In the 2023 report to the US Congress, the US-China Economic and Review Commission stated that many African countries, including Kenya, face challenges in servicing their debt to China. Kenya, being one of the major recipients of investment under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), complied with China’s demands, including deporting 45 Taiwan nationals involved in a telecom scam targeting Chinese citizens.
Following the deportations, Kenya received a Ksh768 billion loan from China to build a railway from Mombasa port to Naivasha. As of 2022, China is Kenya’s largest external creditor, holding 22% of its external debt.
In 2023, Kenya’s Cabinet endorsed a formal extradition treaty with China, extending to Taiwan citizens, to align with the One-China policy. The report accuses China of using programs like the BRI to enforce this policy. The BRI, launched in 2013, aims to enhance China’s global connectivity by improving infrastructure, with over 155 countries, representing over 75% of the world’s population, participating.
The US claims that China has resisted global appeals to address debt challenges faced by countries involved in the BRI. After a decade of the initiative, nearly 60% of China’s loan holders were in financial distress in 2022, compared to 5% in 2010. Beijing has not addressed these debt challenges and has instead sought to use them to expand the influence of the Chinese currency.
