China comes to Africa as a partner, and together they form a complementary relationship, said Raila Odinga, former prime minister of Kenya.

China needs Africa's raw materials, while Africa needs China's capital and technology to develop. The collaboration benefits people on both sides, the former PM said at the 2015 Beijing Forum for Emerging Markets on Tuesday.

China has a strategic interest in Africa, but it comes to help the continent as a cooperative partner, Odinga said, dismissing some comments comparing China's investment to colonizing.

"It's a complementary friendship," Odinga said, adding that Africa gets paid at actual values.

Building more infrastructure for raw material processing would be next. "We need to add more value by searching out facilities, and turning them into finished products," the former PM said.

"China's manufacturing model has been very successful," Wanja Michuki, executive director of Kenya's Ndarugu Industrial and Business Park, said at the forum, adding that the population is growing in Africa and job creation is needed.

"The industrial park is looking to engage the Chinese government and Chinese industrialists in financing and collaboration," Michuki said.