Original title: "Kenya firmly adheres to the one China principle" (theme)
——Interview with the Speaker of the National Assembly of Kenya Weitangula (subtitle)
People's Daily, Nairobi, May 22
People's Daily reporter Huang Weixin
"China is our sincere and reliable partner." The Speaker of the National Assembly of Kenya, Weitangula, said in a joint interview with Chinese media in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, a few days ago, "Kenya and China have profound traditional friendship and fruitful practical cooperation. Kenya firmly adheres to the one China principle."
"Taiwan is an integral part of China." Weitangula said that from the perspective of historical longitude and international jurisprudence, the one China principle is undisputed. In 1971, resolution 2758 was adopted by the 26th United Nations General Assembly, and Kenya voted in favour of it. "This is a milestone." Weitangula said that Kenya firmly adheres to the one China principle and stressed that the government of the People's Republic of China is the only legitimate government representing the whole of China. "There is only one China in the world, and Kenya's position is consistent."
Weitangula was the foreign minister of Kenya, during which he was deeply involved in the drafting of the 2006 Kenya China joint communique. In this communique, the Kenyan side reiterated that the Kenyan government is opposed to any form of "Taiwan independence" and supports China's efforts to achieve national reunification. Since 2016, 11 countries have established or restored diplomatic relations with China. "No country can stop this trend," Weitangula said.
"Kenya will never forget that China has given strong support to Kenya and other African countries in our struggle against colonial rule and for national independence." Weitangula said that Kenya and China understand and support each other on issues involving each other's core interests and major concerns. "When China needs it, Kenya stands with China. When Kenya needs it, China also firmly supports Kenya."
"China has participated in many major infrastructure construction projects in Kenya, and the Kenyan people are full of respect for China." Weitangula said that the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" initiative and Kenya's "Vision 2030" are deeply linked, which meets Kenya's needs, not only promotes Kenya's economic and social development, but also benefits the Kenyan people. "In Kenya, we can see many important infrastructures built by Chinese enterprises. From highways to rural roads, from dams to schools... Kenya China cooperation projects are numerous and are changing the lives of Kenyan people. We will continue to strengthen Kenya China cooperation."
"China is our main trading partner. Although Kenya and China are separated by thousands of miles, the trade between the two countries has continued to grow." Weitangula told reporters that China has a large population and huge market space. We look forward to more Kenyan agricultural products such as flowers, tea, coffee and fruits being exported to China in the future. We also welcome more Chinese tourists to visit Kenya to promote local economic development. Kenya expects that Chinese investment can promote the development of manufacturing industry, improve the added value of products and increase the well-being of local people.
"China has advanced technology, and Kenya and China have great potential for cooperation in clean energy development, green energy transformation and other fields." Weitangula said that Kenya has abundant renewable energy reserves, and Chinese enterprises are helping the local development of geothermal, photovoltaic, hydropower and other green energy to accelerate the green transformation process.
Weitangula said that in recent years, Kenya and China have had close people to people and cultural exchanges, promoting the continuous development of bilateral relations and friendship. Weitangula has visited China many times. He said that he is very looking forward to visiting China again in the future and is willing to strengthen exchanges with the Chinese legislature in the future to promote the further development of Kenya China relations.
This year, the new session of the Forum on China Africa Cooperation will be held in China. "This is a very important forum between Africa and China." Weitangula said that Africa and China can take this opportunity to show the world that Africa and China firmly support each other, that Africa China relations have made great progress and that Africa China friendly cooperation, and that at the same time, they can match the needs and priorities of cooperation between the two sides.
