The China’s acting Ambassador to Kenya, Li Xuhang has urged Kenyan entrepreneurs to raise the quality standards of their goods and services to make them more competitive.
Speaking in Nairobi on Friday on the recently concluded China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai last week, the envoy said that for China’s import base to increase, Kenyan companies should focus on the quality of goods and services they offered more than the quantity.
He said that the expo was a huge success, as “in a span of six days, it was able to attract a total of 3, 600 participating companies and government officials from 172 countries, regions and international organizations across the world”.
Li further noted that the promotional result of the world’s first import expo fully demonstrated China’s determination to strengthen cooperation and promote global trade.
The Cabinet Administrative Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Ababu Namwamba, in his speech read by The Deputy Director of Economics in the Ministry Peter Ochieng said that there was a big imbalance in trade, with less export from Kenya to China.
He stated that one of the objectives of the event was to bring a balance in terms of imports and exports between the two countries.
“As government, we are doing something to bridge the imbalance of trade between China and Kenya. That is the aim because we stand for a mutual benefit between the two countries in terms of trade,” said Namwamba.
He further said that the way to bridge the gap is by increasing the exports from Kenya to China.
The Chief Executive of Trueways Enterprises, Irene Mumo urged entrepreneurs to embrace innovation and value addition in trade.
“The government should push for innovation in terms of financing and Kenyans must pull up their socks in terms of improving the standards of merchandise production,” said Mumo.
Last week’s China International Import Expo 2018 was held at the National Convention and Exhibition Center in Shanghai.
It brought together government officials, business communities, exhibitors and professional purchasers from across the world and provided them with new avenues for countries and regions to do business, strengthen cooperation and promote common prosperity of the world economy and trade.
By Kuria Duncan/Samira Kibacha/ Makau Joshua
