Finding common ground

Taking time to understand instead of dwelling on differences will heal rifts between Chinese and Africans, a Kenyan businessman says

Michael Munyao says the relationship between Chinese and Africans can be improved if the focus is on cultural similarities rather than differences.

"Fissures between the two peoples have emerged and widened because of focusing on cultural and language barriers. This should stop. First and foremost, we are all human beings," says the chairman of the China Africa Friendship Association's Kenyan chapter.

Created in 2013, the objective of the association is to enhance interpersonal relationships through trade, tourism, education, and cultural and technological exchanges.

Munyao says their common humanity should prompt the two communities to transcend any misgivings they have developed about each other.

"China has a rich and amazing culture that dates back more than 4,000 years. This similarly applies to Africans. But we can gain from each other only if we disallow divisive connotations," says Munyao, who also runs Electrogen Technologies International Ltd, a company specializing in security equipment.

Munyao spoke to China Daily at his office in a quiet neighborhood along State House Road, on the first floor of Crawford Business Park, some 10 minutes drive from downtown Nairobi.

He speaks from experience. In 1994, he decided to pursue his own business after a seven-year stint as a marketing executive for a media firm in Kenya. He started a company with only two employees, hoping to supply video conferencing equipment to the government. The Chinese commercial consulate provided him with the name of a prospective supplier and soon he was on a flight to Hong Kong with a stopover at Dubai. He was heading to Shenzhen, a southern Chinese city on the border with Hong Kong.

But the flight was delayed and his host thought it had been canceled. He was surprised to find no one waiting for him. No one understood English and he soon realized that he was stranded. But two French people who had been on the same flight helped him. They spoke Mandarin and quickly found a good hotel where he could stay.

Munyao decided to thank them by taking them to dinner but, again, he came face to face with cultural and language issues the first time he tried ordering food. "I was not used to the food and the menu was written in Chinese. The only recognizable thing was beer. And that is what I ordered.

"In the morning I was able to reach my host, who had traveled to his hometown for the weekend. He, however, sent people to make me comfortable throughout the weekend. I toured the factory and was satisfied with their capability and capacity. That is where my fortunes started and I have never looked back," Munyao says.

During this visit, he realized the breadth and depth of the Asian country's manufacturing capacity. The products were of high quality and widely sold in European and Western countries. The price was also right, making his business competitive.

Over the years, his business empire has diversified into other sectors including construction and communications. He also offers professional consultancy services to state-owned Chinese businesses. "We carry out market research for them on the various opportunities available in Kenya. The business is rewarding," he says.

Compared with two decades ago, China's social landscape has changed significantly, Munyao says. "Chinese people are friendly and are willing to look beyond cultural differences in their engagements. They speak English and are very hospitable."

This is the message the Kenyan chapter of the China Africa Friendship Association is communicating to the Kenyan people. The association has staff members who link Kenyan entrepreneurs with Chinese partners and help support sustainable business relationships. "We have entered into a memorandum of understanding with seven Chinese cities (and provinces) to promote cohesion between business communities in the two countries," Munyao says.

The Kenyan chapter also has agreements with counterparts in Sichuan, Guangdong, Shandong, Nanjing, Hunan, Liaoning and Fujian provinces. These agreements, according to Munyao, encourage seamless trade between the two countries.

He thinks that just as in his case, sustainable trade can be founded only on trust and respect. "And this can only be cultivated through constant engagement and willingness to accommodate each other's culture."

He notes that Chinese and Kenyans have different perceptions when it comes to time. The former are punctual. He recalls an incident in which he considered timetables proposed by his Chinese associate to be too tight. "But I was told that business can only be successful within the set deadlines. I had to change my way of thinking and this has surely changed my business," says the entrepreneur.

Munyao says that both communities work hard and harbor a deep sense of respect. Once their interests are synchronized, business between them thrives.

But person-to-person interaction cannot be left to the government, Munyao says. "Their mandate is to initiate connections but it is left to the people to cultivate it by creating opportunities."

Since its launch in 2013, the Kenyan association has organized several exchanges. Last May, top political leaders such as Kenyan Senate Speaker Ekwee Ethuro led a 19-person delegation to Beijing for the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the founding of Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, where Ethuro was able to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The Kenyan association is frequently visited by their counterparts from China for bilateral talks and this year, the vice-presidents of the Chinese association and its Shandong provincial chapter visited Africa for bilateral talks and promotion of people-to-people relationships and exchanges.

The Kenyan association has also provided 20 scholarships to bright, needy Kenyan young people to attend Chinese universities. The association has also provided assistance to a children's home, known as Shelter Children Rehabilitation Center, located in Kibiku, Ngong, southwest of Nairobi.

"We are a nonprofit organization. We are a group of people who have benefited immensely from our interactions with China and hence we are giving back to society," Munyao says.

The association has six board members and 10 council members with good reputations in professional fields such as media, legal affairs and the civil service. "We are a strong team and eager to cement Kenya-China relations."

The association is organizing a Kenyan Week in China, an event meant to bring together business stakeholders of the two countries. "We want senior executives of our hospitality industries to engage directly with Chinese tour operators, while executives in the agricultural industry can seek partnerships with the broad manufacturing base in China and learn the advanced technology that the Chinese are currently using to maximize their farm produce while minimizing costs. We cannot continue waiting for the government. This is the best avenue," Munyao says.

He says Kenyan businesspeople will take the initiative to establish contacts with the Chinese as a result of the meetings. "We want more Chinese visitors who will feel confident once they find a receptive, Chinese-speaking office at our (national) parks, hotels and even agricultural agencies," he says, adding that an investment agency should also be established to target the Asian country.

The Kenyan chapter has teamed up with the CPAFFC to organize Kenyan Week events in Beijing, Chengdu, Changsha and Xuzhou, concluding in Shanghai. The promotional tour will allow the Kenyan delegation to meet Chinese citizens and stakeholders. The initiative is expected to promote Kenya as a tourist destination for the Chinese market and Kenyan products such as coffee, tea, macadamia nuts and animal products. Sales would help correct the trade imbalance between the two countries.

He says that while Kenyans as a whole are not making a lot of effort to learn about Chinese culture, there is a lot the country could learn, particularly in how China developed so rapidly. "Furthermore, their interest in building our infrastructure is more to our advantage because without it, there is no development. If you want to be rich, you must first build a road."

He adds that Kenya's decentralization is still in its infancy. "A lot can be learned from China, where decentralization has brought government benefits to the people."

All these efforts, according to Munyao, help improve relations that, he says, are still relatively poor. "We need more interaction so that Kenyans and Chinese can appreciate each other."

He notes that lack of engagement breeds misconceptions.

"The Chinese are very patient and persistent people. They follow the rule of law in Kenya and are hardworking. I believe that a Chinese investor by extension creates more than 200 jobs. I therefore do not see why we should not strengthen our friendship and people-to-people relationship."

Contact the writers at lucymorangi@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Africa Weekly 05/01/2015 page32)