Kenyan officials are increasingly viewing China’s approach to natural products development as a guiding framework for boosting the country’s own natural resources sectors. Speaking at a high-level forum in Nairobi on the sustainable utilisation of natural products, government representatives and industry leaders highlighted China’s success in transforming raw materials into high-value goods as a template for Kenya’s agricultural and biodiversity assets.
Cabinet Secretary for Industrialisation, James Macharia, noted that China’s experience in developing global supply chains for tea, bamboo, medicinal plants and other natural products offers practical lessons for Kenya’s own resource-based industries. He said Kenya can accelerate value addition, broaden export markets and create jobs by adopting similar strategies that link production with downstream processing and international marketing.
China’s influence as a global model for economic transformation is not isolated to natural products. Under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) frameworks, Beijing has promoted numerous industrial partnerships that extend from infrastructure development to agricultural modernisation. For example, in Ethiopia, Chinese firms have helped establish demonstration farms and agro-processing facilities that increase local capacity to process coffee and other export crops. In Rwanda, cooperation in horticulture and tea has involved technology transfer and market penetration support for rural farmers. These efforts illustrate China’s broader template of linking smallholder production to global value chains.
China’s domestic natural products industry has seen significant growth over the past decade. According to China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the sector encompasses traditional Chinese medicine, essential oils, specialty teas and other plant-based goods that are exported globally. Chinese firms have invested in research, standardisation and certification processes that enhance product competitiveness in developed markets – a path Kenyan officials say could be replicated at home.
At the Nairobi forum, stakeholders emphasised the need for strong policy frameworks, quality assurance standards, and public-private partnerships to support Kenya’s natural products ambitions. Macharia underscored that Kenya’s abundant biodiversity – including medicinal plants, essential oils, herbs and indigenous fruits – represents untapped economic potential that could be unlocked with the right investment and regulatory support.
“We can learn from China’s integrated approach, from research and development to processing and export facilitation,” Macharia said. “By doing so, Kenya can enhance value addition, stimulate rural economies, and compete more effectively in the global marketplace.”
Private sector actors at the event echoed this view, noting that Chinese companies’ investments in processing facilities and supply chain infrastructure in Africa have unlocked access to new markets. According to trade analysts, China’s role as Africa’s largest trading partner, with bilateral trade with Kenya exceeding US $10 billion in recent years – provides a platform for expanding natural products exports under preferential trade arrangements, such as China’s zero-tariff policy for African products.
Kenya’s evolving partnership with China in natural products development dovetails with broader bilateral cooperation in technology transfer, skills development and market access. In recent years, Chinese institutions have partnered with Kenyan universities and research institutes to strengthen capacity in agribusiness innovation. Meanwhile, Kenya’s Ministry of Industrialisation has engaged Chinese firms in feasibility studies for agro-processing clusters that would integrate natural products into global value chains.
As Kenya continues to refine its industrial strategy, tapping into the lessons embedded in China’s natural products development framework may offer the country a pathway toward more inclusive, sustainable and export-oriented growth – one that bridges rural economic potential with global demand.
