China seeks to redress trade imbalance with Kenya

By Duncan Miriri

NAIROBI (Reuters) - China wants to address the imbalance in its trade with Kenya by encouraging Chinese firms to import more from east Africa's largest economy, its envoy to Nairobi said on Monday.

Ambassador Deng Hongbo told Reuters in an interview that trade between the two nations was valued at $1.25 billion in 2008, an increase of 30.4 percent on the previous year.

He said China imported cotton, scrap metal, sisal and leather among other products from Kenya, which bought Chinese electrical equipment, textiles, chemicals and fertiliser.

According to Kenyan government statistics, it exported goods worth 2 billion shillings to mainland China in 2008 compared with imports worth 63 billion shillings.

"We attach a lot of importance to the concerns that Kenyans have in regard to the imbalance of trade," he told Reuters.

"We have made great efforts to try improve the balance of trade between the two countries by offering financial subsidies to Chinese companies to facilitate their imports from Kenya."

Deng said the subsidies covered products such as coffee, tea and flowers, along with other commodities.

Trade between China and Africa has jumped in the past decade, driven by China's resource needs and growing African demand for cheap Chinese-made products. In 2008, total trade was $106.8 billion, up 45.1 percent on 2007.