Between 2006 and 2017, Kenya took large loans from China to build a railway and other infrastructure, but if the Kenya defaults in its obligations, China may have some power over Kenyan assets like Mombasa port and Inland Container Depot.
Between 2006 and 2017, Kenya took out loans of at least US$9.8 billion (Sh1043.77 billion) from China. China lent Kenya extensive funds to build highways and a railway between Mombasa and Nairobi, totaling over US$6.5 billion as of 2020. In late December 2018, Kenya reportedly came close to default on Chinese loans to develop its largest and most lucrative port, the Port of Mombasa. A default could have forced Kenya to relinquish control of the port to China. Debt-trap diplomacy is carried out in bilateral relations, with a powerful lending country seeking to saddle a borrowing nation with enormous debt so as to increase its leverage over it. 
