STRENGTHENING ECONOMIC TIES

Rains in April have breathed new life into the rolling tea plantations of western Kenya. Near the C22 highway built by a Chinese company, several tea processing factories are working at full speed.

A few years ago, the road was little more than a muddy dirt track, often becoming impassable during the rainy season. "Truck wheels would get stuck, and sometimes water would seep into the tea boxes, ruining the harvest," recalled driver John Murambi.

Since the road was upgraded to a paved highway, Murambi can now make multiple deliveries a day, which has greatly increased his income. "We no longer have to worry about tea spoiling on the road," he said.

At the nearby Kipkebe Tea Factory, General Manager Silas Njibwakale said that since the completion of the road upgrading, transportation losses have dropped from about a quarter of total production to nearly zero. A once-impassable route has now become a major artery supporting local communities.

Across Kenya, Chinese-built roads, railways and ports are helping break transportation bottlenecks for key exports like tea, coffee, flowers and avocados, allowing these goods to reach global markets more quickly and reliably.

Thousands of miles away in Changsha, central China, the permanent exhibition hall of the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo at Gaoqiao Grand Market is bustling with visitors. Launched by President Xi during the 2018 FOCAC Beijing Summit, the expo has become a vital platform showcasing African goods.

Huang Zinan, who specializes in China-Africa trade, said her company has recently imported a batch of Kenyan avocados and is now negotiating with a local tea brand to feature the fruit as a premium ingredient. Initially focused on Kenyan flowers, she now plans to expand her business to more "African treasures."

"Products from Africa are gaining increasing recognition and popularity in China," Huang said. "I hope to build not just a trade bridge, but also a bridge of culture and friendship across the seas." Through something as simple as an avocado or a fresh flower, she hopes to tell the story of win-win cooperation between China, Kenya and the wider African continent.