Nairobi played host on December 1, 2025 to the “China–Kenya Readers Forum” on the English edition of the fifth volume of Xi Jinping’s The Governance of China, drawing around 200 participants including policymakers, scholars, media practitioners and youth delegates. The event was co-organized by the State Council Information Office of China, the China International Communications Group and the Chinese Embassy in Kenya.
Speaking at the forum, Hassan Omar Hassan, Secretary-General of Kenya’s United Democratic Alliance, described the new volume as a blueprint for socio-economic transformation, one whose lessons could be adapted by countries across the Global South. Meanwhile, China’s representative at the event, Mo Gaoyi, deputy head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, noted that the five-volume series “presents the historic accomplishments, development path and defining features of China’s modernization,” offering insight relevant to developing countries charting their own development journeys.
For Kenya’s government, represented by William Kabogo Gitau, Cabinet Secretary for Information, Communications and the Digital Economy, the forum offers a chance to deepen mutual exchange with Chinese scholars, journalists and authors – part of a broader push to understand China’s governance path and explore how its principles might resonate within Kenya’s own development agenda
This forum is more than a book-launch, it reflects deepening intellectual and cultural cooperation between Kenya and China, layered atop robust trade, infrastructure, and educational collaboration. Kenya has, in recent years, welcomed Chinese-backed investments such as a major highway expansion project linking the port of Mombasa to the interior and landlocked neighbours.
Earlier in 2025, Kenya opened training programmes for local Chinese-language teachers to expand Mandarin instruction across its schools, another signal of growing cultural and educational integration with China.
At the forum, participants discussed not only China’s development achievements, but also broader topics including regional cooperation, poverty alleviation, sustainable development, digital transformation, and the role of governance thinking in shaping policy.
The forum represents an opportunity to explore alternatives to development and governance strategies, especially models that emphasize long-term planning, social solidarity, and state-led modernization.
By translating major works like The Governance of China into English (and earlier into Swahili), China signals its willingness to share its experiences beyond economic aid or infrastructure, offering models of thought, governance, and policy.
