Kenya: Seeking Chinese Support to Join BRICS

Kenya is seeking Chinese support for its bid to join BRICS, a group that has increasingly overshadowed Western financial institutions since its inception. With calls for a reconfiguration of the world order growing louder, Nairobi is hoping the Middle Kingdom could open the door to this influential economic alliance.

BRICS: An opportunity not to be missed

The BRICS house is expanding with the arrival of new players on the international chessboard, with the inclusion of countries like Saudi Arabia and Egypt. This only reinforces the idea that the organization, which already includes giants like Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, is not just a fashion dance, but a significant move towards a multipolar world. Kenya, with its development ambitions, sees in this alliance an escape hatch to diversify its economic partnerships and reduce its dependence on bodies like the IMF.

Mutual support: from China to Kenya

The Kenyan government, in seeking Beijing’s support, is not on diplomatic tourism. Kenya points out that China is already one of its major trading partners and investors in infrastructure development. Talking to the Chinese authorities to strengthen ties within the BRICS framework therefore seems to be a strategic choice rather than a mere diplomatic whim. But at what cost? What would Kenya really be, a loyal ally or a mere pawn in China’s geopolitical game? A question that deserves to be asked in this international domino game.

Internal issues

Faced with persistent economic challenges and a critical need for reform, Kenya hopes its foray into BRICS can help stabilize its international posture and attract new investment. With an agricultural sector facing climate change and an increasingly demanding youth, the country needs to find innovative solutions. Support from strong partners like China could catalyze meaningful change. But could such a move truly meet the aspirations of a people seeking change, or would it be just window dressing?

As Kenya looks east, its future within the BRICS remains uncertain. Facing challenges worthy of the greatest diplomatic battles could yield juicy fruits or, on the contrary, open the way to conflicts of interest. Let us hope that this dance of strategic partners will lead Kenya towards a prosperous future, and that its ambitions will not collide with disenchanted realities. Because in the end, who will be the winner of such a partnership: Kenya or China?