The Communist Party of China (CPC) and Kenya's Jubilee Party (JP) will take practical measures to further strengthen cooperation and exchanges, said officials of the two parties on March 17.

At a video meeting with Song Tao, Minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee (IDCPC), Raphael Tuju, Secretary General of the JP, congratulated the CPC on its centennial and the successful convening of China's Two Sessions. He spoke highly of the great achievements China has made in coordinating epidemic control and economic and social development under the leadership of the CPC and thanked the CPC for its constant support to the JP.

He said the JP cherishes its friendly relationship with the CPC, firmly supports China's position on major issues that involve its core interests, such as issues related to Hong Kong, and looks forward to strengthening strategic mutual trust with China. He called for strengthened exchanges of experience in party and country governance, deepened cooperation in infrastructure construction and other fields, and joint efforts in practicing multilateralism in the face of the challenges of the times.

Song said that over the years, China-Kenya comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership has witnessed fast growth. The cooperation between the two countries in various fields is taking a lead among China-Africa cooperation. In particular, the two countries jointly wrote a new chapter of solidarity in the fight against COVID-19.

"In face of the current situation of uncertainties, we are ready to work with the Kenya side to continue to implement the important consensus between our two countries, deepen our cooperation against virus, advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and strive for greater China-Kenya comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership," Song said.

Similar goals

This year marks the centenary of the founding of the CPC. Since the day that the CPC was born, it has been committed to its founding aspiration of seeking happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, Song said.

China has won complete victory in the battle against poverty, and 98.99 million poor people in rural areas have been lifted out of poverty according to the current standard, he added.

Absolute poverty has finally been eradicated in the world's most populous country, and China is 10 years ahead of schedule in achieving the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Such success is due to the CPC's concept of people-centered development, Tuju said.

The JP, for its part, is committed to helping Kenyans build communities, achieve growth and prosperity and leave no one behind. The party's vision is to transform Kenya into a just, modern and prosperous nation, a country united in the pursuit of happiness and in which every citizen has an equal and fair chance to realize their full potential.

In 2017, Uhuru Kenyatta, JP leader and President of Kenya, launched The Big Four Agenda (2018-22), an economic action plan that includes food security, universal healthcare, affordable housing and manufacturing. At the global level, The Big Four Agenda aligns with the SDGs. At the national level, it is aligned with Kenya's Vision 2030, the country's long-term development plan that aims to transform Kenya into a "newly industrialized, middle-income country with a high quality of life for all its citizens in a clean and safe environment."

"We are ready to work with Kenya to promote a synergy between China's 14th Five-Year Plan and Kenya's Vision 2030 and The Big Four Agenda, and jointly plan the future direction, tasks and initiatives of practical cooperation between the two sides, to create more benefits for both peoples," Song said.

Strengthening exchanges

Regarding inter-party exchanges, Tuju believes that the ruling party's development is crucial for the development of a country. The JP plans to expand exchanges with the CPC.

"We should take advantage of the benefits resulting from the interactions between the ruling parties, their deep influence, and flexible forms," Song echoed.

The two parties have often held online and offline meetings to learn from each other about primary-level party organization construction and governance experience, among others.

In October 2019, Tuju hosted a Chinese delegation from the CPC in Kenya. He said that the JP was keen to learn from Chinese experiences, especially on managing its diverse population as a single nation. Wu Yingjie, a member of the CPC Central Committee, promised that the CPC would continue to share its experience and learn from its JP counterparts.

Besides, study groups of senior JP members have visited China. For instance, in July 2019 and April 2018, such groups visited villages and communities in Beijing and Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in south China.

Tuju himself has visited China several times. The diligence of the Chinese people and the rapid development of the country impressed him greatly. In 2018, he started learning Chinese from a Chinese teacher at the Confucius Institute at the University of Nairobi. The language study motivated him to learn about China's ancient experience and wisdom. "Language is an essential tool to understand the culture of a country," he said.

Despite the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, the CPC and JP will hold a webinar to exchange views on poverty eradication and party building.

"China has set an example for us by achieving excellent results in its fight against poverty, epidemic and corruption. Given the cooperation between the two parties in recent years, we will certainly take our exchanges to a higher level in the future," Tuju said. CA

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Exchanges Between the CPC and the JP

• Song Tao, Minister of the IDCPC, met with Raphael Tuju, Secretary General of the JP, via video link in March 2021.  

• Guo Yezhou, Vice Minister of the IDCPC, met with JP's senior management study group in July 2019 in Beijing.

• At JP's invitation, a CPC delegation visited Kenya in September 2018.

• Uhuru Kenyatta, leader of the JP and President of Kenya, met with Song Tao, Minister of the IDCPC, at the FOCAC Beijing Summit in September 2018.

• Xu Luping, then Vice Minister of the IDCPC, met with a JP delegation in September 2018 in Beijing.

• Xu Luping, met with Raphael Tuju, Secretary General of the JP, in July 2018 in Tanzania.

• Xu Luping, met with JP's senior management study group in April 2018 in Beijing.

Source: IDCPC OFFICIAL SITE

(Print Edition Title: Helpful Exchanges)

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