Kenya has voiced strong support for closer cooperation between China and Africa amid escalating global trade tensions.
A senior Kenyan diplomat has called for the retraining of African diplomats to effectively navigate the evolving international landscape.
The call came as China pledged to deepen its partnership with African nations like Kenya.
Speaking at the China Foreign Affairs University in Beijing, where diplomats and scholars explored synergies between China and Africa in an era of global uncertainties, Paul Kamweru Ndungu, Director General of the Foreign Service Academy of Kenya, emphasised the need for African diplomats to adapt to new global realities.
"The foreign service academies in Africa and in the Global South must do their fair share of work to equip our governments and officials with strategies and tools for navigating the challenges and opportunities of the international system as it is today,” Ndungu said.
He added, "Diplomats must be prepared and equipped with sound knowledge with the strategies and right skills to handle the complex shifting diplomatic environment for them to remain relevant and effective for 21st century problems”.
According to him, there is no better way for countries to do this than by building stronger alliances and among those stronger alliances is the China-Africa community of shared future.
Ndungu said the gathering is a demonstration of the strong bond of friendship between China and Africa crucial for the common good of their people and their shared future.
He urged African diplomatic training institutions to equip their diplomats with the knowledge that "things are no more the way they have been."
“We are at the doorstep of a new future and as we go into that future, we must be prepared to confront every obstacle…to confront every challenge and for us to remain strong and united for the good of China-Africa community with a shared future and for the good of all us,” he said.
The meeting, attended by senior African and Chinese diplomats, also featured a keynote address from Mr Xue Bing, China's Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Affairs.
Xue highlighted the historical significance of the year for the Global South, noting the upcoming anniversaries related to the fight against fascism and the founding of the United Nations, underscoring the importance of multilateralism.
Xue strongly criticised certain unnamed countries for pursuing ‘hegemony, decoupling supply chains, building trade barriers, and using tariffs as weapons’ actions he said seriously infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of countries, seriously violate WTO rules and seriously undermine the rule-based international multilateral trading system, inflicting a serious blow to the stability of global economic order.
"Global instability and uncertainty are on the rise. The world is, again, at a critical juncture," Xue Bing stated, adding, "We need to jointly show the historical responsibilities and advocate an equal and orderly multipolar world and the universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalisation. China is ready to work with Africa to keep in mind the history and forge ahead together and jointly uphold the basic rules of the international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN charter."
The Chinese envoy affirmed China's commitment to working with African countries and other developing nations to oppose “unilateralism and protectionism” and to raise the voice and representation of the Global South, especially Africa, in global governance systems. He emphasised the need to implement the outcomes of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Beijing Summit held last year and to further strengthen cooperation through foreign affairs authorities.
The backdrop to these discussions is the rising global trade tensions, particularly those triggered by tariffs imposed by the United States under the Trump administration.
These tariffs have strained international trade relations and prompted concerns about the stability of the global economic order, pushing countries like Kenya to seek stronger alliances and explore alternative partnerships, officials say.
Kenya's backing of closer ties with China, as articulated by Ndungu, underscores a growing sentiment among African nations to diversify their diplomatic and economic relationships in the face of increasing protectionism from traditional Western partners.
The emphasis on retraining diplomats suggests a recognition of the need for a more assertive and strategic approach to international relations in a multipolar world order where China's influence continues to expand, analysts said.
