2018年CRI Belt and Road Initiative helps link African continent: Kenyan President

 

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta says the Belt and Road Initiative will help link the African continent, helping¹ to achieve mutual² benefits for all participating countries.

China and Kenya have maintained solid relations since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1963. President Uhuru Kenyatta says Kenya is set to play an important role in China's Belt and Road Initiative.

"I think it's tremendous, because what is the objective, the objective is to open up our economies to trade. The objective is to encourage trade amongst us connecting Asia, parts of Europe, through the Gulf³ region with Arab states, linking ourselves all the way through the African continent from the eastern side of Africa all the way across to the west, right? And I believe it has huge potential for a win-win situation for all who are involved and that is why we are very keen as a country and I believe also the continent to partner strongly with China in this initiative," Kenyatta says.

Infrastructure⁴ funding has always been a big problem for African countries. Under the Belt and Road Initiative, Kenya has received funding for major projects.

Kenya's Mombasa-to-Nairobi Standard Gauge⁵ Railway (SGR) is built with aid from China. At 3.2 billion U.S. dollars, the SGR is Kenya's largest infrastructure project since independence.

"We're working with development partners. Our friends in China have been of huge assistance. Since China became strongly involved in Kenya and in Africa you see in the tremendous growth and infrastructure across the continent," Kenyatta notes.

Kenyatta says Kenya longs for a free and open trade policy. He hopes for greater cooperation with other countries in the region to achieve common prosperity.

"We are working together at the multilateral level to ensure prosperity for all. Closing yourselves up, I think it's short sighted, it's a short sighted vision. There's no long term position in it, because all that is going to happen is people are taking advantages, unfortunately maybe because of slowdowns and etc, thinking that if they close themselves in and that may protect their industries, but at the end of the day, that can only hurt as opposed to add value."

The Kenyan president is optimistic about the future of China-Africa ties and is looking forward to the upcoming Beijing Summit of the Forum⁶ on China-Africa Cooperation.

1 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

2 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

3 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

4 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

5 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

6 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。