China–Kenya relations refer to the bilateral relations between the People's Republic of China and Kenya. The two countries established relations in 1963, suspended ties temporarily in 1967, but ultimately re-established diplomatic relations in 1978. Since then, they have significantly expanded their economic and investment agreements, such that China is currently Kenya's largest trading partner. While the robust trade, investment, and Chinese-led infrastructure projects have benefitted Kenya's overall development and have been labelled by both governments as "win-win" collaborations, local media and foreign analysts have increasingly criticized both the potential consequences of Kenya's loans from China as well as Kenya's overall economic dependence on foreign capital and products. The most ambitious collaboration, the Standard Gauge Rail that was planned to connect Nairobi, Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, and Rwanda using Chinese financing and contractors, has attracted even more controversy due to financial complications, questions on the legality of its tinder process, and the alleged collateralization of Kenya's Mombasa port. Political ties Bilateral relations date back to 14 December 1963, two days after the formal establishment of Kenyan independence, when China became the fourth country to open an embassy in Nairobi.Over the following decade, China-diplomatic relations became extremely fraught. The Kenyan government claimed that a local coup was receiving Beijing's support, which China dismissed as propaganda. Local demonstrations in both countries soon followed in 1966, and both countries severed diplomatic ties and recalled their embassies in 1967. After 1978, President Daniel Arap Moi's administration began to repair relations with Beijing. These efforts resulted in several high-profile visits and agreements to promote trade, investments, and technological exchange. Simultaneously, military exchange between the two countries expanded in subsequent decades. General Liu Jingsong, commander of the Lanzhou Military Region, led China's first military delegation to Kenya in December 1996; Major General Nick Leshan, commander of the Kenya Air Force, paid a return visit in 1997. Since 2005, President Mwai Kibaki and his successor President Uhuru Kenyatta have implemented a "Look East" policy as an alternative to Western loans and investment, a foreign policy framework which encompassed a significant expansion of Chinese loans and Chinese-operated infrastructure initiatives. Additionally, Kenyan president Mwai Kibaki visited Beijing in August 2005., which Chinese president Hu Jintao reciprocated with a visit to Nairobi. During these meetings, the two governments began coordinating six oil-exploration deals and numerous infrastructure projects. Early in 2006 Chinese President Hu Jintao signed an oil exploration contract with Kenya;