Kenya Caught in the Middle as Ruto’s China Visit Raises Eyebrows in Washington

President William Ruto recently jetted off to China, where he met with President Xi Jinping and gave a speech that turned heads. In it, he didn’t just praise China’s investments in Kenya, he went all in, calling Nairobi and Beijing “co-architects of a new world order.” Sounds like a diplomatic power move, right? Well, it didn’t land well in Washington.

Just weeks earlier, Ruto had been in the U.S. for a high-profile state visit where Kenya was crowned a major non-NATO ally. That’s a big deal, it means access to top-tier U.S. military support, defense training, and preferential trade talks. A golden handshake from Uncle Sam. So when Ruto showed up in Beijing acting like China’s new best friend, it didn’t go unnoticed.

Enter Senator Jim Risch, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He didn’t mince words. To him, Ruto’s speech was more than just diplomacy; it was allegiance. “That’s not just alignment to China; it’s allegiance,” he said. He warned that relying on leaders who embrace Beijing so openly might force the U.S. to rethink its African alliances.

Kenya has long been America’s go-to partner in counterterrorism efforts in East Africa, especially against al-Shabaab in Somalia. Under both Biden and Trump, Kenya has enjoyed high-level engagements, including ongoing free trade talks something rare for sub-Saharan Africa. But now, with China being Kenya’s largest trading partner and main source of imports, Ruto’s balancing act is starting to look more like a betrayal of the US.

Ruto, on the other hand, insists Kenya isn’t choosing sides. “We are not facing East or West, we’re facing forward,” he said.

He even compared his China trip to his U.S. visit, pitching Kenya as a bridge between global powers.

Can Kenya walk the line between two rival superpowers without tipping over?

By Yockshard Enyendi