Two Major Chinese companies have pledged to set up their operations in Kenya as the country’s Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka wound up his tour of China on Monday.

Musyoka visited various industrial concerns involved in agricultural equipment manufacturing, as well as agro-processing, in Shandong Province South East of China.

After an extensive tour of the Foton Lovol Heavy industry Limited, the company that manufactures tractors and construction equipment the VP expressed joy that the directors of the company had agreed to visit Kenya and consider the possibility of setting up a farm machinery manufacturing plant.

Foton Lovol produces 350 thousand tractors and 150 thousand heavy construction equipment like loaders and drilling rigs a year as well as 1.5 million tricycles mainly for Asian, European, American and Africa markets.

According to Alex Li the director for African markets, his firm was keen to establish a big presence in the East Africa through Kenya.

In a statement issued in Nairobi, the Vice President also toured the Denghai Seed Company, in Lai Zhou County, which develops high yield maize seed, used to produce most of the maize grown in China, a country which surprisingly has huge grain reserves despite having to feed 1.3 billion mouths.

In a meeting with Zang Xinqi the Secretary of the Weifang Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in Weifang City of Shandong Province who also doubles up as the mayor of Weifang city; the Vice President lauded the efforts of Provincial Governments in China to invest abroad.

Xinqi announced that a team of business people and government representatives will visit Kenya next month to explore business opportunities.

The Vice President has been in China for the last one week to attend the China-Africa Agricultural Forum, at the invitation of the International Department of the communist Party of China.

He thereafter participated in a series of meetings with regional leaders as well as a guided tour of major cities of Shangdong Province.

Joseph Kimani