In a seminar room in Naivasha, China's ambassador to Kenya gave voice to a growing conviction among developing nations: that the rules governing trade, climate, technology, and global security have long been written without them, and that this imbalance must change. Kenya's deepening alignment with five Chinese multilateral initiatives since 2023 signals not merely diplomatic courtesy, but a deliberate wager that coordinated pressure from the Global South can reshape institutions built in an earlier era of power. The moment sits within a longer arc — one in which nations that were once objects
China pushes Africa to demand greater Global South voice in world governance
The rules of tomorrow's economy should be written with Africa in the room
Mark
So China is essentially organizing the Global South to demand a bigger say in how the world works. Is that what's happening here?
Mimi
It's more precise than that. China is saying that developing countries should have a voice in writing the rules—on trade, on climate, on AI. And Kenya is signaling it agrees by joining these five Chinese initiatives.
Luke
But we should be clear: these are China's initiatives. Is this about the Global South genuinely gaining power, or about China gaining allies and influence?
Mimi
That's the tension, isn't it. The stated goal is multilateralism. But the mechanism is through Chinese frameworks.
Mark
What about the economic piece—the zero-tariff policy for African products?
Mimi
It opens Chinese markets to African goods. Kenyan avocados, for instance. But Mwencha made the point that market access doesn't automatically mean development. Africa has to use it to build domestic industry.
Luke
And we don't know yet whether that's actually happening. Market access is real. Industrialization is harder to measure and slower to arrive.
Mark
What's the timeline here? When does this actually matter?
Mimi
September 2027 is when the UN starts formulating the post-2030 development agenda. That's when this coordination between China and Africa is supposed to pay off—when they can shape what comes next.
Luke
Assuming they stay coordinated and assuming developed nations don't simply ignore them.
Mimi
Right. The push is real. Whether it succeeds is still open.
The Pulse
- Africa and the Global South are organizing with new urgency around a shared grievance: that international institutions governing trade, climate, AI, and finance were built without them and continue to operate against their interests.
- Kenya has placed a concrete bet on this shift, joining five Chinese multilateral initiatives in under three years — a pace of alignment that signals political will, not just diplomatic courtesy.
- Experts at the Naivasha seminar warned that artificial intelligence and the rules of tomorrow's digital economy are being shaped almost entirely without African input, even as those rules will determine Africa's economic future.
- China's zero-tariff access for 53 African nations opens real market doors, but African leaders are cautioning that without domestic industrialization and value addition, trade access alone risks locking the continent into raw material dependency.
- China and Africa are explicitly coordinating their positions ahead of the UN's post-2030 development agenda, due for formulation in 2027 — treating the coming years as a strategic window to shape what the next global framework will say.
- The deepest question remains unanswered: whether wealthy nations that have held concentrated power in the IMF, World Bank, and UN Security Council for decades will yield any of it — or whether this push will reshape rhetoric without restructuring power.
In a seminar room in Naivasha, China's ambassador to Kenya gave voice to a growing conviction among developing nations: that the rules governing trade, climate, technology, and global security have long been written without them, and that this imbalance must change. Kenya's deepening alignment with five Chinese multilateral initiatives since 2023 signals not merely diplomatic courtesy, but a deliberate wager that coordinated pressure from the Global South can reshape institutions built in an earlier era of power. The moment sits within a longer arc — one in which nations that were once objects of global policy are insisting on becoming its authors.
At a seminar in Naivasha on Thursday, China's ambassador to Kenya, Guo Haiyan, articulated a vision that has been building across the developing world: that Africa and the Global South must have a genuine hand in writing the rules of international affairs. Her remarks aligned closely with what President William Ruto had argued days earlier at the United Nations General Assembly — that Africa's voice in global governance has been too small for too long.
Kenya has already moved to back this vision with institutional commitments, joining five Chinese multilateral initiatives since 2023, including the Belt and Road Initiative and, most recently, the Global Governance Initiative in December 2025. Ambassador Jane Makori framed these memberships as evidence of shared political will and a commitment to South-South cooperation — the principle that developing nations should advance their common interests together.
What distinguishes this push is its breadth. Speakers at the seminar identified not just trade and infrastructure, but also climate policy, artificial intelligence, and technology governance as domains where the Global South needs a seat at the table. Erastus Mwencha, former deputy chairperson of the African Union Commission, warned plainly that AI is being shaped without African input, even as it becomes both an opportunity and a defining risk for the continent's future.
