By Senior Editor,China Africa News
Nairobi-On 1 December 2025 in Nairobi, Kenya hosted the China-Kenya Readers Forum on the English edition of the latest volume of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China. The event was presented not as a mere book launch, but as a deliberate attempt to share China’s model of governance and development and to suggest that this model could serve as inspiration for other countries, especially in Africa.
Speakers at the forum argued that the book offers much more than ideology or theory. According to Hassan Omar Hassan, a senior Kenyan political figure, the volume “establishes the foundation for socio‑economic transformation across the globe.” He said of China’s model: “I think by and large it is a template that many countries can adapt into their national contexts and learn from the Chinese model.”
Mo Gaoyi, deputy head of the publicity arm of the Chinese ruling party, emphasized that all five volumes of “Governance of China” trace the “historic accomplishments, development path and defining features of China’s path to modernization.” He argued that the book series offers “valuable insights and approaches for Global South countries pursuing their own modernization.”
The forum also highlighted the ambition to deepen Kenya–China ties not only in infrastructure or trade, but in intellectual exchange, cultural cooperation and shared development visions. According to Kenya’s ICT Minister, the event is “instrumental in helping Kenyan readers fully comprehend the essence of Xi Jinping Thought and deepen their understanding of the practical results of Chinese modernization and its global significance.”
The choice to organise a “readers forum” rather than a simple book launch is telling: it frames the book as a vehicle for dialogue, reflection, and potentially policy inspiration. This makes the forum a form of soft‑power diplomacy: by inviting African elites, media, youth and academics to engage with China’s governance philosophy, Beijing is not just exporting content, but offering a narrative of modernization one that suggests China’s path might serve as a blueprint for others.
But the forum’s framing also raises provocative questions. If African countries adopt elements of this model, what does it mean for local political culture, home‑grown policy innovation, and governance shaped by African histories and priorities? When foreign governance literature becomes a reference point for national development debates, who defines what “modernization” should look like and how much space remains for alternative visions rooted in local context?
In the end, the China‑Kenya Readers Forum on “The Governance of China” is more than a literary event: it is a diplomatic and ideological gesture, a call for cross‑continental exchange and a bold proposition that China’s model may hold lessons for the developing world.
