Kenya-China bilateral trade hits record $1.8 billion
The value of bilateral trade between Kenya and China hit $1.8 billion in 2010, with the Asian nation promising to encourage Chinese firms to import more as a way of addressing the trade imbalance between the two countries.
China’s ambassador to Kenya, Mr Liu Guangyuan, said the value of bilateral trade between the two nations was expected to strengthen further this year.
“The sentiments are good and our ties are deepening,” he told a news conference in Nairobi.
According to provisional data in the Economic Survey 2010, bilateral trade between the two countries slightly surpassed the $1.3 billion mark in 2009 following a firm run over the first 10 months.
In 2008, trade between the two nations was valued at $1.25 billion.
Kenya mainly exports leather, tea, coffee, sisal fibre, scrap metal and horticultural produce to China and in turns takes up machinery, electronic and electrical goods, textile and fertiliser among others.
