Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province.
China’s approach to governance and development has left four Kenyan journalists questioning what Kenya’s political parties, public institutions, and media can learn from a country that has pursued long-term planning as a central part of its development path.
The journalists, Aggrey Mutambo, Rose Awuor, Martin Njoroge, and Linda, are part of a Kenyan delegation visiting China for an exchange focused on governance, development, and cooperation.
Their reflections emerged during a seminar in Zhejiang Province, where they shared observations from studying China’s governance experience and reading Xi Jinping, The Governance of China V.
For Aggrey Mutambo, Africa Editor at Nation Media Group, one of the clearest lessons lies in the ability of political institutions to look beyond individual leaders and electoral cycles.
Mutambo said the Communist Party of China had maintained policy continuity through successive five-year planning cycles, arguing that political parties elsewhere could learn from the approach.
“Policies must survive for decades and outlast leadership changes,” he said, while noting that such policies must also adapt to changing realities.
He also pointed to the importance of merit within political organizations, arguing that parties should develop talent and leadership capacity rather than exist mainly as vehicles for bringing individual politicians to power.
For Martin Njoroge, Chief Executive Officer at Nairobi.co.ke, China’s development experience raises a different question for Kenya: whether infrastructure should be judged by its construction or by what it does for people’s lives.
“Infrastructure is a means to an end,” Njoroge said.
He argued that the value of projects such as Kenya’s Standard Gauge Railway should be assessed by whether they help businesses move goods, connect people to opportunities, attract investment, create jobs, and improve livelihoods.
Njoroge also challenged the idea that the exchange should be viewed as a one-way learning process.
Africa, he said, has experiences that China can also learn from, pointing to Kenya’s development of mobile money and digital financial services through M-Pesa.
Rose Awuor, Assistant Editor in Chief at the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, focused on the role of journalists in shaping how countries understand one another.
Awuor argued that media organizations have a responsibility to challenge stereotypes, address misinformation, and tell stories that allow people from different cultures and regions to understand each other.
She also called on journalists to go beyond reporting infrastructure and cooperation projects by examining the ideas behind them, the people affected, and the outcomes for communities.
For Linda, the chief executive officer of the Kenya Editors Guild and member of the delegation, the visit prompted comparisons between China’s Communist Party of China and Kenya’s political parties.
Linda contrasted the CPC’s long institutional history with what she described as Kenya’s “briefcase parties”, which she said can operate without strong grassroots structures, permanent infrastructure, or clear ideological foundations.
She also examined the Red Boat Spirit, which she said emphasizes pioneering, struggle, and dedication to public service.
Her reflections centered on political discipline, anti-corruption efforts, leadership capacity, and the need for political organizations to remain connected to their founding missions.
Across the four accounts, there was a common caution against treating China’s experience as a model that Kenya can simply reproduce.
Instead, the journalists argued that Kenya can examine China’s experience, identify what has worked, and determine what can be adapted to its own political, economic, and social circumstances.