On the economic front, China's zero-tariff policy for 53 African nations offers tangible market access — Kenyan avocados among the beneficiaries. But Mwencha cautioned that access alone is insufficient. Africa must convert trade gains into domestic industrialization, moving up the value chain rather than remaining exporters of raw materials. Kenya's Standard Gauge Railway was cited as infrastructure that could support deeper integration, if deployed with strategic intent.
The coordination is deliberate. Guo called for China and Africa to align their positions ahead of the UN's post-2030 development agenda, set for formulation in September 2027, framing the coming years as a window to shape what global development priorities will look like next. She also highlighted Nairobi's potential as a multilateral hub that could amplify the Global South's collective voice.
Underpinning all of this is a shared diagnosis: the current global order, strained further by trade wars and supply chain disruptions, is failing developing nations. China's initiatives are being presented not as replacements for the existing multilateral system, but as frameworks for making it genuinely reflect a multipolar world. Whether institutions like the IMF, World Bank, and UN Security Council will actually redistribute the influence they have held for decades remains the question that no seminar can yet answer.
In a seminar room in Naivasha on Thursday, China's ambassador to Kenya laid out a vision that has been gaining momentum across the developing world: that Africa and other nations of the Global South need a seat at the table when the rules of global affairs are written. Ambassador Guo Haiyan spoke directly to the imbalance she sees in how international institutions operate, calling for reforms to the economic and financial systems that currently govern trade, development, and power among nations. Her remarks echoed a theme President William Ruto had pressed just days earlier at the United Nations General Assembly—that Africa's voice in shaping global governance has been too small for too long.
The timing of these statements reflects a broader shift in how developing nations are organizing themselves. Kenya has already moved to align with China's vision, joining five separate multilateral initiatives since 2023: the Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative, and most recently the Global Governance Initiative in December 2025. Ambassador Jane Makori, Kenya's Deputy Director General for Asia and the Pacific, framed these memberships as evidence of shared political will between the two countries and a commitment to what she called South-South cooperation—the principle that developing nations should work together to advance their common interests.
What makes this push distinctive is its scope. Guo and others speaking at the seminar identified not just trade and infrastructure as areas where the Global South needs greater voice, but also the rules governing climate change, artificial intelligence, and technology development. Erastus Mwencha, former deputy chairperson of the African Union Commission, warned that artificial intelligence is being shaped largely without input from developing countries, even as it becomes both an opportunity and a risk for their futures. He framed the challenge plainly: the rules of tomorrow's economy should be written with Africa in the room, not imposed from outside.
The economic dimension of this push is concrete. China has implemented a zero-tariff policy for 53 African countries, opening its market to products like Kenyan avocados. Yet Mwencha cautioned that market access alone is not enough. Africa must ensure that trade gains translate into domestic industrialization and value addition—that African producers move up the value chain rather than simply exporting raw materials. He pointed to Kenya's Standard Gauge Railway as an example of infrastructure that could support this kind of deeper integration into regional and global markets, if deployed strategically.
The coordination between China and Africa on these issues is not accidental. Guo explicitly called for China and Africa to strengthen their policy preparation and communication ahead of the United Nations' post-2030 global development agenda, which is scheduled to begin formulation in September 2027. This is a deliberate effort to shape what comes next in international development priorities. Guo also highlighted China's commitment to supporting Nairobi's role as a multilateral hub, suggesting that Kenya's geographic and institutional position could amplify the Global South's voice in global affairs.
What underpins all of this is a diagnosis of the current global order as inadequate. Mwencha described an unusually difficult period marked by trade wars, tariff escalation, and supply chain disruptions that have hit developing countries hardest. In this context, China's Global Development Initiative and Global Governance Initiative are being presented not as alternatives to the existing multilateral system, but as frameworks for making that system more genuinely multilateral—more reflective of a world with multiple centres of power rather than one dominated by a handful of wealthy nations.
The question that remains unresolved is whether this push will translate into structural change in institutions like the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, or the United Nations Security Council—where power has been concentrated for decades. Kenya's alignment with China's initiatives suggests a bet that coordinated pressure from the Global South, backed by economic incentives and institutional frameworks, can shift the balance. But whether developed nations will cede the influence they have held is a different matter entirely.
Notable Quotes
China and Africa should serve as a staunch force in safeguarding the interests of developing countries and work to increase the representation and voice of the Global South in the international system— Ambassador Guo Haiyan, Chinese Ambassador to Kenya
AI is fast becoming a public good and a public risk in the same breath, and its governance requires a genuinely multilateral and multipolar approach— Erastus Mwencha, former African Union Commission deputy chairperson
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