(In February 2008, Mr. Okech Kendo of a Kenyan newspaper the Standard wrote an article "China has proved it's not a friend to count on" based on some misunderstandings or incomplete information. H.E. Mr. Zhang Ming, Chinese Ambassador to Kenya wrote this article" China's acts prove it is a friend Kenya can rely on" to response and explain China's position to the post-election crisis in Kenya. The letter was published by the Standard on March 12th,2008.)

With the signing of the Agreement on the Partnership Principles of the Coalition Government, the post-election crisis can now be a thing of the past. As a friend of the Kenyan people, the Chinese people are heartily rejoicing as much as you are. I hereby extend to you as well as all the Kenyan people my congratulations, and I believe that the Kenyan people will turn dangers into chances, challenges into opportunities, unite together to devote to the political, economic and social development of the country so as to build a more beautiful and harmonious homeland.

I read once again Mr. Okech Kendo's article titled CHINA HAS PROVED IT'S NOT A FRIEND TO COUNT ON on the STANDARD of February 21st, 2008 as well as the feedbacks from the readers. I fully respect and pay a great importance to the viewpoints, ideas, criticism and suggestion in the article by you, a Kenyan intellectual who cares about China and Sino-Kenyan relationship. I understand your feelings when you were writing this article. At the same time, I would also like to thank all the readers for their concern about China and about the China Kenya relationship. However, I do regret that you have reached a hasty conclusion in your article based on misunderstandings or incomplete information. Now, as the crisis has been a thing of the past, I feel it's time to write back to you to answer your criticism on China's policies on the Kenyan post-election crisis, and to share some information and facts which might have been overlooked by you and some of the readers so as to improve the mutual understandings between us.

Since the crisis broke out, China has been all along paying close attention to the situation in Kenya. We have spoken out about the situation and our position on many occasions in Beijing, Nairobi and New York, through bilateral and multilateral channels. We have expressed our deep concern about the post-election crisis and the humanitarian crisis coming with it. We have appealed relevant parties of Kenya, while proceeding from the fundamental interests of the country and its people, to properly solve the differences through dialogues and consultation so as to maintain national peace, stability and development. After the African Union started its mediation, China expressed its full support to the efforts by the AU and the Panel of Eminent African Personalities headed by Dr. Kofi Annan, the former UN Secretary General.

China expressed its deep sympathy and care to the internal displaced persons (IDPs) and the severe humanitarian situation caused by the post-election chaos, and provided emergent humanitarian aids within its capability. On January 5th, 16th and 28th respectively, I myself, on behalf of the Chinese Community in Kenya, the Chinese Red Cross and the Chinese Government, handed over 3 humanitarian donations to the Kenyan Red Cross Society to assist the people affected by the crisis. Since the crisis broke out, the Chinese Community in Kenya was deeply distressed by the sufferings of their Kenyan brothers and sisters. With the coordination of myself, the local Chinese Community raised 30,000 US dollars in a very short time and donated it to the Kenyan Red Cross Society. According to Mr. Abbas Gullet, the General Secretary of the Kenyan Red Cross Society, this donation by the Chinese Community was the first one received by his organization, in which I took great pride for my compatriots. During the traditional Chinese Spring Festival in early February, I visited IDPs in the Afraha Stadium and the Showground camps in Nakuru. Many Chinese companies in Kenya also visited the IDPs camps and donated food and drinking water.

Here, I would also like to make some comments on the Non-interference Principle. During 1950s, China, together with India and Burma, put forward the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence, which were accepted by most of the countries in the world as the fundamental principles to regulate and conduct relationships among countries. Non –interference is one of the Five Principles. From then on, China has upheld it as the one of the fundamental principles of its foreign policies.

As for the post-election crisis in Kenya, China also sticks to this Non-interference Principle with the specific contents as follows:

Firstly, China will not support one side to oppose the other side;

Secondly, China firmly supports the mediation efforts of the AU and the Panel of Eminent African Personalities headed by Dr. Kofi Annan;

Thirdly, China deeply concerns about the humanitarian crisis in Kenya, sympathizes with those affected people, and calls for an immediate stop of violence;

Fourthly, China hopes that the both sides will seek an effective and lasting solution through dialogues and consultation rather than tries to impose its own will or any given solution on both sides, or on the Kenyan people.

You also mentioned building toilet in your article. The truth is that the Chinese Embassy, in cooperation with the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), launched the construction of a bio-center in Nairobi Huruma Slum in February 14th, 2008. This center is supposed to serve the local residents with multiple functions of bio-latrine, methane gas utilization, showering and community meetings. This is another community assistance project carried out jointly by the Chinese Embassy and UNEP after their successful cooperation in building a school in Mathera Slum last year. Although some people might have different ideas or misunderstandings on this project due to the political turmoil, I still believe that the residents in Huruma Slum deserve decent sanitary facilities including this bio-center or "toilet".

Although China itself is a developing country facing tough tasks of economic and social development and feeding over 1.3 billion people, it still provides assistance within its capability to Kenya. China helps to build many projects in this country such as stadiums, hospitals, roads, water-wells and corn-flour processing factories, etc. Such assistances aim to help promote the economic and social development and to improve people's life, which are warmly welcomed by the Kenyan people. These assistances are not much but of great sincerity. From the above-mentioned projects, one can see that China's assistances mainly focus on projects that are immediately beneficial to the common people in Kenya. In fact, the post-election crisis had severely affected the Kenyan economic and social development and also made it very difficult, or nearly impossible, for China to carry on with some of the cooperation projects even though China believed that these projects are of great importance to the common people in Kenya and the bilateral relationship of our two countries. Now, with the solution of the crisis, China will make more efforts to resume those affected projects and try to build a new wider road of higher quality which will cut across the downtown Nairobi for the Kenyan people. China will also actively support the national reconciliation and reconstruction of post-crisis Kenya.

Of course, there is no perfect in the world, neither are China's policies. China is willing to listen to different comments and suggestion so as to continuously perfect and adjust its policies. It is also the reason why I attach importance to your views, ideas, criticism and suggestion in the article.

Now, after sharing the above-mentioned information and facts with you and the readers of your newspaper, I would like to come to my conclusion, which is also a belief being held all along by both my country and my people, that China is a true friend the Kenyan people can count on.