Kenyan social media stars showcase China’s striking scenery, culture, history and cuisine in glitzy new promotional campaign
Kenyan influencers Betty Kyallo, Mulamwah, Terence Creative and MC Jessy – who have a huge social media following back home – arrived in Changsha, the capital of central Hunan province, last month for a week-long tour that would also see them visit southeastern Fujian province to create content and document their experiences.
Cliff Mboya, a China-Africa expert and postdoctoral fellow at the Centre for Africa-China Studies, University of Johannesburg, viewed the move as “long overdue” and “the next important step in China’s public diplomacy in Kenya”. He expects the strategy to have a greater impact and reach than traditional state-led approaches.
The Kenyan content creators sponsored to visit China were adding relational content about the country that was still rare in the broader China-Africa discourse, Mboya added.
“The shift to digital platforms has been gradual and cautious and reflects China’s evolving approach to public diplomacy from the traditional and hierarchical top-down approach to new public diplomacy approaches that are more relational and networked,” Mboya said.
