A view of the Mombasa-Nairobi railway in Kenya, built by China Road and Bridge Corporation, in May 2017 File Photo: VCG

Cooperation between China and Kenya will continue to expand under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the bilateral relationship is expected to develop steadily, despite external attempts to undermine China-Kenya cooperation, Kenya's Ambassador to China told the Global Times in an interview.

"There is more collaboration going on in the field of infrastructure, railway, education, and skilling and so on, which we hope to discuss and implement in the coming Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC)," Willy Bett, the Kenyan ambassador, said in the interview on Saturday.

"Also, the cooperation is moving toward electronic motor vehicles. We are trying to go green in all our manufacturing and we are seeking to collaborate [with China] on clean energy power storage, which is very important for Kenya," said Bett.

China takes the leading role of new energy technologies in the world. With this kind of technology applied under the framework of the BRI, Kenya may a take faster pace to achieve the Vision 2030. "China has moved a step higher in terms of technology on energy storage and it is going to help in stabilization of grids," Bett said.

When it comes to speculation in the Western media about so-called debt traps and overcapacity issues, the ambassador shared his objective view. "We should let the market remain free and not stifle it. It is important to avoid creating the impression that discussions arise only when products from certain manufacturers start selling well," the Kenyan envoy said. "If China is producing what the world requires, what's the problem with that?"

"Also, it is not right to accuse China of employing a debt trap in terms of providing infrastructure development to Africa "because it is not China that is imposing, it is Africa that is applying," he added.

China has also firmly pushed back against Western media claims about the country's cooperation with African countries, including Kenya.

"China's financial institutions are in active consultation on specific matters with the Kenyan side. Both sides will do their best to implement the common understanding reached by the two presidents, further expand and deepen practical cooperation in investment, financing, and other fields to deliver more tangible benefits for the Kenyan people and further deepen and solidify our comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership with Kenya," Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a regular press briefing on Friday, in response to Western media reports about Chinese loans to Kenya.

In recent years, China and Kenya have engaged in extensive practical cooperation on the basis of mutual respect and mutual benefit. Projects such as the Mumbasa-Nairobi railway and the Nairobi Expressway linking the airport and the capital have greatly improved Kenya's infrastructure and received wide recognition from the Kenyan side. Our cooperation has become a good example of China-Africa Belt and Road cooperation, according to Wang.

Chinese experts said that there is huge potential for future trade between China and Kenya, given the African country's relatively high level of industrial development.

"Cooperation between China and Kenya in the field of infrastructure will continue. Besides, China will engage in deeper financial cooperation with Kenya under the BRI framework, as well as the fields of minerals and semiconductors," Song Wei, a professor from the School of International Relations at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

"Kenya's future lies in the new-energy sector, and China is well-positioned to support this development. For instance, we can transfer or relocate some of our production chains to Kenya to promote local production and allow the new-energy industry to cover the entire African continent," said Song.

From January to March 2024, China's trade with Kenya totaled 14.58 billion yuan ($2.05 billion), up 20.1 percent year-on-year, with China's imports from Kenya jumping 14 percent and exports to Kenya growing 20.3 percent, according to data from the General Administration of Customs of China.