China-Kenya bilateral trade in 2014 rises 53%

Bilateral trade between China and Kenya rose 53 percent to a record high of 5.009 billion U.S. dollar in 2014, Chinese Ambassador to Kenya Liu Xianfa said on Monday.

The ambassador told reporters that last year China's agreed investment in Kenya increased 10.2 percent to 592 million U.S. dollars, and Chinese projects worth 3.472 billion U.S. Dollars were under construction in Kenya, a growth of 67.7 percent in capital.

The two countries have created lots of win-win achievements in the past year, and the bilateral tie has become a model for mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Africa, said the ambassador.

China is now Kenya's largest trading partner and source of direct investment.

Last year, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited Kenya to foster closer ties. During Li's visit, the two countries signed a co- financing deal to build a major railway linking the Kenyan capital Nairobi with the port city of Mombasa, the biggest infrastructure project since Kenya's independence.

The railway will replace a narrow-gauge track built over 100 years ago during British colonial rule, and is expected to extend eventually to Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan.

Construction work on the standard gauge line has started since the beginning of this year, and up to 30,000 local personnel would be recruited, according to the ambassador.

The high speed line will boost regional trade, create employment opportunities and deepen integration in East Africa when it is put into service, he said.