The rising popularity of Chinese culture in Kenya is boosting the demand for books written in mandarin, local publishers said on Sunday.
Kiarie Kamau, the chairman of Kenya Publishers Association (KPA), told Xinhua in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya that books written in mandarin that target school-going children are experiencing a spike in sales amid blossoming Sino-Kenya cultural relations.
“Kenyan parents are encouraging their children to learn and understand the Chinese language and culture due to the rising global influence of China,” Kamau said during a forum on the upcoming Nairobi International Book fair.
Kamau observed that mandarin is one of the foreign languages including French and German that are taught in Kenyan schools.
He added that many learners in Kenya are keen to understand the Chinese language given the large number of local citizens working and doing business in China.
“Through learning Chinese, Kenyans will be able to increase their exchanges of knowledge and technology with their Chinese counterparts,” said Kamau.
He observed that the growing Chinese community in Kenya has also increased the demand for a local labor force that can communicate in mandarin end term.
