In this essay I will be talking about the neo colonialism of the chinese in kenya. In this essay I will be talking about why China has chosen to invest in Kenya. I will also discuss the positive impact that china's investment has had on kenya. I will also be talking about the negative impact that China's investment is having on Kenya. As well as that I will also discuss the impact of foreign direct investment has had on china and how china investing in africa affects china positively. As well as that I will also be discussing how other countries view china's large amount of investment in Kenya. One of the reasons that China has chosen to invest in kenya is the fact that Kenya has an economy that is growing pretty fast and if Kenya continues the way it is in 10 or 20 years people will look at kenya as a country that will be able to compete economically with many of today's economic powerhouses. The reason that China is investing in kenya is because they see the opportunity to gain a direct hand in controlling the economy and sucking out the money from kenya. In order to explain what differentiates kenya from other african countries it is first important to to go back to the time when kenya first gained independence. Back in the 1950s when many african countries began to gain independence many of these countries turned to socialism and nationalized many of the lands and turned to a system that was sympathetic to communism. Meanwhile in kenya the government sought to promote economic growth. One of the ways that they did this was by encouraging smallholder production as well as financial incentives for private companies the majority of which were foreign. As such between 1960 and 1970 kenya's gdp growth was between six and seven percent. China has chosen kenya as an investment hub because unlike many of the countries surrounding kenya this country has not been plagued by Civil Wars and as such the country has served as a regional economic powerhouse due to the fact that the infrastructure has not been damaged by fighting. As such now that East Africa is relatively stable and Kenya has the strongest economy in that region being able to gain a hand in the economy will provide China with an opportunity to be able to secure the natural resources off other east african countries more easily. Another reason that China has chosen to invest in kenya is due to its geographical location. The reason for this is that Kenya is located on the outer part of the old silk road. The old silk road is an ancient Trade route that covered most of the countries that are in the middle of China and the majority of Eurasia. China aims to ultimately create an economic union between all these countries by investing trillions of dollars in these countries infrastructures. A specific example of how China is doing this in kenya is by taking a look at the main infrastructure project that China is financing in Kenya. The name of the infrastructure project is the Standard Gauge Railway which will be railway which will connect Nairobi and Mombasa but will ultimately connect with other east african cities while building sub branches that will connect to other kenyan cities. As a result of this investment in railroads China will have effectively connected all of kenya. This is because in kenya due to the quality of the roads trips on the road that would normally take only a few hours on a well maintenanced road take whole days in Kenya. As such this railway will lower the cost of moving products and driving to different parts of kenya. It will also help protect the environment as it will lower the pollution levels.

In this paragraph I will be talking about the positives of China's impact in Kenya. One way that China is making a positive impact in kenya is the fact that the money that China is giving Kenya is allowing it to develop at a much faster rate compared to many european countries when they were at kenya's stage. Another way that China is making a positive impact in kenya is that it is allowing the Government of kenya to pursue a lot of large infrastructure projects which they would not normally be able to afford. An example of one would be the Standard Gauge Railway that I mentioned in the first paragraph. Another larger example is the construction of the Konza Tech city. This project is an attempt to build a site that will be able to replicate the success of the Silicon Valley. The people in kenya have already dubbed this particular project the “Silicon Savannah”. One of the other positive impacts that China is having in kenya is that it allows kenyan entrepreneurs to access and sell cheaper chinese products and as such they can make more money. China is also having a positive impact in kenya by investing in kenya's natural resources. One of the natural resources that I can give as an example would be Oil. China's investment is allowing kenya to be able to dig up the Oil that is Buried within the Turkana Region. This region is a prime example of one of the positive impacts that China is having in kenya. Even though Turkana is the largest County in Kenya in terms of Geographical Size economically Turkana is one of kenya's poorest Regions. However thanks to the discovery of large deposits of oil and other minerals Turkana has the potential to become the main economic driver in kenya. All of this will be as a result of China in investing in Oil discovery projects. Another benefit is that China's impact is having on kenya is that China is also investing in industries such as Communications and Automotive manufacturing. China has invested over 780 million dollars in both of those industries. China is impacting kenya by also helping improve its ability to export. This is because in the past most of Kenya's exports were Agricultural. However with China investing in different areas of the Economy China is helping improve kenya's industrial capability and as such when negotiating trade deals with other countries they will have more to offer other than just stuff that people grow on the farm. In this Paragraph I will be talking about the Negative impact that China is having on Kenya. One of the Negative impacts that China is having on kenya is the fact that the infrastructure that they are building is affecting the environment. An example that I could give is how the Standard Gauge Railway which I have mentioned multiple times in this essay is being built through the nairobi National Park. This park is one that is very important to kenya as in this park is one that is very ecologically diverse. This is because Nairobi International Park serves as a safe haven for many wild species. It is also home to many animals that are endangered, the most notable example that I could give is the Black Rhinoceros. Majority of the kenyan people are against building the track along the park however this is the cheapest option and as such with China's goading the Kenyan Government is almost certain to go through with. As such once the Railway line is built through this park this will make the kenyan government should softer when it comes to speaking out against poaching, Mining and urban expansion that is unregulated. As such many endangered species all around kenya will find themselves in endangered situations .Another Negative Impact that China is having on kenya is the fact that China is flooding the Kenyan market with cheap products and as such is driving local kenyan producers out of business. This is because when retailers find themselves with the opportunity to sell products

