African kingdom rolls out welcome for China

Despite having longtime relations with Beijing, Morocco is a mystery to most Chinese - until now

Beyond the 1942 film Casablanca starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, most Chinese know very little about the distant North African country of Morocco, even though it has long served as an important link between the West and other parts of the world.

As a strategic nation and a crossroads between Europe and Africa, the country, one of the world's oldest kingdoms, hopes to expand cooperation with China for better ties, says Salaheddine Mezouar, foreign affairs minister of Morocco.

"I am quite confident that exchanges between Morocco and China will further expand. The establishment of a strategic partnership in the near future between our two countries will further deepen our relations and elevate them to new heights," Mezouar says.

His comments came during the Morocco-China Economic Forum on Nov 25 in Beijing, which included more than 550 company CEOs from both countries. The forum saw more than 30 agreements signed between companies, mainly in banking, tourism, energy and infrastructure construction.

Morocco was at the forefront in establishing diplomatic relations with China in 1958, being the second African country to do so. Mezouar says the two countries have had good collaboration in the areas of politics, economy and people-to-people exchanges since they set up diplomatic ties 56 years ago.

"Our countries are both ancient nations with a long history. We do share a certain number of common values that predispose people from the two countries to understand each other," says the foreign minister.

"Morocco wants to build a strong, lasting and mutually beneficial partnership with China, based on the centuries-old ties of friendship and solidarity."

He says more frequent exchanges and a deepening understanding among people between China and Morocco will take bilateral ties "to the next level", and will reinforce efforts to improve Sino-Moroccan trade and business collaboration.

According to the ministry's statistics, bilateral trade exchanges have constantly increased during the last decade, reaching $3.3 billion in 2013, an increase of 4.3 percent compared with 2012. China is Morocco's 14th largest exporter and the third largest importer. Mezouar says he is confident that expansion will continue.

Morocco is looking for ways to offset dwindling trade with Europe, its largest trade partner. The minister says his country plans to diversify its bilateral trade with China, the world's second largest economy, as part of an endeavor to open up new markets.

"Morocco's business environment is one of the most attractive in the Middle East and North Africa region, given the level of foreign direct investments injected in the Moroccan economy. The country has undertaken structural economic reforms that led to the modernization of its economy in a stable environment and has defined key sectors of vital interest including offshoring, auto industry, aeronautics, electronics, textile and agribusiness with specific incentives to attract foreign direct investments."

By far most of the Chinese companies in Morocco are engaged in infrastructure construction or telecommunications. Mezouar says these projects are much appreciated by Moroccan people for their good quality, the speed of implementation and compliance the time limits set for the execution of the contracts.

"Chinese companies and investment are nowadays highly regarded given their positive contribution to the development of our country," he says.

Chinese firms are welcome in many sectors including infrastructure, agriculture, agribusiness, health, telecoms, tourism, energy and mining, he adds.

"Chinese enterprises will take advantage of the incentives granted by Morocco in terms of tax and customs duty exemptions for foreign investors, contributions of the state to certain investment expenses, land acquisition and so on."

Mezouar says the country's position as a window to Africa and Europe gives it an unparalleled competitive advantage.

From Morocco, the entire African market can be accessed, and West Africa is easily reached. It is also next door to Europe: The port city of Tangier is only about 25 kilometers from Spain.

Sea passages and ferry services also link Morocco and Europe and there are convenient air connections. From Rabat, the capital, Paris and Madrid are just 2.5 hours away by air.

Free trade agreements that Morocco has signed are another attraction for Chinese investors, Mezouar says.

"We intend to set a win-win partnership benefiting investors from both sides who will take advantage of Morocco's strategic position on the crossroads of the main trade routes linking America, Africa, Europe and the Middle East, as well as our openness thanks to free trade agreements with the United States, the EU, Turkey, Jordan, Tunisia and West Africa, which create an ideal platform for accessing markets totaling more than 1 billion consumers."

Morocco is also working on addressing the issue of its high trade deficit with China through encouragement of more investments from Morocco to China, the promotion of exports and the removal of certain non-tariff barriers, Mezouar says. The signing of an agreement on health regulations to boost Moroccan exports to China is one goal.

"We do expect the two parties to reach an agreement on sanitary and phytosanitary regulations to reinforce Moroccan agricultural exports to China," Mezouar says.

Sanitary (human and animal health) and phytosanitary (plant health) measures include such things as requiring products to come from a disease-free area, inspections and establishing maximum levels of pesticide residues.

Mezouar says Chinese investment in Africa is not only welcomed by Morocco, but also by the African continent.

"The African continent needs committed partners that can trust its potential and invest in its future. China is one of these reliable partners Africa can count on. The allocation by China of $20 billion, within the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation to fund several development projects in Africa is a strong testimony to China's concrete and positive contribution to sustainable development in this continent.

"The African dimension is of paramount importance in Morocco's foreign policy. Morocco shares with China a common, clear vision regarding sustainable development for African countries."

The foreign minister says China and Morocco also have had fruitful cooperation in the cultural field.

"We warmly welcome the two existing Confucius Centers in Morocco, and the creation of a Chinese cultural center in Morocco, which helps to further tighten the bonds between our two peoples."

He says the upcoming visit of Moroccan King Mohammed VI to China will include the signing of a series of agreements pertaining to cultural and information exchanges.

"Furthermore, we will continue our efforts in promoting traditional cultural cooperation through encouraging student exchanges and organization of cultural events, Chinese-Moroccan days, twin cities programs, partnerships among universities and so on."

Mezouar says Morocco will also ease visa applications to attract more tourists from China. The two countries are exploring the possibility of granting individual visas to Chinese tourists they must currently come in groups as well as provide electronic visa applications instead of having to apply in person in China. Other plans include a 13-hour direct flight between China and Morocco and travel packages to Morocco and some European countries, such as France or Belgium.

liulu@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Africa Weekly 12/05/2014 page29)