Xi Jinping — true friend of Africa

TICKET TO HAPPINESS

Last year, Jamlik Mwangi Kariuki and over 40 Kenyan students and alumni at Beijing Jiaotong University wrote a letter to Xi.

In the letter, they shared their experiences studying railway operations and management in China and expressed their aspiration to serve as a bridge of friendship. Along with the letter, they sent a special gift to the Chinese leader: A ticket to ride the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway.

Kenya's century-old dream of building a new railway became a reality through cooperation with China. Launched in May 2017, the railway, spanning approximately 480 km, connects the large Indian Ocean city of Mombasa with Nairobi, the country's capital and largest city. It is Kenya's first modern railway since independence and is hailed as a flagship project under the Belt and Road collaboration between China and Kenya.

The railway has reduced the travel time between the two cities from more than 10 hours to about five, alleviated congestion at Mombasa Port, reduced operating costs for manufacturers and improved supply chain efficiency. According to Kenya's railway authorities, the project has contributed over 2 percent to the nation's GDP.

In his reply to the students' letter earlier this year, Xi said he was glad to see that they have bonded with China through this road to happiness, and benefited from China-Kenya and China-Africa friendship and cooperation.

The Mombasa-Nairobi Railway is just a snapshot of the broader cooperation between China and the African continent, which Xi said should highlight "real results." Since the establishment of FOCAC in 2000, China has helped countries in Africa build or upgrade more than 10,000 km of railways. Via such drives as the 10 cooperation plans, eight major initiatives and nine programs, nearly 100,000 km of highways, roughly 1,000 bridges, almost 100 ports and a telecom network service covering nearly 700 million user terminals have been built or upgraded.

"Africa's industrialization started late and has a weak foundation. Only by improving infrastructure, promoting connectivity and achieving economic integration can Africa conduct large-scale industrial production and effectively integrate the sales market of industrial products," said Costantinos Berhutesfa Costantinos, professor of public policy at Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia.

To ensure sustainable development and industrialization in Africa, which homes the highest number of developing countries, Xi pays close attention to the continent's capacity building. "It is more important to show people how to fish than just giving them fish," he said.

At the 2018 FOCAC summit, Xi announced that 10 Luban Workshops would be set up in Africa to provide skills training for young Africans and that China would support training 1,000 people in high-caliber positions. The Luban Workshop is a Chinese initiative to provide vocational training.

Dozens of young Africans who graduated from the Djibouti Luban Workshop -- the first to open in Africa -- work either as management professionals or technicians at the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway project.

"The importance of talent in innovative development cannot be overstated," said Gerishon Ikiara, an economist and former permanent secretary in Kenya's Ministry of Transport, adding that China is helping African countries turn their population dividend into a development advantage.