President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday received a special message from his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at State House in Nairobi.
Through a special envoy, President Jinping, whose interest in Africa is facing a threat from the West, lauded Kenya's commitment to with with the communist state.
The President and the special representative, Mr Yang Jiechi, who is also a senior official of the Communist Party of China, discussed the bilateral ties between Kenya and China.
The President said infrastructure projects which Kenya has undertaken with Chinese partnership are helping connect the region, attract investment and create more jobs.
He said the governments of the two countries enjoy very cordial relations and urged the private sector from the two countries to utilise that friendship to play a bigger role in development programmes.
"We need to really now focus on how we can work together to get our private sector, our investors to work more closer together. How do we attract Chinese investors, manufacturers, industrialists and other business people to invest in Kenya," the President told his guest.
Mr Yang, who delivered a special message from President Xi to President Kenyatta, said China was committed to continue partnering with Kenya through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the China-Africa Cooperation Forum (FOCAC).
He said BRI and FOCAC aligned infrastructure projects were aimed at fostering intra-Africa commerce as well as inter-regional trade between Africa and Asia.
"With the railway, we can have industrial parks, all kinds of trading activities. With the railway there will be easy access, efficient access of products to markets either in Africa or in China or in other continents," Mr Yang said.
China has invested greatly on infrastructure in Kenya, with Uhuru making at least six trips to Beijing since taking over from Mwai Kibaki in 2013.
The Chinese government has been constructing the historical Standard Gauge Railway, which is currently on Phase 2A. Kenya is seeking a further Sh368 billion to extend the railway to Kisumu.
But on the contrary, a number of leading economists among them David Ndii, have often questioned the government's appetite on borrowing.
Currently, both internal and external debts of the country stand at a whooping Sh5 trillion. When Uhuru took over from Mwai Kibaki, the debt was at Sh1.5 trillion.