Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: KENYA has finalised negotia tions over a trade deal with China, two months after announcing a preliminary agreement that would grant the East African country duty-free access to the Chinese market, President William Ruto said on March 25, according to a Reuters report.
South China Morning Post says the agreement is designed to help reduce Kenya’s longstanding trade imbalance with China by boosting exports, follow ing high-level engagements and nego tiations that concluded in late 2025 . Polity.org views the development as a strategic move by Kenya to diver sify its trade partnerships and tap into China’s vast consumer base, while ne gotiations continue toward a broader, comprehensive bilateral trade pact .
In January, Kenya said the prelimi nary deal would give 98% of its ex ports duty-free access to the large Trade deal finalised Kenya gets 98% of exports duty-free access to China Kenya gets 98% of exports duty-free access to China bilateral trade is currently heavily tilted in favour of China.
Kenya is also a close ally of Washington and is negotiating a separate bilateral trade accord with the Trump administration. Ruto has defended his administration’s courting of China against criticism from some US officials, saying Kenya has to ex port more goods to the huge Asian economy to close the trade gap. Ruto said that the Kenyan economy had been resilient in the past year, Chinese market.
East Africa’s biggest economy has been forging closer ties with China, with Ruto making a state visit to Bei jing last year during which a number of financing and cooperation agree ments were signed. The two countries’ with inflation and the shilling currency stable.
Foreign direct investment exceeded $2 billion for the first time in 2025, up over 15% on the previous year, he added.
The broader context of Africa’s inter national partnerships includes shifting patterns of FDI.
Competition with US Last year, data indicate that after a pe riod of Chinese dominance in African FDI, US companies overtook Chinese investors in 2023 with nearly $8bn in vested, almost double that of China, reported DW.
These figures, compiled by the Chi na Africa Research Initiative at Johns Hopkins University and reports from UNCTAD, highlight ongoing economic competition between major powers for influence in Africa’s resource sectors.
