The Chinese government has clarified its statement on the support of Kenya's bid for the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) seat.
Reports from the Daily Nation on Sunday, January 12, indicate that the Chinese government insisted that it had not promised Kenya unconditional support for its June 2020 bid.
Concerns were raised after Chinese envoy Wang Yi made statements in Djibouti on January 9, that pointed towards the Chinese government supporting the bid by Kenya's competitor for the same seat.
"China's readiness to lend its support for efforts to achieve greater visibility... of Djibouti in international agencies is in line with diplomatic ethics, which is based on the principle of equity between all nations," President Ismail Guelle of Djibouti announced after a meeting with Yi after he toured the country.
Daily Nation indicated that the purported statement expressing China's support for the country's bid for the seat had been misreported by State House due to factors to do with translation.
A Chinese official quoted by the publication explained that it would not be in China's best interests to be seen as advancing the interests of one African ally over the other.
"We support reforms at the UN and always want the voice of developing nations to be heard, but we are not choosing between Kenya and Djibouti."
The publication, however, indicated that the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson was set to clarify his country's position on the issue in the coming week.
A press release by the Presidential Strategic Communications Unit (PSCU) on Monday, December 16, indicated that Chinese President Xi Jinping’s special envoy Wang Yong had stated that China had faith that Kenya was better placed to voice Africa’s interests at the UNSC.
The statement, however, was not reflected by China's side of the story, where they only indicated that the meeting had been held with a view to improving bilateral relationships between the two countries.
Kenya is the African Union's (AU) candidate of choice for the UNSC seat and will battle it out with Djibouti which argues that Kenya's maritime border with Somalia was an indicator it could not be trusted to settle regional matters.
