Scores of Chinese companies have gathered in the Kenyan capital Nairobi for a three-day trade fair. The China-Africa Industrial Capacity Cooperation Expo is focused on China’s role in Kenya’s economic pivot towards the manufacturing sector. 

Firms from 11 Chinese provinces and municipalities proudly showcased a diverse range of machinery and equipment at stalls that filled the exhibition hall of the Kenya International Convention Center. 

The three-day event was launched by representatives from Kenya’s trade and investment authorities, Chinese embassy officials and prominent business leaders from the Chinese and Kenyan private sectors.

Manufacturing currently accounts for roughly a sixth of Kenya’s GDP, a share that the current government hopes to increase dramatically under the oft-touted Vision 2030 plan launched by former president Mwai Kibaki. 

Expo attendees hoped that as China’s commercial relationship with Kenya matures, East African firms would continue to take on a growing share of the manufacturing burden. 

“Our move for industrialization and manufacturing is a position that has been taken by government.” says Lucy Kureme, Director of the Kenyan Private Sector Alliance. “In some time, we should be able to do some of these things ourselves. That’s where you get the transfer of education and the transfer of skills. That’s a different type of partnership.”

There is evidence that this shift is already beginning to take place. Africa Traffic Facilities Co. Ltd. is a Chinese firm that has provided furnishings for Kenya’s road network for nearly half a decade, including prominent projects like the motorways surrounding Mombasa’s crucial port. 

Up till now, their inputs and materials — from paints and signs to cones and safety rails — have largely come from China. But Director of Business Development Liu Nan says that this might not be the case for long.

“We are, in the very near future, going to set up our own factory in Kenya and having the raw materials sourced in Kenya, or elsewhere in Africa,” he tells us, “which creates local jobs and adds value to our products.”

Liu was not the only expo attendee with job creation on the mind. This year’s edition of the trade show also features a job fair, aimed at pairing local Kenyan talent with Chinese enterprises. 

“Employment in Kenya is very important," said Guo Ce, economic and commercial counsellor at the Chinese embassy in Kenya. “I also hope the Kenyan youth can use this opportunity to find a new job.”

Kureme, meanwhile, approved of the many Kenyan faces proudly exhibiting Chinese machinery at the expo, but insisted that more needed to be done to ensure a balanced economic relationship. 

“To actually meet local people who are in partnership with Chinese firms — that’s a very positive thing for us. Because it means there is a lot of skills exchange that is going on,” she said. “But we want to see it happening a bit more. That imbalance is still there.” 

The expo will run until Friday, November 29.