China rolls out space expansion in Kenya amid intensifying rivalry with US in Africa

Kenya Space Agency director general Hillary Kipkosgey hosted a high-level delegation from the Oriental Space Port Research Institute (Ospri) of China in Nairobi/HANDOUT

China has now indicated the rollout of its space expansion in Kenya, a new front in the deepening geopolitical contest between Beijing and Washington for technological dominance in Africa.

On Tuesday, Kenya Space Agency director general Brig Hillary Kipkosgey hosted a high-level delegation from the Oriental Space Port Research Institute (Ospri) of China in Nairobi.

The meeting confirms a recent US report that said Kenya is emerging as one of the countries falling within Beijing’s growing sphere of aerospace partnerships.

The 2025 Report to Congress of the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission listed Kenya among the African countries with space cooperation deals with China, with a ground station and partnership with a non-government entity.

The Chinese delegation, led by Ospri’s deputy director of Administration Chu Na, held extensive technical discussions exploring cooperation in satellite applications, high-resolution remote sensing, data infrastructure and emerging commercial launch technologies.

Ospri is one of China’s most influential aerospace research institutions and plays a central role in the development of the Oriental Maritime Space Port—one of China’s flagship commercial launch hubs.

The institute leads programmes in maritime launch-and-recovery systems, advanced rocket propulsion, satellite and payload development, geospatial artificial intelligence and next-generation remote-sensing constellations.

Its engagement with KSA signals Beijing’s intent to draw Kenya more tightly into its expanding space-cooperation architecture.

The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission warned in the report that such collaboration poses strategic risks for the US—effectively placing Kenya at the centre of a new phase of great-power rivalry.

The concerns come against the backdrop of escalating scrutiny of Kenya–China ties in Washington.

Only months after Kenya became the first sub-Saharan African country to receive designation as a major non-NATO ally, US Senator Jim Risch introduced a bill seeking a review of the status.

Risch cited Kenya’s increasingly close alignment with Beijing, including President William Ruto’s widely discussed remarks at Peking University positioning Kenya and China as “co-architects of a new global order.”

The bill called for a detailed assessment of Kenya’s military and security cooperation with China, Russia and Iran, including any engagements, agreements or joint activities since June 24 last year.

The US has, however, in the last few weeks intensified engagements with Kenya and signed high-level bilateral deals in health and an extension of Agoa programme as it moves to safeguard what it sees as its strategic equities in East Africa and by extension the continent.

China is simultaneously accelerating its space diplomacy and technological inroads in various sectors, expanding its presence in infrastructure, trade and technology in Kenya.