Li Zhaoxing

(December 14^th, 2008 marks the 45^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relation between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Kenya. This is an article commemorating this special occasion by H.E. Li Zhaoxing, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress of China, Honorary President of the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs, President of China Association for International Friendly Contact, and Dean of Zhou Enlai School of Government of Nankai University, who had been working in Chinese embassy in Nairobi for more than 7 years in 1970s.)

In April 2005, for the first time and also the only time during my whole tenure as the Foreign Minister of China, I accompanied a visiting Foreign Minister on a climb-up of the steep Great Wall near Beijing, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The visiting Foreign Minister was Hon. Chirau Ali Mwakwere from the Republic of Kenya. This special and pleasant climb had a close connection to my deep emotional association with Kenya.

 

On December 14^th, 1963, the China-Kenya diplomatic relationship was established. Half a year later, having graduated from Beijing University, I joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China. After several years training and practice, I was posted to Kenya and served in the Chinese Embassy from 1970 to 1977.

 

During those 7 years, I traveled around the country and was deeply impressed by the well-preserved traditional culture, diverse biological environment and fascinating landscape. From Lake Turkana in the north to Lake Magadi in the south, from Kisumu bordering the Lake Victoria to Malindi on the coast of the Indian Ocean, from the treetop hotel with the view of Mt. Kenya to the simple "Manyatta" in Maasai lands, I did find my home away from home.

 

I took every chance to learn the history and culture of Kenya from its people, including the local drivers and gardeners working in the Embassy. The evolution of primitive men, the anti-colonial Mau Mau Movement, the independence of Kenya, were among all those I learned. I always recall those exciting days when the Kenyan people marching forward under the leadership of Mzee Kenyatta with his famous notions such as "Harambee", "Black is Beautiful". His fight for the dignity of the colored people and the aspiration to unite the whole nation together to move toward a better future had not only inspired generations of Kenyan people, but also me, a young man from China.

 

During those 7 years, I had many chances to work as interpreter for President Kenyatta, and two of his successors, then Vice President Moi and Finance Minister Kibaki, which enabled me to have close touches to the great hearts of the Kenyan forerunners for national independence and learn a lot. It was also during those 7 years in Kenya that I was promoted from a working staff to Attaché. It is fair to say that Kenya and the Chinese Embassy in Kenya were the last cradles that nurtured me to a qualified diplomat.

 

While working on this essay, countless warm memories flashed through my mind. One time I urgently needed some medicine for the leaving guests whom I was to see off at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Although I didn't have enough money, the kind owner of the drugstore there said: "Take the medicine and pay next time". One time our car broke down in the wild and a group of young men went out of their way to help us to push and restart the car. One time when an attendant in a stationary shop on the Independence Street noticed my sweat stains, which were the results of heavy workload in the farms in Guangdong Province of China several years before, he ardently tipped me to cure them with papayas. One time a Kenyan official drove all the way from Nairobi to Nakuru in the mid night just to bring a comfortable table to the visiting Chinese table tennis delegation. There were so many "One time"s like these that I could never forget.

 

I can never forget those barefoot kids walking miles to schools for knowledge, those workers picking tea leaves in the tea estates of Kericho day after day, those farmers harvesting sugarcane in Kisumu, those athletes exercising ceaselessly in the rough roads of Eldoret. In short, I can never forget that there are 37 million kind, simple, assiduous and honest ordinary people in Kenya.

 

In the National Museum of Fort Jesus in Mombasa, I found a lot of ancient Chinese porcelains. The great Chinese sailor Zheng He and his fleet had visited the coast of Kenya as early as 1405. The story of the descendents of his crew members is still living in the remote Siyu village of Lamu and singing of the long history of the friendship between our two peoples.

 

One political event at that time is worth particular mentioning: In 1971, Kenya, together with other African countries, supported the People's Republic of China to restore all its legitimate rights in the United Nation. As soon as the resolution sailed through, the Kenyan representative left his seat and cheered for China and all the countries that advocated for justice. It was not until my appointment as the Chinese Permanent representative to UN in 1993 could I fully understand how precious this support was.

 

During my seven-year stay in Nairobi, I managed to have a lot of time learning Swahili and traveling during holidays and weekends. However, our Ambassador to Kenya now half jokingly complained to me that he always had to stay up to mid-night in the office. "Well, that proves we worked more efficiently then than you guys now", I replied. In fact, I fully understood the tough tasks on his desk. After 45 years development, the bilateral relations have become closer and closer with more and more cooperation of mutual benefit. Therefore, diplomats from both countries have to work much harder but happier.

 

Former President Moi visited China three times and President Kibaki did twice. Many top Chinese leaders have visited Kenya. Ministerial level exchanges are much more. A delegation from the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress of China visited Kenya last year and our Kenyan counterparts paid us a return visit early this year. The trade volume between China and Kenya reached 906 million US Dollar in the first nine months of this year and grew by a large margin of 32.4%, with Kenya's export to China up by 41.1%. The number of Chinese tourists to Kenya reached a record 19,000 in 2007. People could hardly imagine all these 10 years ago. There are also more and more Kenyan business people shopping in the streets of Guangzhou. And they can comfortably shuttle between our two distant countries and continents with direct flights of Kenya Airways from Guangzhou or Hong Kong to Nairobi.

 

The Chinese people have learned more about Kenya with time. When I left for Kenya 38 years ago, in the minds of some friends and relatives, Kenya, or the whole African continent, was still the synonym for drought and torridity. Today this wild imagination has been thrown away totally and Kenya has become one of the most romantic destinations for the young Chinese couples to enjoy their honeymoon. The Kenyan coffee is one of the most popular choices in the coffee cafes in Shanghai. Pictures of the pink clouds of flamingos in Lake Nakuru and the marvelous wildebeest migration in Maasai Mara are the most attracting posters in the metros of Beijing. Especially during the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games, people in China, and the rest of the world, have a deeper memory about Kenya represented by Samuel Wanjiru, Men's Marathon gold medal winner.

 

The Kenyan people gradually get familiar with a real and dynamic China and their interest in China is also growing. When accompanying President Hu Jintao on his visit to Kenya in 2006, I was surprised that the students from the Confucius Institute at University of Nairobi could sing a Chinese song from President Hu's hometown. The discovery that every Kenyan friend I met in the street could greet me with "Ni Hao", a Chinese "Jambo", impressed me even more.

 

My dear friends, I bear these warm memories in mind constantly with an unshakable belief that the points of difference there have been, points of difference there probably always will be between our two great countries, but we have much much more in common: common interests, common positions and common concerns. We share a similar history, a shared destiny and a common future. We both cherish our hard-earned national independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. We both love peace and value friendship. We try our best to find suitable path of development and never stop our quest for a more democratic and civilized motherland, better lives for our peoples.

 

From Yangtze River to Tana River, from Qinghai Lake to Lake Naivasha, from the harbor of Tianjin to the Mombasa Port, never before had we been so close to each other as today. Never before had our cooperation brought so many benefits to both of us as today. On the occasion of the 45^th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic ties, these warm memories will encourage us to carry on our joint course hand in hand, and work for a better future of China-Kenya friendship.