A Trip to Morocco

Invited by Dr. Mohammed Khalil， President of the Morocco China Friendship and Exchanges Association （MCFEA）， a CPAFFC working group led by Hu Jianhuai， Inspector of the Department of Asian and African Affairs， visited Morocco from May 24 to 28.

It attended the Economic and Trade Seminar with the theme of “Promoting Chinese Investment in Morocco” organized by the MCFEA， the Moroccan Ministry of Industry and the Moroccan Investment Development Agency （MIDA）. Also present at the seminar were a 10-member Chinese delegation headed by Tan Zhigui， Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Shaoxing Municipal People’s Congress and President of the Shaoxing Municipal People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries， and a dozen entrepreneurs from Shanghai， Shandong and Hunan Province.

MIDA CEO Mr. Hamid Ben Elafdil stressed Morocco’s unique geographical location and said that a number of free trade agreements signed with the United States and Europe provided the country with a strong investment potential， which could meet the needs of Chinese enterprises for development. He welcomed Chinese enterprises to invest in Morocco， which was willing to help China expand its business in Europe， the United States and Africa so that both sides would benefit in their economic and trade cooperation.

Chinese Ambassador to Morocco Sun Shuzhong introduced Morocco’s national conditions， how to avoid investment risks as well as the relationship between China and Morocco. He said： “Morocco gained national independence in 1956 and established diplomatic relations with China in 1958. Since then， they have firmly supported each other in bilateral and multilateral affairs. This is reflected in their political mutual trust， people-to-people， cultural and arts exchanges， and other fields.

“As time goes on， bilateral economic and trade cooperation has become an urgent need of economic development. Today， against the backdrop of globalization and the ‘new normal’ of China’s industry， Chinese enterprises， especially private enterprises need to look for new overseas markets.

“At present， favorable factors for Chinese enterprises to carry out economic and trade exchanges with Morocco include its political stability and the country’s strong inclusiveness， not to mention its advantages in production costs， high productivity， a relatively lower level of religion influence， rich resources in tourism， agriculture and phosphate mineral. Its automobile， aviation and electronic industries are areas suitable for Chinese enterprises to invest.

“Morocco is located at the juncture between Europe and Africa. Its main port of Tangier， which is only 14 kilometers from Spain， handles 20% of the world total container throughput， 40% of which are Chinese commodities. Morocco has signed free trade agreements with 56 countries. Chinese textiles can enter the bonded area qualifying for various tax reductions and exemptions. Recently， Morocco has put forward the 2014-2022 Industrial Development Strategy which coincides with China’s Belt and Road Initiatives. It hopes to attract Chinese enterprises to invest in Morocco and regulate the cooperation modal in the form of law and agreement.”

On behalf of the CPAFFC and the China-Arab Friendship Association， Hu Jianhuai thanked the Moroccan side. He pointed out that it was the Silk Road that had connected Morocco with China long ago， and that Ibn Battuta， a famous Moroccan navigator， came to China along the Maritime Silk Road. He welcomed Morocco to participate in the construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road.

“The CPAFFC attaches great importance to cooperation with the people of all countries of the world， including Arab countries. The China-Arab Friendship Association， founded in 2001， has hosted the China-Arab Friendship Conference and the China-Arab Towns Forum， as well as various bilateral and multilateral activities in such areas as culture， academics， tourism， economy and trade， youth， and local government exchanges. The CPAFFC is willing to strengthen cooperation with the MCFEA， the Moroccan Ministry of Industry and the MIDA， promote exchanges of visits between Chinese and Moroccan entrepreneurs and institutionalize the China-Morocco Economic and Trade Seminar.”

MCFEA President Khalil said Morocco hoped to enhance its relations， especially in economic and trade areas， with China， and that both countries had strong desire to work together for the development of Africa by making good use of Morocco’s status as the gateway to the continent. It was high time Morocco became an important link on the Belt and Road initiated by China and that Morocco would serve as a bridge for the goods manufactured in Morocco with Chinese investment to be transported to Europe and other parts of Africa including the Maghrib countries.

Under the leadership of King Mohammed VI， the good momentum of Morocco’s revitalization would also become a driving force for investors all over the world， especially those from China. The MCFEA would continue to promote friendly exchanges in the economic and trade， cultural， tourism， arts， sports and other areas and hoped to achieve mutually beneficial and win-win result through bilateral exchanges， he said.

After the seminar， the Moroccan side arranged for the participants to visit sci-tech cities， free trade areas and other facilities in Rabat， Tangier and Casablanca. Entrepreneurs of the two countries and heads of relevant organizations had discussions on cooperation in bilateral trade and investment. The delegation from Shaoxing explored the possibility of establishing friendship-city relations with a relevant city in Morocco.