The Chinese government has weighed in on the ongoing controversy surrounding the China Square shopping centre in Nairobi and allegations that the retail outlet is running Kenyan traders out of business.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Chinese Embassy in Kenya said it fully supports China-Kenya trade relations and its citizens conducting business in the country in line with Kenyan laws.
“The Embassy has taken note of the recent situation on the issue of “China Square”, and would like to reiterate that the Embassy supports deepening trade and investment cooperation between China and Kenya, and supports Chinese enterprises and Chinese citizens in conducting business in accordance with Kenyan laws and regulations,” said the Chinese Embassy.
On Tuesday, hundreds of small-scale traders held protests in the Nairobi CBD over what they termed as business takeover by Chinese traders.
The business community said they were losing customers to the Chinese shop located at Unicity Mall on Thika Road due to its low-priced commodities.
