Kenyan National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang'ula has lauded the smart and green operations at north China's Tianjin Port, expressing his country's strong desire to draw on China's experience in smart technology to drive economic growth and create jobs.
Wetang'ula made the remarks while in Tianjin for the 2026 Legislators Forum for Friendly Exchanges, which opened on Oct. 13. In the two days before the opening ceremony, he joined nearly 70 legislators from more than 50 countries on a tour of the city that took in the port.
At the port's No. 2 Container Terminal -- a 'smart zero-carbon' facility that pairs automated operations with clean energy -- the delegation proceeded along a multicolored elevated walkway overlooking a working area where dozens of autonomous intelligent transport vehicles, rather than manual operators, moved about in orderly manner.
Wetang'ula said the port offered a glimpse of the direction in which the world is developing, adding that such phenomenal growth was exactly what the world needed.
He noted that job creation is a starting point and driving force for economic activity in emerging economies such as Kenya. Contrasting conventional labor with what he called China's "smart labor," he said he had learned that equipping workers with intelligent skills and technology could raise productivity, create more wealth and generate new employment opportunities in other sectors. "When you walk the way, I saw the efficiency at the port and the turnover of trade, the manner in which containers are moved. The trade activities that will take a day will probably take an hour. The trade activities that will take a week will probably take a day. And in terms of turnover, wealth creation, that wealth can then be put in other sectors, like agriculture, construction that requires human labor, and many others that will still create jobs and generate even more wealth for a country," he said.
"And that is a lesson we learn and a lesson we need to supply to our economies and see how do we emphasize and achieve creation of jobs, and also leveraging on technology, and smart technology on how to grow our economy. So we want also to develop to that level and I think it is achievable," said Wetang'ula.
Kenyan parliament speaker hails Tianjin Port's smart operations, eyes tech-driven growth
