Chinese President Xi Jinping has encouraged Kenyans studying in China to keep adding to the friendship between China and Africa. In a surprise letter to representatives of Kenyans at Beijing Jiaotong University, the Chinese leader noted that the students can play a role in the strengthening of the China-Kenya ties.
According to a report by Xinhua News Agency, Xi, in a correspondence dated January 17, 2023, noted that China and Kenya enjoy a time-honored friendship. He specifically highlighted the impact of the Belt and Road Initiative which he indicated has turned the ideals of development and revitalization of China and Kenya into reality, and closely linked the well-being of the two peoples.
“The Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway is a flagship project and a successful example of China-Kenya Belt and Road cooperation,” Xi said.
The representatives of students currently studying and those that already graduated from Beijing Jiaotong University had written to President Xi recently, expressing their gratitude for being given a chance to pursue their higher education at the Institution. A majority of them made their way to the university to study railway operations and management.
“I am glad to see that you have bonded with China through this road to happiness. You have witnessed and benefited from the China-Kenya and China-Africa friendship and cooperation, and you have helped build and spread the friendly cooperation between China and Kenya and between China and Africa,” Xi said.
Looking ahead, President Xi noted that the “magnificent picture of the Belt and Road Initiative and the grand blueprint of the China-Kenya comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership needed more promising young people to make it more successful,” for the benefit of the people.
“It is hoped that you can learn professional knowledge well, continue the traditional friendship, devote yourself to bilateral cooperation, tell well stories of China-Africa friendship, and make greater contributions to the building of a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future,” Xi said.
In their letter, the student group told the Chinese President they were eager to act as a bridge between the two sides, establishing an everlasting China-Kenya friendship. Having lived and studied in China, they spoke of their enthusiasm to apply their know-how to enhance cooperation between the two countries and build a community with a shared future for mankind.
During, and immediately after the construction of SGR, a good number of Kenyan students went to receive undergraduate education in Beijing Jiaotong University under the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) scholarship program. The institution remains the topmost university in China for railway studies.
