A year of growth, within and without

Action-packed study visit stretches from the great wall to many parts of the country

A call to promote exchanges between Chinese and African media by delegates at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation held in 2012 in Beijing allowed me to land a prestigious opportunity to work and train in China for one year.

At the time, the forum proposed the establishment of a China Africa media exchange center that would host African journalists in China and offer training and education about the country. The Chinese government immediately started preparations for the center, which it named the China Africa Press Center.

As this was happening, Chinese President Xi Jinping called at various forums for "people-to-people exchanges as a pillar for the new type of strategic partnership between China and Africa". Xi's call was even louder during his trip to Africa in March last year when he said the people to people exchanges provide a "soft propellant and spiritual impetus for the relationship between China and African states".

As I landed in Beijing in mid-February, the government in Nairobi, under the new leadership of President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto, was separately engaging China in an increasing number of bilateral trade arrangements.

I saw this relationship grow during my stay of almost a year in Beijing. In October, for example, I made a field trip to the southeastern coastal city of Xiamen, Fujian province, to attend the 18th China International Fair for Investment and Trade.

African countries were well represented with several government delegations among them, including Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for East African Affairs, Commerce and Tourism Phyllis Kandie. Kandie, who addressed delegates at the trade fair, sent out a clear message to the international community that Kenya is indeed a tourism, commerce and investment hub.

She laid out the strategic plan of her ministry, part of which is to market Kenya as a hub for East Africa and the larger region of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa.

Kandie was accompanied by a contingent of Kenyan lawmakers and Ambassador to China Michael Kinyanjui.

The event allowed me to meet the influential leaders from Kenya and even afforded me special sessions, where I had interviews with Deputy Speaker of Parliament Joyce Laboso, five members of Parliament and a senator.

I held interviews with Senator Beatrice Elachi (nominated), MPs Florence Kajuju (Meru county), Wanjiku Muhia (Nyandarua county) and Sammy Koech (Konoin) who traveled with the deputy speaker. Others in the entourage included Irshad Sumra (Embakasi South) and Alfred Sambu (Webuye).

Embakasi South MP Irshad Sumra was categorical in calling for the review of electricity tariffs in the country so as to attract Chinese investors. Kenyatta has since heeded the calls and reduced the cost of electricity by 40 percent.

Laboso said her presence at the fair was to affirm the recent growth in bilateral relations between China and Kenya.

"President Uhuru Kenyatta visited China last year and signed several agreements with the Chinese government. Premier Li Keqiang as well witnessed the signing of an agreement in Nairobi this year, under which China Exim Bank will fund 90 percent of the construction of the standard gauge railway," she said, referring to the 480-km Mombasa-Nairobi line, to be built by China Road and Bridge Corp.

The trade fair was just one event of several I attended courtesy of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

I also had opportunities to interview officials from China's ministries and departments, such as the Exit and Entry Administration of Beijing Public Security Bureau, where I was briefed on security regulations for foreigners.

In March, I attended the opening ceremonies of the annual "two sessions", the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the nation's top political advisory body, made up of representatives from different sectors of society, and the National People's Congress, the highest organ of state power, of which the Standing Committee is its permanent organ.

I witnessed Yu Zhengsheng, chairman of the CPPCC National Committee, make his report to members.

The report delivered to members at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing detailed the work undertaken by the National Committee. Of special concern to me was what that committee was doing to help reduce air pollution levels in Beijing. Yu said the National Committee attached great importance to the promotion of a clean and safe atmosphere.

This was welcome news to me as I was new in China and had read a lot in the Western media about the pollution in Beijing. Little if anything was, however, reported about what the country was doing to reduce emission levels and control air pollution. Therefore I was privileged to hear firsthand what the top advisory body of the country was doing to help address the menace.

I was also able to exchange views with Chinese scholars of African studies at Peking University, China's first modern university, at several forums, including the first ever conference on African literature in China. I was accorded the opportunity to present a paper.

The event evoked the spirit of the June 1, 1962 conference on African literature held at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. The conference was the first African Writers Conference, and acclaimed writers Chinua Achebe and Ngugi wa Thiongo both attended.

I visited many provinces and municipalities, including Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Ningxia, Guizhou and Yunnan. The field trips allowed me a panoramic view of areas in China other than Beijing. I was able to talk with ordinary Chinese people in their homes and community centers as well.

I also toured the Palace Museum, often called the Forbidden City, climbed the Great Wall and experienced traditional Chinese culture such as Peking Opera, tai chi exercises and martial arts. I was introduced to Chinese tea culture, incense burning and several other related Chinese practices and philosophies.

In a very informative exercise, I visited several Chinese media organizations such as China Central Television, Xinhua News Agency, People's Daily and China Daily. Both CCTV and China Daily have large operations in Nairobi and it was therefore useful to tour their offices in Beijing.

Overall, the China Africa Press Center program was a large success to me as I was able to learn more about China and report back to my paper, especially at this time as Kenya has reviewed its foreign policy and is engaging more in trade as opposed to aid. The current government has also shifted from trading mainly with the West to focusing more on China.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 12/12/2014 page6)