Assahafa.com
Casablanca is set to host the Morocco session of the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo (CAETE) from June 10 to 12 under the theme “China and Africa: Together for a Shared Future.” The event marks the first time the CAETE – held in China since its inaugural edition in 2019 – will take place on African soil.
Jointly organized by the CAETE Secretariat, Morocco’s Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises (CGEM), the session falls under the “Eight Initiatives” framework of Sino-African cooperation.
It will cover five priority sectors: technology and industrial equipment, agri-food, consumer goods, automotive and spare parts, and energy. More than 200 Chinese companies are expected to exhibit, the majority actively seeking commercial, industrial, and financial partners across Africa.
The expo also represents the first major overseas trade activity organized by China’s Hunan Province in Africa since Beijing’s zero-tariff policy for 53 African nations took effect on May 1. Chinese state news agency Xinhua, in a report published on Tuesday, framed the Casablanca session as a turning point for bilateral economic ties.
The session arrives at a moment of record bilateral commerce. Trade between China and Morocco reached $10.96 billion in 2025, up from $9.04 billion the year prior. China remains Morocco’s third-largest trading partner globally and its largest in Asia.
The trade balance, however, remains heavily lopsided. Chinese exports to Morocco totaled $9.88 billion in 2025. Moroccan exports to China stood at just $1.08 billion. The zero-tariff policy – eliminating import duties on goods from African countries maintaining diplomatic ties with Beijing – is designed in part to narrow that gap.
Trade deficit to narrow sharply
Nasser Bouchiba, president of the Morocco-based Africa China Cooperation Association for Development (ACCAD), told Xinhua the expo will enable premium Moroccan products to access China’s consumer market more easily while allowing Chinese firms to deepen their footprint in North Africa.
Jawad Kerdoudi, president of the Moroccan Institute of International Relations (IMRI), called the policy a mutually beneficial strategic move that would help reduce Africa’s trade deficit with China while attracting capital, technology, and employment to the continent.
The Casablanca session is expected to showcase Moroccan specialty goods – argan oil and essential oils among them – through Hunan-based Yufei Industry Investment’s “African Products” brand platform.
Yang Yi, the company’s general manager, told Xinhua that preparations have been underway for months. During China’s May Day holiday, an African specialty products fair in Changsha drew nearly 100,000 visitors over six days.
The argan sector had already drawn Chinese media attention weeks before the expo. A May 1 report by CGTN profiled producers in southern Morocco positioning for a commercial breakthrough under the new tariff regime.
Morocco controls more than 90% of the global argan oil supply. Industry projections from Grand View Research estimate sector revenue will grow from $90.1 million in 2025 to $212.2 million by 2033.
Beyond consumer goods, the bilateral relationship is tilting toward industrial integration. The Mohammed VI Tangier Tech City had signed agreements with 42 enterprises as of March – 34 of them Chinese – with planned investment totaling roughly $3.5 billion.
BTR New Material Group is constructing cathode and anode material facilities at the site, expected to generate over 1,100 jobs. Equipment from Zoomlion Heavy Industry is already deployed across major Moroccan infrastructure projects, including venues for the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
Morocco’s position as the world’s largest phosphate exporter, combined with its cobalt and lithium reserves, has turned the country into a strategic node in the new-energy supply chain linking Moroccan resources, Chinese processing capacity, and European end markets.
Imad Toumi, president of Managem Group, pointed to a battery-grade cobalt sulfate project in Marrakech and a seawater desalination initiative in Nador as examples of a model combining economic development with environmental protection.
Rabat walks a tightrope between two giants
Morocco’s ambassador to China, Abdelkader El Ansari, offered a wider lens during an April 29 interview with CGTN Français. He welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping’s decision to grant zero-tariff access for exports from African nations maintaining diplomatic ties with Beijing, calling it “an interesting offer” that could significantly boost Moroccan export volumes to China.
“We received with great respect and great satisfaction the decision of His Excellency President Xi Jinping,” El Ansari told the outlet, noting that bilateral discussions on implementation were underway ahead of a May 1 entry into force.
“Morocco offers a good platform for Chinese investments,” El Ansari told the Chinese French-language media, citing proximity to consumer markets, workforce quality, and an extensive network of free trade agreements.
“Chinese investments committed in Morocco already exceed $10 billion,” El Ansari said, confirming that cooperation now extends to “high-technology sectors and highly diversified industries such as automotive parts and electric vehicle batteries.”
He identified argan oil, citrus, and olive oil as sectors poised for rapid export growth, while noting that Chinese firms in electric vehicle batteries, renewable energy, and automotive components are already expanding their Moroccan operations.
He also pitched the kingdom as a gateway for Chinese firms looking to reach the rest of the continent. Indeed, Morocco – the first African country to join China’s Belt and Road Initiative, having signed a memorandum of understanding in November 2017 and becoming the first North African country to sign a joint BRI implementation plan in January 2022 – has long positioned itself as Beijing’s primary gateway to the continent.
“Chinese companies wishing to enter the African market and develop their relations with African countries would benefit from doing so through Morocco,” El Ansari declared.
Not everyone views that proposition with enthusiasm. The roughly $6 billion in Chinese capital that has flowed into Morocco since the pandemic, according to Rhodium Group data, has rattled Brussels.
EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič recently told the Financial Times the investment amounted to “transshipment” of Chinese overcapacity through trade partners. “It’s becoming a big, big issue for the European economy,” Šefčovič warned.
Ahmed Aboudouh of Chatham House cautioned that China could “dominate the whole vertical supply chain” in Morocco, from phosphate processing for batteries to port infrastructure. “This is what concerns the EU, and it should,” Aboudouh pressed.
This year marks the tenth anniversary of the China-Morocco strategic partnership. With the CAETE crossing the Mediterranean for the first time, both governments are moving to convert a policy opening into a broader commercial framework – one that will test whether Rabat can deepen its ties with Beijing without unsettling its largest trade partner in Europe.
Source: Morocco word news
