Kenyan and Chinese legislators have pledged to enhance parliamentary cooperation on environmental conservation, renewable energy, and climate resilience, aiming to strengthen their long-standing bilateral partnership.
The commitment was made on Wednesday during a consultative meeting between Kenya’s National Assembly Departmental Committee on Environment, Forestry and Mining and a visiting delegation from China’s National People’s Congress (NPC).
The Chinese delegation was led by Lu Xinshe, a Member of the Standing Committee and Chairperson of the Environment and Resources Protection Committee of the 14th National People’s Congress.
Speaking during the meeting, Committee Chairperson Vincent Musyoka said the engagement marked a significant step in expanding parliamentary diplomacy to support sustainable development and reinforce environmental governance.
“This meeting is a valuable opportunity for both legislatures to discuss programmes strengthening Kenya-China parliamentary relations, explore cooperation in environmental protection, renewable energy, and green investment,” Musyoka remarked.
He added that, beyond reinforcing diplomatic ties, the meeting provided a platform for both legislatures to exchange experiences on environmental legislation, oversight, and policy implementation.
“This is also an opportunity to exchange experience on environmental legislation and oversight, deepen committee-to-committee collaboration, and identify support for Kenya’s sustainable development agenda,” he further noted.
Musyoka highlighted Kenya’s particular interest in learning from China’s experience in green financing, expanding electricity access in rural communities, and integrating environmental safeguards into major infrastructure and extractive industry projects.
“Kenya is eager to learn from China’s success in electricity connectivity in rural areas and would benefit from renewable and low-carbon technology transfer,” he said.
Deputy Speaker Gladys Boss affirmed the strong bilateral relations between Kenya and China, which have expanded from infrastructure to include education, technical training, tourism, and environmental conservation.
She noted that climate change remains one of Kenya’s greatest development challenges, citing recurring floods and prolonged droughts that necessitate sustainable environmental policies.
“We have many initiatives to undertake climate action because we have experienced the effects of climate change, including floods and drought. To counter this, the President started an initiative where Kenya is going to plant 15 billion trees in 10 years,” Boss explained.
She added that Kenya continues to strengthen its position as a regional leader in renewable energy through investments in geothermal, wind, solar, and hydropower.
Leading the Chinese delegation, Lu Xinshe stated that the friendship between Kenya and China provides a solid foundation for expanding cooperation on environmental protection and sustainable development.
“Our friendship and cooperation has a long history, and we believe this provides a solid foundation for our future cooperation,” he said.
Lu emphasised the critical role legislatures play in addressing environmental challenges by enacting sound laws and providing effective oversight.
“I believe our role is to find a way through cooperation and legislation to fully implement the conservation of the environment,” he asserted.
He also noted that a recent visit to Kenya by China’s Vice President had further strengthened bilateral relations and opened new opportunities for collaboration between the two countries.
Chinese Ambassador to Kenya Guo Haiyan reaffirmed the embassy’s commitment to supporting closer engagement between the two parliamentary committees.
“Although there is now direct contact between the two committees, the Embassy would like to continue to serve as the bridge for further and closer collaboration and cooperation,” Ambassador Guo said.
The meeting underscored the growing role of parliamentary diplomacy in advancing Kenya-China relations, with both sides committing to closer collaboration on environmental legislation, climate action, renewable energy, and sustainable development initiatives.
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