On August 30th, Moroccan Ambassador to China Ansari was interviewed by Xinhua News Agency in Beijing. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Bu Duomen
Beijing, September 5th (Xinhua) — The Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) helps Africa and China join hands in pursuing modernization – Exclusive interview with Moroccan Ambassador to China Ansari
Xinhua News Agency reporters Bu Duomen and Tong Hao
Moroccan Ambassador to China Abdulkader Ansari recently stated in an interview with Xinhua News Agency in Beijing that since its establishment, the Forum on China Africa Cooperation has been committed to planning a blueprint for the development of Africa China relations, providing planning for various development plans and cooperation projects between Africa and China, promoting the development of Africa China relations in unity and cooperation, and helping African countries achieve economic and social development.
The theme of the 2024 Forum on China Africa Cooperation Summit is “Joining Hands to Promote Modernization and Building a High Level China Africa Community with a Shared Future”. Regarding this, Ansari stated that this theme is in line with the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and looks forward to more initiatives and action plans that are conducive to promoting modernization on the African continent after this summit.
Ansari stated that Morocco, as one of the gateways to Africa, has an important geopolitical position and hopes to play a bridging role in Africa China relations. He said that multilateral cooperation between China, Morocco, and African countries will help “enhance economic and trade relations in various fields between Africa and China, especially in industrialization, which is one of the priority strategic goals of African countries.
When it comes to the relationship between Morocco and China, Ansari said that the two countries have always respected each other, had a long-standing friendship, and had rich and colorful exchanges. For example, Morocco also has a famous tea drinking culture and is the largest importer of Chinese green tea. In history, the ancient Moroccan traveler Ibn Battuta visited China in the 14th century. Morocco was one of the earliest African countries to establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China. In 2016, the two countries established a strategic partnership, and Morocco implemented a visa free policy for Chinese citizens. At the same time, a large number of Moroccan students came to China to study, providing important guarantees for the sustained development of friendly relations between Morocco and China through continuous cultural exchanges.
There are currently three Confucius Institutes in Morocco, and learning Chinese is highly favored by Moroccan youth. Ansari said, “This is due to the gradual warming of economic and trade relations between Morocco and China. In addition, optimistic expectations for China’s outbound tourism market have also made some young people hope to engage in tourism work with China
Regarding the economic and trade exchanges between the two countries, Ansari said that China has been Morocco’s third largest trading partner in the world and the largest trading partner in Asia for many consecutive years. Bilateral economic and trade investment has continued to develop, and bilateral trade has steadily grown. We look forward to more Chinese companies investing in Morocco, especially in new economic fields such as new energy, electric vehicles, and electronic manufacturing, which will enhance the quality of economic and trade relations between the two countries
In 2022, the two countries signed the “the Belt and Road” cooperation plan, and jointly built the “the Belt and Road” cooperation and Morocco’s development strategy. A number of projects such as Tangier Science and Technology City and Noo Solar Thermal Power Station have contributed to promoting employment and improving people’s livelihoods in the local area. Among them, the Noo Solar Thermal Power Station provides clean energy to over one million households in the local area.
Morocco and other African countries attach great importance to leveraging China’s technological advantages to achieve their own economic and social development, “said Ansari. Morocco is implementing an” energy transition “and plans to achieve 50% of its electricity generation through renewable energy by 2030. The Noo Solar Thermal Power Station is one of many such projects in Morocco.
In addition, he mentioned that Morocco will jointly bid for the 2030 FIFA World Cup with Spain and Portugal, and will build a large number of infrastructure projects in areas such as housing, tourism, energy, and transportation. He hopes that more Chinese companies will participate in these projects.
According to a previous report by the Moroccan media The Economist, Morocco will surpass South Africa for the first time in 2024 and become the largest automobile producing country in Africa. Ansari introduced that Morocco has a history of more than 20 years in developing the automotive industry, with a large number of automotive parts manufacturing enterprises, which have advantages in production materials, industrial talents, and investment environment.
When it comes to new energy vehicles, he said that Chinese companies have recently signed an agreement with the Moroccan side to build Morocco’s first power battery super factory. Meanwhile, Morocco is also one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of phosphate, making it a natural fit for both countries in the fields of new energy and hybrid vehicle manufacturing.
Ansari said, “Morocco has signed free trade agreements with more than 50 countries and organizations, benefiting approximately 1.4 billion consumers in these markets with various Moroccan products. The African Free Trade Zone has also added hundreds of millions of consumers as a result. The potential for electric vehicles in Morocco’s export products is enormous
Seeing is believing. “Ambassador Ansari, who came to China in February this year, visited Shandong, Inner Mongolia and other places. He was surprised by the facilities, environment and cultural construction level of Chinese cities, loved China’s food culture, and personally experienced the ancient accumulation of Chinese civilization, technological progress and social development.