China has challenged Kenya to urgently improve the business climate to attract more investors and enterprises from the Asian economic powerhouse.

Chinese Ambassador to Kenya Guo Haiyan made the call while asking Nairobi to leverage the tariff-free regime to maximise its gains in the vast Chinese market.

The envoy urged Kenya to “seize the opportunity of zero-tariff treatment to improve the quality of its export products”.

“We hope that Kenya will continue to improve business climate to attract more Chinese enterprises,” Guo told journalists in Nairobi.

She called on Kenya to use the opportunity to “achieve economic transformation and structural upgrading.”

If implemented, the envoy Kenya’s products would “move up the global industrial and value chains”, saying Beijing was ready to help.

“China stands ready to strengthen cooperation with Kenya on infrastructure and logistics to provide stronger hardware support for Kenya’s export to China,” the envoy said.

She said that China would particularly help Kenya facilitate export of fresh products, including fresh flowers, fruits, and aquatic products. Kenya also has a market for macadamia, coffee, tea, and avocados.

Amb Guo said they would also assist Kenya to develop new marketable products to the Chinese market “to enable more African fine products to find their way into the Chinese market”.

China says it is ready to provide training and policy briefings for Kenya’s export enterprises to help them better understand China’s inspection and quarantine regulations.

There would also be help to Kenyan traders to enable them trade through relevant digital trade platforms.

Beijing has further invited Kenya to take up platforms such as the China International Import Expo (CIIE) and the China Africa Economic and Trade Expo (CAETE).

CIIE is hosted annually in Shanghai, while CAETE was last held in Changsha. Prime CS Musalia Mudavadi led a delegation that represented Kenya at the fete in 2025.

China says it is ready to take the trade facilitation measures that feed into the platforms, with the aim of helping turn Kenya’s products into premium export products.

Amb Guo further restated China’s commitment to streamline customs clearance procedures and upgrade the ‘green lane initiative’.

China and Kenya, during the recent visit by Vice President Han Zheng, signed an early harvest agreement, enabling Kenya’s products to start enjoy the tariff reliefs beginning May 1.

It has been hailed an “important step forward”, and now paves way, as well as build momentum, for negotiations and signing of the Economic Partnership Agreement for Common Development.

Amb Guo said the deal would see the two sides build a platform for cooperation in trade, investment, technology, service and other areas.

“In implementing the zero-tariff treatment for Africa, China helps African countries to be more confident when tackling tariff hikes by certain countries,” she said.

For China, Africans can make better judgement on who is Africa’s true friend.

Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the zero-tariff treatment on 100 per cent tariff lines for all its African friends.

It would apply to all the 53 African countries that China has diplomatic relations with, and is among the outcomes of the 2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit.

China had rolled out zero tariff treatment on some export products from least developed countries in Africa from as early as 2005.

The expanded treatment has been hailed as “reflecting a bigger margin of dividends sharing with China”.

“When it comes to the full implementation of zero tariff treatment, Kenya is one step ahead, thereby enjoying the dividends of zero tariff treatment early, bringing China-Kenya practical cooperation to new heights and setting an inspiring example for other African countries,” the embassy in Nairobi said.

China argues that the move is “essential to building the China-Kenya community with a shared future for the new era in accordance with the consensus of the two state leaders.”

It is further envisioned as “building China-Kenya relations into the inspiring example of all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era.”

“We believe that China-Kenya exchanges and cooperation across all fields will be further deepened and expanded with the implementation of the outcomes of this visit,” Amb Guo said.

VP Han was invited to Nairobi by his counterpart Kithure Kindiki and presided over the flag-off of the first consignment of Kenya products to be shipped tariff-free to Beijing.