Raphael Tuju (Front 2nd L), Cabinet Secretary without portfolio and Secretary General of the ruling Jubilee Party and Wang Xuezheng (1st,R), Counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Kenya visit the Chinese tiles manufacturing company, Twyford Ceramics in Kajiado County, Kenya, April 5, 2018. (Photo: Xinhua)

Chinese companies in Kenya said Friday they are ready to partner with their Kenyan counterparts to provide the skills, financing and capacity needed to realize the Big Four Agenda of the east African country.

Zhang Haifeng, the chairman of the Kenya China Economic and Trade Association (KCETA), said the two countries have already realized win-win partnership that should be depended to help Kenya fast track the attainment of middle-income status.

"Cheaper transport, electricity and water are good for development and China has the capacity to provide construction works on these for Kenya," he said in the capital of Nairobi during Big Four Agenda seminar organized by the Chinese Embassy in Kenya.

"I want to encourage Chinese manufacturers in Kenya to work with their Kenyan counterparts to encourage skills transfer and also learn from Kenyans. We also want Chinese companies to employ more Kenyans in order to empower the youth," said Zhang.

He said Chinese companies in Kenya must understand that they cannot achieve much under the Big Four Agenda if they do not work with the government, the private sector and the common Kenyans.

Big Four Agenda is a five-year development plan by President Uhuru Kenyatta to transform the lives of Kenyans through manufacturing, food security, universal health insurance and cheaper housing, meant to consolidate his legacy in his last term that ends in 2022.

Chinese Ambassador to Kenya Liu Xianfa said China and Kenya officials are currently engaged in speeding up policy formulation in order to ensure that Kenya benefits from the Belt and Road Initiative, of which Kenya was named as a strategic partner of Chinese government.

The ambassador said he is working with Kenyan counterparts on how to increase China's support to Kenya to help it achieve industrialized status.

"We are speeding up discussions on joint investments and how to enable Kenya to access more Chinese market, especially for its agriculture produce," he added.

He said China will help Kenya build more industrial and economic zones and observed that there are many industrial parks that have already started being constructed along the Chinese-built Standard Gauge Railway.

"We are also working with Kenyans officials to speed up skills transfer in the production of maize and rice. I want to encourage Chinese companies in Kenya to now focus more on the Big Four Agenda to help transform this country," he added.