(Photo: CGTN)

Chinese President Xi Jinping is on his way to attend the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, and he decided to pass through Senegal and Rwanda, two African countries that know the horrors of war.

Unlike Senegal in West Africa, Rwanda is a landlocked east-central African country that largely depends on its east African neighbors' of Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya to access the Indian Ocean.

Despite being largely mono-ethnic, post-colonial Rwanda has seen upheavals, the most vivid being the 1994 genocide. It paved the way for the rise of Rwandan President Paul Kagame who remade Rwanda by restoring order in a chaotic country. In the process, Kagame acquired a messianic image on whom national survival and prosperity depend.

Kagame and Xi have a couple of things in common, that attracts them to each other. Their interests converge on political as well as material levels. Each has a strong personality, is visionary, is focused on the perceived interests of his country, is a performer, and does not tolerate laxity. Each has successfully restructured and made his country more prosperous and sure of itself than before. Each is a regional leader, although Xi is more global than Kagame, promoting different aspects of socio-economic opening-up while ensuring political stability.

As the current AU chairman, Kagame is committed to transforming the continent and eliminating the scourge of corruption. Xi is in agreement.  

Xi has two major global projects that Kagame likes and would enjoy tapping into. First is the global vision of shared common destiny that is less threatening to people and the environment. This contrasts with the growing nationalistic isolationism in the West that emits xenophobic hostility and pretends that climate change is not an issue. 

Second is the novelty of the conceptual power and global reach of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to unite various countries through infrastructure. Rwanda would like to be part of the initiative.

Xi’s visit to Kigali, at Kagame’s invitation, brings together a meeting of the mind on global as well as regional transformation. The two met in Beijing in 2017 when Kagame visited China, and so Xi is reciprocating.

Xi would like to get Kagame’s take, as AU chairman, on what the continental concerns are as he goes to Johannesburg for the BRICS summit. On his part, Kagame would like to learn more on how China manages to take care of and uplift from poverty its huge population. 

In an exclusive interview, Kagame told CGTN, "(there are) over a thousand young people… studying in different universities in China, mainly in science and technology areas, and we continue to see that growth.”  

With the relations between Kigali and Beijing becoming what Kagame calls “better and stronger” the visit will help to intensify the relations. In Kigali, Chinese construction showcases include ministerial office complexes for prime minister, foreign affairs, and other key ministries.

It is also visible in roads, rural electrification using solar power, hospital upgrading, and expansion, agricultural training activities for Rwandans. And the expansion of the Rwandan Airline with Chinese help, with flights from Rwanda to China, will boost Rwanda’s sense of self-pride and a regional force to reckon with. 

While Rwanda acknowledges the value of these Chinese activities, it would see more targeted investments in infrastructure and manufacturing undertakings. It still has to make up its mind as to whether it wants a new outlet to the Indian Ocean through Kenya or Tanzania or both and then get into serious discussions on how Xi can assist as part of the African component of the BRI.

Xi’s visit to Rwanda is of great significance not only to Rwanda but also to Eastern Africa and the continent. Xi and Kagame will discuss global challenges, continental issues, regional concerns, and Rwanda’s particulars.

These have geopolitical implications at a time when the Conceptual West is grumbling about the Chinese success in Africa. In a way, China has stimulated other extra-continental powers to want to be seen to perform in Africa. Xi goes to Johannesburg for the BRICS summit well armed in terms of African perspectives from the AU Chairman.