which are cheaper even though these products are of low quality. This is because of the fact that now that China's trade with kenya is more liberalised it provides the chinese with a dumping ground for their low quality goods which they would not be able to sell in the european or american markets. One of the most notable products in which this theory shows is within the steel industry. Due to the fact that China is building many infrastructural products it is only natural that you would assume that it would give a boost to the local steel industry. Unfortunately instead China is bringing in its own steel and as a result many years that were spent promoting kenya's steel industry have gone to waste as many steel factories are being driven out of business. Another Negative impact that China is having on kenya is how the infrastructure that is being is not just damaging the environment but it is also destroying lots of important sites such as schools. This is because many of the places that China wants to build its infrastructure projects there are already schools and homes that are occupying the land. However the Governments of Kenya and China do not really care and as such they are just kicking these people out. Another Negative impact that China is having on kenya is how the Chinese are bringing corruption to kenya. This is shown in how their are many irregularities in the spending costs of the Standard Gauge Railway and not to mention many of the other infrastructure projects that China is starting in kenya. As such there are only a few top people who are benefiting from the investment creating a big gap between the rich kenyans and the poor Kenyans. Meanwhile although China's investment is making kenya look more advance their has still been not much change in the living standards of the ordinary kenyans. This is shown by the fact that even though Kenya has the largest economy in East and Central africa its hdi is still rather poor compared to other East african countries such as Uganda and Tanzania to name a few. Another Negative impact that China is having on kenya is how when CHina starts its infrastructure projects it is bringing its own people to do the job. Another negative impact that China is having on kenya is that even once these project s are all complete it is China that will get the majority of the money that these infrastructural projects make because since China is the one that is paying for the majority of it the kenyan people who are living in those areas will not be able to feel the positives of having strong infrastructure. In this paragraph I will be discussing if China's foreign direct investment in kenya has had a positive impact on China. I think that China's foreign direct investment in kenya has had a very positive impact on China's economy. This is because China's investment in kenya has allowed China to access a new Market. It has a positive on China because China know has a place where they can dump their low quality products. This is because most Countries that are more economically advance would not allow such low quality products a chance to compete with their own countries products. I believe that China's Foreign direct Investment in kenya has had a positive impact on China because it has provided a lot of job opportunities for the people of China. Another way that China's foreign direct investment in Kenya has had a positive impact on China is that many Chinese businesses have transferred their businesses to kenya because of the opportunities in kenya for them to be able to make a fortune. I believe that China's Foreign Direct investment has had a positive impact on Kenya in the sense that China is in a sense making a business investment in Kenya so they are almost certain to make a lot of money once their investments in infrastructure and businesses begin to reap profit. China is also benefiting

from its foreign direct investment in kenya in the sense that it brings China one step closer to its goal to establish a global economic Union. I believe that China's foreign direct investment in Kenya benefits China in the sense that traditionally Kenya has been considered as a pro western country. Back in the days of the cold war East Africa was a region where the majority of the countries were either Communist Nations or held sympathies to the Cause of Communism. Therefore Kenya served as a regional outpost seeing as at that point in time it was the only Capitalist Country in East Africa. Therefore once Kenya adopted a policy of looking east China was able to gain influence in a Country that has been traditionally allied with the west and as such improve its position in Global Politics. In this paragraph I will be discussing How other Countries view China's investment in Kenya. Other countries Such as the United Kingdom view China's investment in Kenya as as a symbol of their lack of influence in Global Politics. This is because back In 2013 when Uhuru Kenyatta was announced President of Kenya The United Kingdom and other western Countries Attempted to isolate Kenya diplomatically due to the fact that when Kenyatta was announced President he was in the middle of being investigated by the International Criminal Court for his alleged role in the 2007 kenyan crisis. However this situation was just one of the most significant moments in a process were kenya Changed its foreign policy to one that is pro Chinese. This because when Western Countries invest in not just Kenya but any other African Country these investments come with a lot of conditions which Usually involve making Africa more democratic. Were as China does not care about the Domestic policies. This is because China normally approaches african countries with the appearance of a Business party who just wants to make a partnership. This is because unlike Western Countries China has a policy of not getting involved in the domestic politics of the Country in which they invest. Other Countries particularly western Countries View Chinese investment as process which will eventually see them lose all influence in not just Kenya but the whole of africa.