China at 75: Any lessons for Kenya?

Last Sunday, China celebrated the 75th anniversary of her founding.

The brief ceremony in Nairobi took about an hour and reflected Chinese efficiency. A cocktail, national anthems, two speeches only—one by the Chinese ambassador to Kenya and the other by Kenya’s foreign minister—and cutting of the cake. Then more cocktails and entertainment by acrobats (trained in China?)

The celebration included both Kenyan and foreign dignitaries with embassies well represented, going by the red number plates. The choice of a Sunday afternoon was great, no worry over traffic and parking.

I have spent the week reflecting on China at 75 years. As a modern nation, China is only 14 years older than Kenya. We could argue persuasively that China and Kenya are in the same age set. The Chinese civil war ended in 1949 with Chiang Kai Shek fleeing to Taiwan.

However, China as a civilisation is much older, over 5,000 years old starting with the Xia dynasty. It derives a lot of inspiration from this long and checkered history, despite interference by colonial powers such as Britain, Portugal, Japan and France. Hong Kong was ceded back from the UK in 1999, Macao from Portugual in the same year.

Why can’t we learn from China and prolong our history? Kenya should be 129 years old, starting with when we became a British protectorate. We can go farther into history to when the first kingdom was established in Kenya. Which one was it? 

China and Kenya share a history of subjugation by colonial powers. Could it be the source of the friendship?

China has used history and past experiences to fire patriotism and national pride, while we use history to mine grudges and belittle others. We rarely use history to inspire us.

Why did China and Kenya diverge economically after 1949 and 1963?

We have alluded to a deep sense of history and belonging for China. Kenya has spent the last 60 years trying to forge a nation from tribes. China, despite having minorities, did not have that handicap. It’s about 80 per cent homogenous.

But that is not really a good excuse for Kenya. We should harness our diversity to stir competition and innovations. Is that not what USA has done, with more tribes and races than Kenya? Our diversity is our strength, even on the economic front.

We just allowed the tribes and clans to trample nationalism and globalisation. It’s a paradox; if we are so tribal, why do we spend so much money on international travel by both national and county governments? Why doesn’t such travel dilute our tribal inclination?

Economics may hold the answer. The richer we become, the less tribal we are. Visit Karen or Muthaiga compared with Kibra or Mathare valley.

The Chinese leaders long realised that to gain legitimacy and respect from the citizens, they had to give them something; improvement in their economic lives uplifting millions out of poverty.

It’s unlikely that the market can uplift so many from poverty so soon, there are no profits. State should start them off, just like babies, till they learn to fend for themselves. The Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) may be disdained by economists but they worked. China realised that charity starts at home.

Singapore leaders realised the same with housing; what Kenya Kwanza is trying with affordable housing. But the levy has left my head spinning; I have been paying it while building my own house! 

We tried with parastatals as SOEs. Most have not left our shores like the Chinese firms that built Lamu Port, SGR and Nairobi Expressway. Suppose we let our parastatals grow untethered to politics?

China also realised that if you do not have capital you can attract it. Once Deng Xiaoping opened up China in 1978, investors came in droves. They brought in capital, knowledge and technology. This is where China got it right. Never mind that it has been accused of stealing intellectual property and technology.

By focusing on technology and science (homegrown) and infusing that with technology and knowledge transfer, China started the road to industrialisation, becoming the workshop of the world and creating a huge middle class. This made the country even more attractive to investors. This became a self-perpetuating cycle.

The Chinese realised the strategic importance of science and technology. Does it surprise you that most of their presidents, including the current one, are either scientists or engineers? Scientists and engineers think differently from social scientists and love problem solving. That’s why I had great expectations from our scientist president.

The large Chinese market was a big incentive for investors, over a billion souls. That is why the East African Community and Africa Free Trade Area hold the key to our economic advancement. Investors, both local and foreign, will get access to a bigger market.

China, like Japan and Korea, saw the world as their market. Whether its cars or electronics, they targeted the global market—bigger, richer and more diverse. What market do we target?