Fifty African experts—including university professors, directors of research institutes, and heads of think tanks—participated in the Xi’an seminar on “Chinese-style modernization and Africa’s development,” held from July 17 to 24, 2024, in Shaanxi Province, China. Upon returning to their respective countries, some agreed to take part in our interview series titled “Three Questions for Participants of the Xi’an Seminar.” Today, we speak with Kenyan’s Representative, Evaline Mukami Nyaga.
Hello Evaline Mukami Nyaga, you are Kenyan’s Representative at the Xi’an seminar on “Chinese-style modernization and Africa’s development.” Please introduce yourself and share your impressions following this major event focused on implementing the “Six Key Goals of Modernization” and the “Ten Strategic Partnership Actions” between China and Africa? I am Evaline Mukami, Kenyan Representative at the Seminar on Chinesestyle Modernization and African Development held in Yangling and Xi’an from 17 to 24 July 2025. I am a Research Associate whose background encompasses the intersection of policy research, operational leadership, and programme design, with a focus in humanitarian diplomacy, multilateral governance, and sustainable development. The seminar’s blend of technical site visits and comparative dialogue offered a rare space to understand how Chinesestyle modernization informs multilateral practice, shapes humanitarian diplomatic approaches, and can be adapted to advance peoplecentred, resilient development in African contexts.
Impressions of the seminar and reflections on implementing the six objectives and ten Actions of the China–Africa strategic partnership
The seminar was a useful blend of technical demonstration and strategic dialogue: plant factories, seedinnovation centres, smart irrigation and digitized extension showed concrete ways to boost productivity and climate resilience; community centres and medical hubs modelled peoplecentred governance; and intelligent manufacturing and green energy projects illustrated how industrial upgrading and energy transition can be coordinated. That said, I’m cautious, China’s trajectory is historically specific and not a plugandplay template, and without negotiated trade and finance terms there’s a real risk of reinforcing lowvalue export roles and debt exposure. Equally important, projects that exclude African firms, universities, SMEs, youth and civil society become oneway transfers that fail to build absorptive capacity. Practically, every piece of hardware must be paired with funded capacitybuilding, binding localcontent and quality rules, debtsensitive financing, institutionalised participatory design, and enforceable environmental and labour safeguards. If those conditions are met, success will show up not as a list of new facilities but as demonstrable technology absorption, greater domestic value capture, better quality jobs, improved social and environmental outcomes, and stronger policy autonomy. These priorities align directly with the China–Africa strategic partnership and they should be operationalizing through the partnership’s ten Actions so that highlevel commitments translate into locally owned, measurable gains for Kenyan communities.
What proposals do you have for Sino-African cooperation that is closer to the people, as seen from Kenya? Thank you for the question. Real, accountable cooperation must be visible in farmers’ fields, in county training halls, and in MSME workshops, not only in highlevel memoranda. I propose a set of practical, peoplecentred measures that link technology and finance to local ownership, skills, and oversight. Start with agriculture: establish Kenya–China copilot farms that bring Yangling agritech and best practices into Kenyan agroecological realities. Each pilot must adapt seed choices, irrigation regimes, and soil management to local zones, be codesigned with county extension services, and embed farmer cooperatives and seedsovereignty clauses so communities control planting materials and benefit from value addition.
Make finance conditional and capacityaligned. Project finance should include explicit local valueaddition targets, vocational training quotas, and phased procurement rules that privilege Kenyan SMEs and joint ventures as projects scale. Use blended instruments that combine concessional grants, revenuelinked loans, and climate resilience bonds, and require independent debtsustainability reviews and contingency triggers before new disbursements. Open trade channels where they deliver jobs and higher returns for Kenyan producers. Negotiate zerotariff or preferential access for highvalue agricultural and processed goods where Kenya meets agreed quality and sanitary standards, and pair these concessions with targeted technical assistance so exporters can meet those standards and capture larger margins.
Invest in youth and skills with deliberate technology transfer. Codesign TVET curricula with Chinese partner institutions, establish bilingual digital training hubs in counties, and create guaranteed internship pipelines within bilateral projects so trained youth are absorbed into local value chains rather than exported as lowskill labor. Make cultural and civic exchange routine and twoway. Expand community exchange programmes, joint civic dialogues, and media capacity building so cooperation is understood, critiqued, and celebrated by citizens on both sides. Visibility builds trust and reduces the space for misinformation.
Institutionalise oversight and transparency. Form tripartite monitoring units, government, civil society, and parliamentary representatives, to review project impacts, labour standards, and environmental compliance, and publish accessible, countylevel reports. Use simple indicators that citizens can track and a complaints mechanism that is independent and timebound. These proposals are practical, mutually reinforcing, and designed to keep economic benefits close to the people: technology adapted to local realities, finance that builds local capabilities, trade that rewards quality upgrading, skills pipelines for youth, civic exchange to strengthen trust, and robust oversight to ensure accountability.
What do you think of the Xi'an Reflection Group's initiative to follow up the Xi'an seminar? The Xi’an Reflection Group is a valuable mechanism to turn seminar dialogue into tangible pilots and policy with citizenlevel impact, provided it commits to inclusive membership of African practitioners, local governments, youth, researchers and civil society alongside Chinese partners. Action oriented initiatives that deliver pilots, policy briefs and clear milestones supported by transparent reporting and independent evaluation.Regional hubs and thematic streams aligned to national priorities and active knowledge brokerage linking African research needs to Chinese R&D and thirdparty funding.The Group should embed community voices, coordinate with FOCAC, AU and national planning bodies, and pair recommendations with targeted capacitybuilding grants and institutional mentorship.