The KNCCI President, Dr Erick Kipkoech Rutto, continued his engagement in Shandong Province with a high-level business and investment mission in Yantai, focused on enterprise matchmaking, skills development, digital trade, advanced technology cooperation, and strategic company visits.

The Yantai programme formed part of the wider Shandong international advisory activities, which are designed to deepen understanding of Shandong key industries, investment policies, industrial parks and enterprise capabilities, while supporting project matchmaking and negotiations for future cooperation.
During the day, Dr. Rutto participated in a business forum and matchmaking session bringing together Kenyan and Chinese partners to explore practical opportunities in trade, investment, manufacturing, digital commerce, agriculture, skills development and technology transfer.

A major outcome of the visit was the signing of a cooperation agreement between KNCCI and Shandong Business Institute (SDBI) for the maiden online and physical training programme of the China-Africa Joint Training Center for Digital Trade Talents. The agreement establishes a structured training platform to support Kenya’s digital economy growth, SME export expansion and cross-border e-commerce capacity under China–Kenya economic and trade cooperation. The programme to begin from August 2026.

Dr. Rutto also held discussions with Mr. Liu Jie, Vice Chairman of the China Scientists Forum, where both sides reached preliminary cooperation consensus on establishing a China-Africa Joint Laboratory and promoting the industrial application of Chinese aerospace breeding technologies in Africa.
The cooperation proposal is significant because aerospace breeding uses the special space environment to induce natural genetic variation in crops. It is fundamentally different from genetic modification technology and is widely recognized in China as safe, reliable and applicable to crop improvement.


The visit includes:

• Domaine de Long Dai, the sole winery of Domaines Barons de Rothschild Lafite in Asia, located in Penglai District, Yantai. The estate reflects high-level agricultural value addition, branding, precision production and premium product development. For Kenya, the visit provided useful lessons for upgrading agricultural products such as coffee, tea, macadamia, avocados and horticulture through quality control, origin branding, processing, packaging and global market positioning.
• Wanhua Chemical Group, a globally operated advanced chemical materials enterprise. Wanhua’s industrial clusters cover polyurethane, petrochemicals, fine chemicals, advanced new materials and future emerging industries. Its products support sectors such as construction, automotive, electronics, household goods, personal care and green energy. This visit highlighted opportunities for cooperation in industrial inputs, green materials, manufacturing supply chains and technology transfer relevant to Kenya industrial development agenda.
• CIMC Raffles Marine Technology Group, a major marine engineering and offshore equipment enterprise. The group covers marine oil and gas, marine fisheries, offshore clean energy, special vessels, marine space utilization and asset management. Its capabilities are relevant to Kenya blue economy, port logistics, fisheries development, offshore energy, maritime infrastructure and marine industrialization.
Through these engagements, Dr. Rutto emphasized that Kenya is seeking practical and bankable partnerships that create jobs, transfer technology, develop local capacity and position Kenya as a gateway for Chinese enterprises entering East Africa and the wider African market.

KNCCI is expanding cooperation into digital skills, e-commerce, advanced agriculture, industrial technology and enterprise-level partnerships. And will work with its Chinese partners to operationalize the SDBI digital trade training programme, identify Kenyan participants, develop a pipeline of export-ready SMEs and support practical market access into China.

Also pursue further discussions on the proposed China-Africa Joint Laboratory and aerospace breeding cooperation, including identifying relevant Kenyan research institutions, agricultural agencies, universities and private-sector partners for pilot implementation.