations. A fortnight ago, President Uhuru Kenyatta led a strong Kenyan delegation to Beijing and signed a number of agreements with his hosts, a development which is expected to further deepen and cement relations between Kenya and China.  

China is a key trading partner for Kenya and vice versa. As a result, there has been a lot of movement of factors of production between the two countries, especially labour. A number of Chinese companies, largely in the manufacturing and construction sectors, are active in Kenya. Nearly all have contracted Kenyans as their employees.

For some of the necessary skill-sets, however, they have had to import labour from China. This is very critical for technology transfer and the on-job training of local cadres. This infusion of Chinese expertise has greatly energised the work environment in Kenya. Currently, there are hundreds of Chinese, mostly in middle and top level management, working in Kenya on various projects and enterprises. 

As one such organisation, we are always alive to the cultural differences between Kenya and China. We will be the first people to admit that the Chinese workplace tends to be a more strictly controlled space compared to the Kenyan one. This is largely due to historical circumstances.

While China, despite its globally acknowledged economic muscle as an emerging power, has embraced collectivism, organisation, order and rule, Kenya on the other hand tends to be freer, with a lot of accent being put on civil liberties, including the right of employees to organise.

Kenyans have also had contact with people from other countries for a longer time, compared to their Chinese counterparts. The language barrier has only served to magnify the differences as opposed to the commonalities.

Against such a background, the importance of cultivating genuine cooperation among employees, be they Kenyans or Chinese, cannot be gainsaid. We can say this with some level of authority given our experience in running a business in Kenya. An ideal shared working and even living environment calls for sensitivity to each other’s socio-cultural predilections, besides being truthful and candid in our conversations with each other. And such conversations must be regular and structured. Most importantly, it is imperative that each side listens and learns from each other for the mutual benefit of all.

Active tension

Naturally, in a set-up where there are two opposing cultures and ways of life, there is bound to be some active tension. Unfortunately, this tension sometimes finds expression in breaches such as that which was witnessed recently. But this is normally the exception rather than the rule. Whenever this happens, we must correctly locate individual culpability and call the individual to account speedily. This has to be both at the organisational level, and where a crime has been committed, at the government level. 

There is always the temptation to heap the foibles and failures of one individual on a whole community or race. Both Kenyans and Chinese must actively resist this path as it can only lead to unrest and disengagement, which could adversely affect the long-standing relations between the two peoples and the benefits each side brings to the table.

We must not let rabid stereotyping and negative energy, of the type we have seen recently on social media, compromise what our people and leaders have worked so hard to build together. 

-The author is the CEO, Sonlink Limited