On January 20, a five-party cooperation and exchange meeting was grandly held in Beijing for the "Changier Silk Road: Soft Connectivity" China-Africa Youth Mombasa-Nairobi Railway Humanistic Care Action Project (abbreviated as the "Changier Silk Road · Mombasa-Nairobi Railway · Soft Connectivity" Project)—Beijing's only flagship project selected for the 2026 China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges.

Zhang Yinjun, President of Beijing Changier Education Foundation, an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, and General Director of the "Changier Silk Road · Mombasa-Nairobi Railway · Soft Connectivity" project, attended the meeting and delivered a speech. The meeting was chaired by Gao Shuqun, Honorary President of Beijing Changier Education Foundation and Head of the Coordination Group for the "Changier Silk Road · Mombasa-Nairobi Railway · Soft Connectivity" Project. Representatives from project partners attended the meeting and participated in the exchange: Tan Jie, Vice Dean of the College of International Education of Beijing Jiaotong University; Mo Keli, Chairman of Aesthetic Cabinet (Beijing) Information Technology Research Co., Ltd.; Peng Shan, Deputy Manager of the Asset Operation and Management Department at CCCC Special Engineering Technology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of CCCC Group and the main contractor of the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway; and Zheng Dan, Vice General Manager of Caissa Tourism. Invited experts: Zhao Yang, Researcher at the Sustainable Transport Innovation Center of Beijing Jiaotong University; Ci Feng, Chief Editor of China.com and Secretary-General of the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Changier Think Tank; and Zhang Xiang, Director of the Asset Management Committee of Beijing Changier Education Foundation, were invited to attend the meeting and provide professional guidance. Wang Changkun, Director of the International Affair Department of Beijing Changier Education Foundation, attended the meeting in its entirety and provided support.

This is the first important meeting among the project partners. In her speech, Zhang Yinjun pointed out that the 2026 China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges is an important people-to-people exchange activity jointly held by China and Africa following the Joint Statement Between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Kenya on Creating an Inspiring Example in the China-Africa Community with a Shared Future. On January 8, the opening ceremony of the China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges was held at the African Union headquarters. President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the meeting and delivered an important speech. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs released the project list for the 2026 China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges and authorized project implementing units to publicly use the unified official logo. The "Changier Silk Road: Soft Connectivity" project, applied for by Beijing Changier Education Foundation and submitted by Beijing Municipality, was listed as the 11th item on the project list, making it the only selected project from Beijing Municipality. In accordance with the guiding principles of the Foreign Affairs Office of the People's Government of Beijing Municipality, Beijing Changier Education Foundation invited Beijing Jiaotong University, China Communications Construction Group, Caissa Tourism, and Aesthetic Cabinet to jointly undertake the project. After multiple rounds of communication and exchange, the five partner organizations reached a strong consensus. This meeting serves as both an exchange session among the five partners and the official project launch. During the exchange meeting, Zhao Yang presented an overview of China's railway construction assistance in Africa; Tan Jie reported on the preparatory progress of academic research and talent development focused on the soft connectivity and people-to-people bonds of the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway; Peng Shan, Zheng Dan, and Mo Keli each shared their opinions and suggestions. Ci Feng highly praised the value and significance of the "Changier Silk Road · Mombasa-Nairobi Railway · Soft Connectivity" project, noting that less than half a month after the opening ceremony of the China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges on January 8, Beijing Changier Education Foundation and four other partner institutions jointly convened a launch and exchange meeting. This demonstrates both swift action and a strong sense of responsibility. The Changier Think Tank is willing to support the project by providing policy consultation and strategic research. Representatives from the five partners jointly stated that the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway is a flagship project of the "Belt and Road" Initiative fully affirmed by General Secretary Xi Jinping, and that they have a bounden duty to achieve "soft connectivity" on the basis of "hard connectivity".

The meeting decided: 1. To establish a project center. The project center is based at Beijing Changier Education Foundation, with daily operations jointly managed by the project partners. 2. To prepare for the establishment of a project research center. It is recommended that the center be housed at the College of International Education of Beijing Jiaotong University, with Tan Jie responsible for day-to-day operations. 3. To direct all project partners to jointly develop the "Changier Silk Road Express: Friendship Train" proposal, formulate an annual project plan with quarterly implementation milestones, and prepare to present a report to the Beijing Municipal Government at the earliest opportunity to secure strong support from both the municipality and all sectors of society.

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On January 8, 2026, President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the opening ceremony of the "China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges". Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the opening ceremony at the African Union headquarters in Ethiopia and announced a project list. The "Changier Silk Road: Soft Connectivity" China-Africa Youth Mombasa-Nairobi Railway Humanistic Care Action Project was selected for the Youth Leadership section (Item 11) of the list, making it the only project selected among dozens of applications from Beijing. This project, leveraging the flagship China-Africa cooperation project—the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway—is committed to upgrading infrastructure "hard connectivity" into "soft connectivity" and "heart-to-heart connectivity" through people-to-people exchanges, making positive contributions to building China and Kenya into an exemplary model of a community with a shared future for mankind.

Looking back to 2023, Kenyan students and alumni representatives from Beijing Jiaotong University wrote to President Xi Jinping, specially enclosing a ticket from the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway to express their deep gratitude. They said they were delighted to come to China to study railway operation and management, and hoped to serve as a bridge of friendship between Kenya and China, contributing to the enhancement of bilateral friendship and cooperation and to building a community with a shared future for mankind. On January 17 of the following year (2024), President Xi Jinping replied to a letter from Kenyan students and alumni representatives of Beijing Jiaotong University, encouraging them to continue contributing their energy and passion to the friendship between China and Kenya as well as between China and Africa.