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CWA # 1642, 30 April 2025
NIAS Africa Studies
Kenyan President William Ruto’s visit to China: Five Takeaways

  Esther Gamako Zugwai

On 25 April, Kenyan President William Ruto concluded his five-day visit to China. It was his third trip to Beijing since taking office in 2022. The visit came when Kenya and China are seeking to expand ties amid a tariff fight between Washington and Beijing. During the visit, China and Kenya announced the upgradation of their ties to a new level, pledging to create a China-Africa community. In a joint statement, leaders said they were committed to injecting more stability into the world with “the certainty of China-African solidarity and cooperation to better benefit the African people, and promote high-quality China-Africa cooperation to led to global south cooperation.”

Ruto stated during the visit: “Kenya-China strategic partnership is permanent, people-centered, and continues to deliver practical, tangible, impactful, and sustainable win-win situations.”

Five Takeaways
The following are the major takeaways of the visit.

1. Ruto’s act of balancing global powers
Ruto said Kenya and China always adhered to sincere treatment, mutual benefitwin-win cooperation, and are all-weather strategic cooperative partners. He reaffirmed the one-China policy and insisted that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory. He also noted his support for a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine, and diplomatic dialogue in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.  Earlier during his presidency, Ruto favoured the West and the US over China. His broader foreign policy approach has often appeared inconsistent, with shifting alliances and strategic ambiguity. The visit to Beijing came months after his May 2024 state visit to Washington, which featured a red-carpet welcome by the Biden administration and a discussion on Kenya’s designation as a non-NATO ally.  But as the Trump administration pulled back from engagement with Africa and slapped tariffs on trade partners, Ruto is making overtures to Beijing. 

Ruto’s dual-track diplomacy reflects his ambition to position Kenya as a non-aligned yet globally engaged power, one that can secure tangible development benefits while resisting dependency on any single bloc. While President Ruto has repeatedly insisted that Kenya is “not looking East or West, but forward,” the country’s close relationship with Western powers is difficult to deny. And it could be leveraging both Western and Eastern partnerships while projecting a narrative of pragmatic, non-aligned development.

2. Emphasis on China’s plan to work with the Global South and amplify its voice in international affairs
Xi told Ruto that Beijing would work with Kenya to develop the unity and cooperation of the Global South. By strengthening ties with China, Kenya positions itself strategically within the global south, seeking to amplify its voice in international affairs and diversify its partnership. This move also reflects a broader trend among African countries to engage more deeply with emerging global powers to advance their development agendas and increase their say in international affairs.

Ruto and President Xi Jinping also reaffirmed their commitment to a more equitable global order. “We will continue to champion the strengthening and reform of the United Nations, particularly the Security Council, to be more representative and responsive to present-day realities.”

3. A partnership that benefits both amidst US tariffs
Xi is looking to shore up partnerships and find a solution for the high trade barrier that the US has imposed on Chinese exports. Kenya is a key participant in China’s Belt and Road Initiative. China has funded billions of dollars’ worth of Kenya Roads, a port and a railway that runs from the coastal city of Mombasa through the capital, Nairobi. China is seeking a Global South alliance to counter Trump’s tariffs. While Kenya’s traditional ally, the US, imposed tariffs and stopped aid, Ruto is seeking new markets, project financing and investors.

4. Emphasis on strengthening infrastructure and economic development 
China is Kenya’s largest trading partner, biggest source of its imports, its largest creditor, biggest provider of development financing, and leading source of foreign direct investment. Kenya is a member of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Under the project, the Chinese government and firms have helped build the 600-kilometre Mombasa Nairobi- Naivasha standard-gauge railway, the Mombasa oil terminal, the Lamu port, the 27.1-kilometre Nairobi Expressway, the Global Trade Centre (GTC), and the Thika superhighway, among other facilities. The Kenyan leader has signed a new USD one billion development deal with China to boost priority economic sectors, including manufacturing (USD 320 million), agriculture (USD 430 million), and tourism (USD 230 million, potentially breathing new life into his Bottom- up Economic transformation Agenda (BETA) ahead of his re-election bid in 2027.

For China, Kenya is the largest trading partner in East Africa. Ruto’s visit has deepened the strategic partnership with a pivotal African partner. During the meeting, Xi and Ruto reportedly signed 20 cooperation agreements in diverse sectors ranging from security to technology to the economy.  The new deal with Kenya will expand the footprint of the Chinese investment, including a USD 150 million investment with China Wu Yi for construction, USD 400 million in agricultural projects led by Zonken Group in Baringo, and a USD 230 million tourism initiative by Hunan Conference Exhibition Group.

5. Ruto’s politically calculated successful visit ahead of the 2027 general elections 
For Ruto, the China visit is interpreted as both a foreign policy necessity and a calculated political move ahead of the 2027 general elections. With growing domestic pressure over the cost of living, stalled infrastructure, and youth unemployment, Ruto’s ability to secure external development deals could be politically advantageous to his regime, delivering tangible development. In the coming months and years before the next election, Kenyans will be watching closely not just for new roads and railway lines, but for signs of real economic transformation, jobs created, markets expanded, and lives improved. For now, President Ruto returns home with new agreements and hopeful headlines. Whether these translate into long-term benefits remains to be seen.

About the author
Esther Gamako Zugwai is a postgraduate student at University of Mysore.

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