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Rabat – Morocco has renewed its commitment to strengthening ties with China, focusing on expanding collaboration into value-added sectors.
Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita conveyed Morocco’s determination to boost ties with China during the 10th Ministerial meeting of the China-Arab Cooperation Forum on Thursday in Beijing.
At the event, Bourita said that the strategic partnership between the two countries yielded tangible results, citing trade volume that doubled between 2016 and 2023 and heavy Chinese investments in North African countries.
He said this makes China Morocco’s primary partner in Asia.
“While we take pride in the steady development of these relations, we aspire to expand their horizons to include promising and value-added sectors, such as the project to establish the smart industrial city ‘Mohammed VI Tangier Tech City,’ which is progressing well,” Bourita said.
The top diplomat also stressed the importance of initiatives launched by King Mohammed VI toward African-Atlantic Countries, noting that they coincide with China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
“The projects being implemented in Morocco, along with the strategic initiatives launched by His Majesty the King towards African-Atlantic countries and brotherly Sahel countries, find their path to complement China’s Belt and Road Initiative as an integrated and multi-dimensional strategic project,” he said.
China launched the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013 with the aim of expanding China’s economic and political influence.
Bourita also recalled the cooperation between Morocco and China during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the establishment of a unit for filling and manufacturing anti-COVID vaccines in Morocco.
The Moroccan official also reiterated Morocco’s support and adherence to the One-China policy as a clear and principled stance.
Morocco has frequently reiterated its agreement with the One China Policy, stressing the importance of bilateral ties between the two countries.
The North African country echoed the same position earlier this year in February, stressing that this is based on the “cardinal” principles of the country’s foreign policy, characterized by consistency, responsibility, credibility, and solidarity.
