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Kenya in Talks with China to Convert Debt to Yuan

Kenya’s Treasury Secretary John Mbadi said his government is in talks with Chinese counterparts to convert the denomination of its debt to China from U.S. dollars to Chinese renminbi. “The moment we move from the U.S. dollar to the renminbi, automatically, ...

Kenya’s FM Pushes China for Fast Approval of Financial Assistance Package

Kenya's top diplomat, Musalia Mudavadi, hoped that his visit to China this week would prompt Beijing to speed up approval of a large financial package that his government is counting on to build new roads and extend the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) to the Ugandan border.

WEEK IN REVIEW: Wang Yi Meets Over 50 African Envoys on Africa Day

Brazilian prosecutors announced they are suing the Chinese carmaker BYD and two of its contractors for slave-like labor conditions. Prosecutors in Bahia state are seeking about $50 million in damages from BYD, China JinJiang Construction Brazil, and Tecmonta Equipamentos Inteligentes. The suit follows a complaint last year that ...

Kenyan President William Ruto’s China Trip to be Closely Watched by Continent

Kenya’s President William Ruto left for a four-day state visit to China on Monday night. He will meet with China’s President Xi Jinping and officiate over the China-Kenya Business Forum, which will bring together 100 companies from both sides. Ruto is ...

WEEK IN REVIEW: Kenya Courts China While U.S. Sounds Alarm Over Beijing’s Reach in Africa

Kenyan President William Ruto is scheduled to travel to Beijing later this month for an official state visit, where he's widely expected to finalize a long-awaited deal to extend the Chinese-built Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) to the Ugandan border. But ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

Plugging into African Agency

After several years of declining funding, the African end of the Belt and Road Initiative seems to be roaring back. The newest Griffith University/Green Development Finance Center data on the Belt and Road Initiative shows that engagement with Africa jumped by 395%, while a few big projects boosted engagement in Nigeria alone more than twelvefold.
These shifts indicate a window of opportunity for African electrification. 60% of Africans still ...

China Touts Success of Kenya’s Standard Gauge Railway But Leaves Out One Very Important Detail

Chinese state media is touting the enormous success of the Beijing-backed Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in Kenya, which serves as a showcase for the Belt and Road Initiative. The official Xinhua published a report last week that was full of numbers that demonstrate the railway's achievements since it ...

China to Hand Over Full Control of Kenya Railway at the End of the Year

The Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) will take full operating control of the Standard Gauge Railway in December 2025, six months past the original deadline, from a Chinese state-owned firm that currently runs the line. It was always part of the plan ...

Kenyan President Emphasizes Infrastructure During Beijing Trip

Kenya’s President William Ruto came to Beijing with a long wishlist. In the run-up to his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Ruto stressed several key infrastructure projects as key to Kenya’s cooperation with China. Standard Gauge Railway: The ...

Five Key Chinese Belt and Road Projects in Africa

China has vowed to beef up its vast Belt and Road global infrastructure initiative, promising "high-quality cooperation" ahead of a summit with African leaders in Beijing starting on Wednesday. Africa is already a key Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) region, with ...

Zimbabwe Agreement Could Signal China’s Return to African Rail

TransTech, a subsidiary of China Railway Group, reportedly signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the state-owned National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) that could lead to a recapitalization of the country’s railway network. Bloomberg reports that the agreement is currently limited to studying ...

Sliding Currency Push Up Kenyan Payments for Chinese Railway

Kenyan tax payers will have to cough up $87 million more for a January repayment of a loan for the Chinese-built Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) because of a depreciation on the value of the Kenyan shilling. According to the World Bank, 

China Could Fund Kenyan Rail Through Public-Private Partnership: Kenyan President

Kenyan President William Ruto renewed his calls for China to fund the third stretch of the country’s Standard Gauge Railway (SGR). Speaking at a roundtable event in Nairobi during the weekend, Ruto said the project is currently being discussed in Beijing and could move forward as a public-private partnership. ...
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