China Launches First Freight Train Linking Chengdu to Casablanca

Rabat – China has launched the first ever rail-sea multimodal transport line connecting Chengdu to Europe and Africa with Casablanca being the final destination.

According to the Chinese state-run channel CGTN, the first train left Chengdu in southwest China, at 10a.m. (CST) or 3a.m. (GMT+1) on Saturday, October 15, loaded with mostly local products including textiles.

Set to reach Casablanca in 35 days, the train is expected to travel to Morocco by sea after reaching Germany’s Hamburg via the China-Europe railway express.

The new line aims to increase exports of companies from western China to Africa while benefiting from the rising popularity of the China-Europe freight train services. China State Railway Group has reported that the transcontinental train made 15,000 trips in 2021.

Through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China has been investing heavily in Africa, utilizing the continent’s abundant natural resources and investment opportunities.

In 2000, Sino-African cooperation took a new turn with the establishment of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, laying the groundwork for their vision for 2035 and attaining a record-breaking trade volume of $254 billion in 2021.

Despite the pandemic and counter efforts from the west, China’s investment stock in Africa still managed to reach $47.35 billion in 2021.

As Chinese investments have persisted over the years, many observers have warned of Beijing’s impact on political alliances in Africa.

“We should not underestimate the extent to which China’s investment-based diplomacy in Africa can reshape alliances,” Associate Professor of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland John McCauley explains.

McCauley argued that although the strategy of covering infrastructure costs seems like a “lazy and transactional” way of creating relations at a national level, it is politically effective. The professor added that Africa is an “important partner” to China.

“To Chinese companies, the competition is relatively less intense in Africa, thus, at the macro, Africa is an important partner for China to exert its influence on global platforms,” he elaborated.

With China reinforcing its hold over the African economy, Morocco continues to support the one-China policy while aiming to attract Chinese investments to boost the local economy.